Sennacherib’s Invasion

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,(A) Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish(B) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller’s Field.(C) Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(D) and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him.

The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on?[a] I[b] say that your strategy and military preparedness are mere words. What are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?(E) Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(F) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him.(G) Suppose you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar’?(H)

Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! How then can you drive back a single officer among the weakest of my master’s officers and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?(I) 10 Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(J) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew[c] within earshot of the people who are on the wall.”

12 But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew:[d]

Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you,(K) for he cannot deliver you. 15 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will certainly deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’”

16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make peace[e] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree(L) and drink water from his own cistern 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’(M) Has any one of the gods of the nations(N) delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?(O) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my power?(P) 20 Who among all the gods of these lands ever delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem.”

21 But they kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.”(Q) 22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

37 When King Hezekiah heard their report,(R) he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,(S) and went to the Lord’s temple. Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace,(T) for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.(U) Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God,(V) and will rebuke him for the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(W)

So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, “Tell your master this, ‘The Lord says: Don’t be afraid(X) because of the words you have heard, which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed Me with.(Y) I am about to put a spirit(Z) in him and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(AA)

Sennacherib’s Letter

When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(AB) he returned and found him fighting against Libnah.(AC) The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush:(AD) “He has set out to fight against you.” So when he heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust, deceive you(AE) by promising that Jerusalem won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations(AF) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—Gozan,(AG) Haran,(AH) Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.(AI) 15 Then Hezekiah prayed(AJ) to the Lord:

16 Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim,(AK) You are God(AL)—You alone(AM)—of all the kingdoms of the earth.(AN) You made the heavens and the earth.(AO) 17 Listen closely, Lord, and hear;(AP) open Your eyes, Lord, and see.(AQ) Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.(AR) 18 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods(AS) but made by human hands(AT)—wood and stone.(AU) So they have destroyed them. 20 Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord(AV)—You alone.(AW)

God’s Answer through Hezekiah

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion(AX)
despises you and scorns you:
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head(AY)
behind your back.[f]
23 Who is it you have mocked(AZ) and blasphemed?
Who have you raised your voice against
and lifted your eyes in pride?(BA)
Against the Holy One of Israel!(BB)
24 You have mocked the Lord through[g] your servants.
You have said, “With my many chariots(BC)
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its distant heights,
its densest forest.
25 I dug wells[h] and drank water.
I dried up all the streams of Egypt
with the soles of my feet.”(BD)

26 Have you not heard?(BE)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.(BF)
I have now brought it to pass,
and you have crushed fortified cities(BG)
into piles of rubble.
27 Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,
blasted by the east wind.[i]

28 But I know[j] your sitting down,
your going out and your coming in,(BH)
and your raging against Me.
29 Because your raging against Me
and your arrogance have reached My ears,(BI)
I will put My hook in your nose(BJ)
and My bit in your mouth;(BK)
I will make you go back
the way you came.

30 “‘This will be the sign for you:(BL) This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root(BM) downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For a remnant(BN) will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.’(BO)

33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow there
or come before it with a shield
or build up an assault ramp against it.
34 He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

35 I will defend this city and rescue it
because of Me(BP)
and because of My servant David.”(BQ)

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

36 Then(BR) the angel of the Lord(BS) went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.(BT)

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.(BU) Then his son Esar-haddon(BV) became king in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

38 In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill.(BW) The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your affairs in order,[k](BX) for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”[l]

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly,(BY) and have done what pleases You.”[m](BZ) And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add 15 years to your life.[n](CA) And I will deliver you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city.(CB) This is the sign to you(CC) from the Lord that He will do what[o] He has promised:[p] I am going to make the sun’s shadow that goes down on Ahaz’s stairway go back by 10 steps.”(CD) So the sun’s shadow[q] went back the 10 steps it had descended.

