2 Kings 19:20-34
New American Standard Bible
God’s Answer through Isaiah
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, (A)I have heard you.’ 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
‘She, (B)the virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you;
She, the daughter of Jerusalem, (C)has shaken her head behind you!
22 Whom have you (D)taunted and (E)blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice,
And [a]haughtily raised your eyes?
Against the (F)Holy One of Israel!
23 (G)Through your messengers you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, “With my many chariots
I went up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall cedars and its choicest junipers.
And I entered its farthest resting place, its (H)thickest forest.
24 I dug wells and drank foreign waters,
And with the soles of my feet I (I)dried up
All the streams of Egypt.”
25 ‘(J)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it;
From ancient times I planned it.
(K)Now I have brought it about,
That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.
26 Therefore their inhabitants were [b]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame.
They were (L)like the vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like grass on the housetops that is scorched before it has grown.
27 But (M)I know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
28 Because of your raging against Me,
And because your complacency has come up to My ears,
I (N)will put My hook in your nose,
And My bridle in your lips,
And (O)I will turn you back by the way by which you came.
29 ‘Then this shall be (P)the sign for you: [c]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 (Q)The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors (R)out of Mount Zion. (S)The zeal of [d]the Lord will perform this.
32 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “(T)He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it. 33 (U)By the way that he came, by [e]the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘(V)For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and (W)for My servant David’s sake.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 19:22 Lit on high
- 2 Kings 19:26 Lit short of hand
- 2 Kings 19:29 Lit to eat
- 2 Kings 19:31 Some ancient mss the Lord of armies
- 2 Kings 19:33 Lit it
2 Kings 19:20-34
New Living Translation
Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria. 21 And the Lord has spoken this word against him:
“The virgin daughter of Zion
despises you and laughs at you.
The daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head in derision as you flee.
22 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?
Against whom did you raise your voice?
At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?
It was the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers you have defied the Lord.
You have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have conquered the highest mountains—
yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its finest cypress trees.
I have reached its farthest corners
and explored its deepest forests.
24 I have dug wells in many foreign lands
and refreshed myself with their water.
With the sole of my foot
I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’
25 “But have you not heard?
I decided this long ago.
Long ago I planned it,
and now I am making it happen.
I planned for you to crush fortified cities
into heaps of rubble.
26 That is why their people have so little power
and are so frightened and confused.
They are as weak as grass,
as easily trampled as tender green shoots.
They are like grass sprouting on a housetop,
scorched before it can grow lush and tall.
27 “But I know you well—
where you stay
and when you come and go.
I know the way you have raged against me.
28 And because of your raging against me
and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
I will make you return
by the same road on which you came.”
29 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:
“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,
and next year you will eat what springs up from that.
But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;
you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 And you who are left in Judah,
who have escaped the ravages of the siege,
will put roots down in your own soil
and will grow up and flourish.
31 For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,
a group of survivors from Mount Zion.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[a]
will make this happen!
32 “And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“His armies will not enter Jerusalem.
They will not even shoot an arrow at it.
They will not march outside its gates with their shields
nor build banks of earth against its walls.
33 The king will return to his own country
by the same road on which he came.
He will not enter this city,
says the Lord.
34 For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,
I will defend this city and protect it.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
