37 And
it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes,
and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And
he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and
the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet
the son of Amoz. 3 And
they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble,
and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth,
and there is not strength to bring forth. 4 It
may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king
of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove
the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer
for the remnant that is left. 5 So
the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And
Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith
the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the
servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold,
I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to
his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. 8 So
Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah:
for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And
he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to
make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah,
saying, 10 Thus
shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in
whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given
into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold,
thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying
them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have
the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed,
as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in
Telassar? 13 Where
is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city
of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? 14 And
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read
it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before
the LORD. 15 And
Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16 O
LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou
art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast
made heaven and earth. 17 Incline
thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear
all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of
a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and
their countries, 19 And
have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work
of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
20
Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms
of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only. 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto
Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed
to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22 This is the word which the LORD hath
spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee,
and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head
at thee. 23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed?
and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on
high? even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By thy servants hast thou reproached
the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to
the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down
the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter
into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. 25 I have digged, and drunk water; and
with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged
places. 26 Hast thou not heard long ago, how I
have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought
it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous
heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of
small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of
the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as
corn blasted before it be grown up. 28 But I know thy abode, and thy going
out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29 Because thy rage against me, and thy
tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose,
and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which
thou camest. 30 And this shall be a sign unto thee,
Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that
which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and
plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 31 And the remnant that is escaped of the
house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth
a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD
of hosts shall do this. 33 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning
the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow
there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same
shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 35 For I will defend this city to save
it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth,
and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five
thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all
dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed,
and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping
in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons
smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and
Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.