A poem by Hezekiah king of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:

10 I said: In the prime[r] of my life[s](CE)
I must go to the gates of Sheol;(CF)
I am deprived of the rest of my years.
11 I said: I will never see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;(CG)
I will not look on humanity any longer
with the inhabitants of what is passing away.[t]
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.(CH)
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;(CI)
He cuts me off from the loom.[u](CJ)
You make an end of me from day until night.(CK)
13 I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion;
You make an end of me day and night.
14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane;
I moan like a dove.(CL)
My eyes grow weak looking upward.
Lord, I am oppressed; support me.(CM)

15 What can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and He Himself has done it.
I walk along slowly all my years(CN)
because of the bitterness of my soul,(CO)
16 Lord, because of these promises people live,(CP)
and in all of them is the life of my spirit as well;
You have restored me to health(CQ)
and let me live.(CR)
17 Indeed, it was for my own welfare
that I had such great bitterness;(CS)
but Your love has delivered me
from the Pit of destruction,(CT)
for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back.(CU)
18 For Sheol cannot thank You;
Death cannot praise You.(CV)
Those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 The living, only the living can thank You,
as I do today;
a father will make Your faithfulness known to children.(CW)
20 The Lord will[v] save me;
we will play stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
at the house of the Lord.(CX)

21 Now Isaiah(CY) had said, “Let them take a lump of pressed figs and apply it to his infected skin, so that he may recover.” 22 And Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:4 Lit What is this trust that you trust
  2. Isaiah 36:5 DSS read You
  3. Isaiah 36:11 Lit Judahite
  4. Isaiah 36:13 Lit Judahite
  5. Isaiah 36:16 Lit a blessing
  6. Isaiah 37:22 Lit behind you
  7. Isaiah 37:24 Lit by the hand of
  8. Isaiah 37:25 DSS add in foreign lands
  9. Isaiah 37:27 DSS; MT reads rooftops, field before standing grain
  10. Isaiah 37:28 DSS read know your rising up and
  11. Isaiah 38:1 Lit Command your house
  12. Isaiah 38:1 Lit live
  13. Isaiah 38:3 Lit what is good in Your eyes
  14. Isaiah 38:5 Lit days
  15. Isaiah 38:7 Lit this thing
  16. Isaiah 38:7 Lit said
  17. Isaiah 38:8 Lit And the sun
  18. Isaiah 38:10 Lit quiet
  19. Isaiah 38:10 Lit days
  20. Isaiah 38:11 Some Hb mss, Tg read of the world
  21. Isaiah 38:12 Lit thrum
  22. Isaiah 38:20 Lit to

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(A)

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s(B) reign, Sennacherib(C) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(D) Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish(E) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,(F) Eliakim(G) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,(H) Shebna(I) the secretary,(J) and Joah(K) son of Asaph the recorder(L) went out to him.

The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel(M) against me? Look, I know you are depending(N) on Egypt,(O) that splintered reed(P) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. But if you say to me, “We are depending(Q) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,(R) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?(S)

“‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses(T)—if you can put riders on them! How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt(U) for chariots(V) and horsemen[a]?(W) 10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told(X) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah(Y) said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(Z) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

12 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?(AA)

13 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,(AB) “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!(AC) 14 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive(AD) you. He cannot deliver you! 15 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver(AE) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’(AF)

16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree(AG) and drink water from your own cistern,(AH) 17 until I come and take you to a land like your own(AI)—a land of grain and new wine,(AJ) a land of bread and vineyards.

18 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?(AK) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?(AL) Have they rescued Samaria(AM) from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods(AN) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(AO)

21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”(AP)

22 Then Eliakim(AQ) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder(AR) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,(AS) and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(AT)

37 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes(AU) and put on sackcloth(AV) and went into the temple(AW) of the Lord. He sent Eliakim(AX) the palace administrator, Shebna(AY) the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.(AZ) They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress(BA) and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth(BB) and there is no strength to deliver them. It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(BC) the living God,(BD) and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.(BE) Therefore pray(BF) for the remnant(BG) that still survives.”

When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(BH) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(BI) me. Listen! When he hears a certain report,(BJ) I will make him want(BK) to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down(BL) with the sword.’”

