Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah's Help
1And it came to pass, when kingHezekiahheard[it], that he renthis clothes,and coveredhimself with sackcloth,and wentinto the houseof the LORD.2And he sentEliakim,who [was] over the household,and Shebnathe scribe,and the eldersof the priestscoveredwith sackcloth,unto Isaiahthe prophetthe sonof Amoz.3And they saidunto him, Thus saithHezekiah,This day[is] a dayof trouble,and of rebuke,and of blasphemy:for the childrenare cometo the birth,and [there is] not strengthto bring forth.4It may be the LORDthy Godwill hearthe wordsof Rabshakeh,whom the kingof Assyriahis masterhath sentto reproachthe livingGod,and will reprovethe wordswhich the LORDthy Godhath heard:wherefore lift up[thy] prayerfor the remnantthat is left.
5So the servantsof kingHezekiahcameto Isaiah.6And Isaiahsaidunto them, Thus shall ye sayunto your master,Thus saiththe LORD,Be not afraidofthe wordsthat thou hast heard,wherewith the servantsof the kingof Assyriahave blasphemedme.7Behold, I will senda blastupon him, and he shall heara rumour,and returnto his own land;and I will cause him to fallby the swordin his own land.
Sennacherib's Blasphemous Letter
(2 Kings 19:8-13)
8So Rabshakehreturned,and foundthe kingof Assyriawarringagainst Libnah:for he had heardthat he was departedfrom Lachish.9And he heardsayconcerning Tirhakahkingof Ethiopia,He is come forthto make warwith thee. And when he heard[it], he sentmessengersto Hezekiah,saying,10Thus shall ye speakto Hezekiahkingof Judah,saying,Let not thy God,in whom thou trustest,deceivethee, saying,Jerusalemshall not be giveninto the handof the kingof Assyria.11Behold, thou hast heardwhat the kingsof Assyriahave doneto all landsby destroying them utterly;and shalt thou be delivered?12Have the godsof the nationsdeliveredthem which my fathershave destroyed,[as] Gozan,and Haran,and Rezeph,and the childrenof Edenwhich [were] in Telassar?13Where [is] the kingof Hamath,and the kingof Arphad,and the kingof the cityof Sepharvaim,Hena,and Ivah?
Hezekiah's Prayer
14And Hezekiahreceivedthe letterfrom the handof the messengers,and readit: and Hezekiahwent upunto the houseof the LORD,and spreadit beforethe LORD.15And Hezekiahprayedunto the LORD,saying,16O LORDof hosts,Godof Israel,that dwellest[between] the cherubims,thou [art] the God,[even] thou alone, of all the kingdomsof the earth:thou hast madeheavenand earth.17Inclinethine ear,O LORD,and hear;openthine eyes,O LORD,and see:and hearall the wordsof Sennacherib,which hath sentto reproachthe livingGod.18Of a truth,LORD,the kingsof Assyriahave laid wasteall the nations,and their countries,19And have casttheir godsinto the fire:for they [were] no gods,but the workof men'shands,woodand stone:therefore they have destroyedthem.20Now therefore, O LORDour God,saveus from his hand,that all the kingdomsof the earthmay knowthat thou [art] the LORD,[even] thou only.
The Fall of Sennacherib
21Then Isaiahthe sonof Amozsentunto Hezekiah,saying,Thus saiththe LORDGodof Israel,Whereas thou hast prayedto me against Sennacheribkingof Assyria:
22This [is] the wordwhich the LORDhath spokenconcerning him; The virgin,the daughterof Zion,hath despisedthee, [and] laughed thee to scorn;the daughterof Jerusalemhath shakenher headat thee.
23Whom hast thou reproachedand blasphemed?and against whom hast thou exalted[thy] voice,and lifted upthine eyeson high?[even] against the Holy Oneof Israel.
24Bythy servantshast thou reproachedthe Lord,and hast said,By the multitudeof my chariotsam I come upto the heightof the mountains,to the sidesof Lebanon;and I will cut downthe tallcedarsthereof, [and] the choicefir treesthereof: and I will enterinto the heightof his border,[and] the forestof his Carmel.
25I have digged,and drunkwater;and with the soleof my feethave I dried upall the riversof the besieged places.
26Hast thou not heardlong ago,[how] I have doneit; [and] of ancienttimes,that I have formedit? now have I broughtit to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay wastedefencedcities[into] ruinousheaps.
27Therefore their inhabitants[were] of smallpower,they were dismayedand confounded:they were [as] the grassof the field,and [as] the greenherb,[as] the grasson the housetops,and [as corn] blastedbeforeit be grown up.
28But I knowthy abode,and thy going out,and thy coming in,and thy rageagainst me.
29Because thy rageagainst me, and thy tumult,is come upinto mine ears,therefore will I putmy hookin thy nose,and my bridlein thy lips,and I will turn thee backby the wayby which thou camest.
30And this [shall be] a signunto thee, Ye shall eat[this] yearsuch as growethof itself; and the secondyearthat which springethof the same: and in the thirdyearsowye, and reap,and plantvineyards,and eatthe fruitthereof.31And the remnantthat is escapedof the houseof Judahshall againtake rootdownward,and bearfruitupward:32For out of Jerusalemshall go fortha remnant,and they that escapeout of mountZion:the zealof the LORDof hostsshall dothis.
33Therefore thus saiththe LORDconcerning the kingof Assyria,He shall not comeinto this city,nor shootan arrowthere, nor come beforeit with shields,nor casta bankagainst it.34By the waythat he came,by the same shall he return,and shall not comeinto this city,saiththe LORD.35For I will defendthis cityto saveit for mine own sake, and for my servantDavid'ssake.
The Assyrian Camp Destroyed
36Then the angelof the LORDwent forth,and smotein the campof the Assyriansa hundredand fourscoreand fivethousand:and when they arose earlyin the morning,behold, they [were] all deadcorpses.37So Sennacheribkingof Assyriadeparted,and wentand returned,and dweltat Nineveh.38And it came to pass, as he was worshippingin the houseof Nisrochhis god,that Adrammelechand Sharezerhis sonssmotehim with the sword;and they escapedinto the landof Armenia:and Esarhaddonhis sonreignedin his stead.