When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(BM) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.(BN)

Now Sennacherib(BO) received a report(BP) that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[b](BQ) was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive(BR) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’(BS) 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?(BT) 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors(BU) deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran,(BV) Rezeph and the people of Eden(BW) who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad?(BX) Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim,(BY) Hena and Ivvah?”(BZ)

Hezekiah’s Prayer(CA)

14 Hezekiah received the letter(CB) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple(CC) of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed(CD) to the Lord: 16 Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned(CE) between the cherubim,(CF) you alone are God(CG) over all the kingdoms(CH) of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.(CI) 17 Give ear, Lord, and hear;(CJ) open your eyes, Lord, and see;(CK) listen to all the words Sennacherib(CL) has sent to ridicule(CM) the living God.(CN)

18 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.(CO) 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire(CP) and destroyed them,(CQ) for they were not gods(CR) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(CS) 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver(CT) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth(CU) may know that you, Lord, are the only God.[c](CV)

Sennacherib’s Fall(CW)

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz(CX) sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

“Virgin Daughter(CY) Zion(CZ)
    despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(DA) as you flee.
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(DB)
    Against whom have you raised your voice(DC)
and lifted your eyes in pride?(DD)
    Against the Holy One(DE) of Israel!
24 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots(DF)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights(DG) of Lebanon.(DH)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.(DI)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands[d]
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up(DJ) all the streams of Egypt.(DK)

26 “Have you not heard?
    Long ago I ordained(DL) it.
In days of old I planned(DM) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(DN)
27 Their people, drained of power,
    are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,
like grass(DO) sprouting on the roof,(DP)
    scorched[e] before it grows up.

28 “But I know where you are
    and when you come and go(DQ)
    and how you rage(DR) against me.
29 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence(DS) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(DT) in your nose(DU)
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
    by the way you came.(DV)

30 “This will be the sign(DW) for you, Hezekiah:

“This year(DX) you will eat what grows by itself,
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year(DY) sow and reap,
    plant vineyards(DZ) and eat their fruit.(EA)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root(EB) below and bear fruit(EC) above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(ED)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(EE)
The zeal(EF) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“He will not enter this city(EG)
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp(EH) against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;(EI)
    he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend(EJ) this city and save it,
    for my sake(EK) and for the sake of David(EL) my servant!”

36 Then the angel(EM) of the Lord went out and put to death(EN) a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian(EO) camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib(EP) king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh(EQ) and stayed there.

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple(ER) of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(ES) And Esarhaddon(ET) his son succeeded him as king.(EU)

Hezekiah’s Illness(EV)

38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz(EW) went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order,(EX) because you are going to die; you will not recover.”(EY)

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked(EZ) before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion(FA) and have done what is good in your eyes.(FB)” And Hezekiah wept(FC) bitterly.

Then the word(FD) of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David,(FE) says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears;(FF) I will add fifteen years(FG) to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend(FH) this city.

“‘This is the Lord’s sign(FI) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.(FJ)

A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, “In the prime of my life(FK)
    must I go through the gates of death(FL)
    and be robbed of the rest of my years?(FM)
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself(FN)
    in the land of the living;(FO)
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
    or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent(FP) my house
    has been pulled down(FQ) and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled(FR) up my life,
    and he has cut me off from the loom;(FS)
    day and night(FT) you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently(FU) till dawn,
    but like a lion he broke(FV) all my bones;(FW)
    day and night(FX) you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
    I moaned like a mourning dove.(FY)
My eyes grew weak(FZ) as I looked to the heavens.
    I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”(GA)

15 But what can I say?(GB)
    He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.(GC)
I will walk humbly(GD) all my years
    because of this anguish of my soul.(GE)
16 Lord, by such things people live;
    and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
    and let me live.(GF)
17 Surely it was for my benefit(GG)
    that I suffered such anguish.(GH)
In your love you kept me
    from the pit(GI) of destruction;
you have put all my sins(GJ)
    behind your back.(GK)
18 For the grave(GL) cannot praise you,
    death cannot sing your praise;(GM)
those who go down to the pit(GN)
    cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise(GO) you,
    as I am doing today;
parents tell their children(GP)
    about your faithfulness.

20 The Lord will save me,
    and we will sing(GQ) with stringed instruments(GR)
all the days of our lives(GS)
    in the temple(GT) of the Lord.

21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign(GU) that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers
  2. Isaiah 37:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Isaiah 37:20 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:19); Masoretic Text you alone are the Lord
  4. Isaiah 37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
  5. Isaiah 37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields

The Beast from the Sea

13 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.(A) He[a] had 10 horns and seven heads. On his horns were 10 diadems,(B) and on his heads were blasphemous names.[b](C) The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear’s, and his mouth was like a lion’s mouth.(D) The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded,[c] but his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.[d](E) They worshiped the dragon(F) because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast?(G) Who is able to wage war against him?”

A mouth was given to him to speak boasts and blasphemies.(H) He was also given authority to act[e][f] for 42 months.(I) He began to speak[g] blasphemies against God: to blaspheme His name and His dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. He was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.(J) All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book[h] of life(K) of the Lamb who was slaughtered.[i](L)

If anyone has an ear, he should listen:(M)

10 If anyone is destined for captivity,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed[j] with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.(N)

This demands the perseverance[k] and faith of the saints.(O)

The Beast from the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb,[l](P) but he sounded like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 He deceives those who live on the earth(Q) because of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast,(R) telling those who live on the earth to make an image[m] of the beast who had the sword wound and yet lived. 15 He was permitted to give a spirit[n] to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark[o] on his right hand or on his forehead,(S) 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom:[p](T) The one who has understanding must calculate[q] the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man.[r] His number is 666.[s]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:1 The beasts in Rv 13:1,11 are customarily referred to as “he” or “him” rather than “it.” The Gk word for a beast (therion) is grammatically neuter.
  2. Revelation 13:1 Other mss read heads was a blasphemous name
  3. Revelation 13:3 Lit be slain to death
  4. Revelation 13:3 Lit amazed after the beast
  5. Revelation 13:5 Other mss read wage war
  6. Revelation 13:5 Or to rule
  7. Revelation 13:6 Lit He opened his mouth in
  8. Revelation 13:8 Or scroll
  9. Revelation 13:8 Or written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered from the foundation of the world
  10. Revelation 13:10 Other mss read anyone kills
  11. Revelation 13:10 Lit Here is the perseverance
  12. Revelation 13:11 Or ram
  13. Revelation 13:14 Or statue, or likeness
  14. Revelation 13:15 Or give breath, or give life
  15. Revelation 13:16 Or stamp, or brand
  16. Revelation 13:18 Or This calls for wisdom
  17. Revelation 13:18 Or count, or figure out
  18. Revelation 13:18 Or is a man’s number, or is the number of a person
  19. Revelation 13:18 Other Gk mss read 616

The Beast out of the Sea

13 The dragon[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.(A) It had ten horns and seven heads,(B) with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.(C) The beast I saw resembled a leopard,(D) but had feet like those of a bear(E) and a mouth like that of a lion.(F) The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.(G) One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.(H) The whole world was filled with wonder(I) and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like(J) the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies(K) and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.(L) It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.(M) It was given power to wage war(N) against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.(O) All inhabitants of the earth(P) will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life,(Q) the Lamb(R) who was slain from the creation of the world.[b](S)

Whoever has ears, let them hear.(T)

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
    into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed[c] with the sword,
    with the sword they will be killed.”[d](U)

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness(V) on the part of God’s people.(W)

The Beast out of the Earth

11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth.(X) It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.(Y) 12 It exercised all the authority(Z) of the first beast on its behalf,(AA) and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,(AB) whose fatal wound had been healed.(AC) 13 And it performed great signs,(AD) even causing fire to come down from heaven(AE) to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs(AF) it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived(AG) the inhabitants of the earth.(AH) It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.(AI) 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship(AJ) the image to be killed.(AK) 16 It also forced all people, great and small,(AL) rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,(AM) 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark,(AN) which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.(AO)

18 This calls for wisdom.(AP) Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e](AQ) That number is 666.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:1 Some manuscripts And I
  2. Revelation 13:8 Or written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slain
  3. Revelation 13:10 Some manuscripts anyone kills
  4. Revelation 13:10 Jer. 15:2
  5. Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s number