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Isaiah 37
New English Translation

37 When King Hezekiah heard this,[a] he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[b] clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 3 “This is what Hezekiah says:[c] ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[d] and humiliation,[e] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[f] 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.[g] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[h] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[i]

5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard—these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.[j] 7 Look, I will take control of his mind;[k] he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[l] with a sword in his own land.”’”

8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.[m] 9 The king[n] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[o] was marching out to fight him.[p] He again sent[q] messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[r] Do you really think you will be rescued?[s] 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors[t] destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?[u] 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the kings of Lair,[v] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

14 Hezekiah took the letter[w] from the messengers and read it.[x] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim![y] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[z] and the earth. 17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![aa] 18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations[ab] and their lands. 19 They have burned the gods of the nations,[ac] for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.[ad] 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”[ae]

21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘As to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,[af] 22 this is what the Lord says about him:[ag]

“‘The virgin daughter Zion[ah]
despises you—she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.[ai]
23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?[aj]
At the Holy One of Israel![ak]
24 Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,[al]
“With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its remotest regions,[am]
its thickest woods.
25 I dug wells
and drank water.[an]
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.”’
26 [ao] Certainly you must have heard![ap]

Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned[aq] it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.[ar]
27 Their residents are powerless;[as]
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.[at]
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops[au]
when it is scorched by the east wind.[av]
28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.[aw]
29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,[ax]
I will put my hook in your nose,[ay]
and my bit between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.’

30 [az] “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth:[ba] This year you will eat what grows wild,[bb] and next year[bc] what grows on its own. But the year after that[bd] you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.[be] 31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.[bf]

32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[bg] will accomplish this.
33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

“‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.[bh]
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,[bi]
nor will he build siege works against it.
34 He will go back the way he came—
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
35 I will shield this city and rescue it
for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”[bj]

36 The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops[bk] in the Assyrian camp. When they[bl] got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses![bm] 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.[bn] 38 One day,[bo] as he was worshiping[bp] in the temple of his god Nisroch,[bq] his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.[br] They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  2. Isaiah 37:2 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
  3. Isaiah 37:3 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
  4. Isaiah 37:3 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
  5. Isaiah 37:3 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
  6. Isaiah 37:3 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
  7. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
  8. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
  9. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
  10. Isaiah 37:6 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
  11. Isaiah 37:7 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
  12. Isaiah 37:7 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
  13. Isaiah 37:8 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
  14. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
  16. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
  17. Isaiah 37:9 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
  18. Isaiah 37:11 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
  19. Isaiah 37:11 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
  20. Isaiah 37:12 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
  21. Isaiah 37:12 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
  22. Isaiah 37:13 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
  23. Isaiah 37:14 tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).
  24. Isaiah 37:14 tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this may reflect a later harmonization to the preceding textual reading of “letters.”
  25. Isaiah 37:16 sn The cherubim (singular “cherub”) refer to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
  26. Isaiah 37:16 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
  27. Isaiah 37:17 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
  28. Isaiah 37:18 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
  29. Isaiah 37:19 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
  30. Isaiah 37:19 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
  31. Isaiah 37:20 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
  32. Isaiah 37:21 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 includes a verb, “What you have prayed … I have heard.”
  33. Isaiah 37:22 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
  34. Isaiah 37:22 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquered it.
  35. Isaiah 37:22 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
  36. Isaiah 37:23 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”
  37. Isaiah 37:23 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  38. Isaiah 37:24 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  39. Isaiah 37:24 tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”
  40. Isaiah 37:25 tc The Hebrew text has simply, “I dug and drank water.” But the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:24 has “foreign waters.” זָרִים (zarim, “foreign”) may have accidentally dropped out of the Isaianic text by homoioteleuton (cf. NCV, NIV, NLT). Note that the preceding word, מַיִם (mayim, “water) also ends in mem (ם). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has “foreign waters” for this line. However, in several other passages the 1QIsaa scroll harmonizes with 2 Kgs 19 against the MT (Isa 36:5; 37:9, 20). Since the addition of “foreign” to this text in Isaiah by a later scribe would be more likely than its deletion, the MT reading should be accepted.
  41. Isaiah 37:26 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
  42. Isaiah 37:26 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
  43. Isaiah 37:26 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
  44. Isaiah 37:26 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tehi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
  45. Isaiah 37:27 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
  46. Isaiah 37:27 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
  47. Isaiah 37:27 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
  48. Isaiah 37:27 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.
  49. Isaiah 37:28 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.
  50. Isaiah 37:29 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (shaʾananekha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (sheʾonekha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT, and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).
  51. Isaiah 37:29 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
  52. Isaiah 37:30 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends, and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
  53. Isaiah 37:30 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (ʾot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
  54. Isaiah 37:30 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
  55. Isaiah 37:30 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
  56. Isaiah 37:30 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
  57. Isaiah 37:30 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
  58. Isaiah 37:31 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
  59. Isaiah 37:32 tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people that prompts him to protect and restore them.
  60. Isaiah 37:33 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
  61. Isaiah 37:33 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
  62. Isaiah 37:35 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
  63. Isaiah 37:36 tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
  64. Isaiah 37:36 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
  65. Isaiah 37:36 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”
  66. Isaiah 37:37 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
  67. Isaiah 37:38 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.
  68. Isaiah 37:38 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  69. Isaiah 37:38 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a textual variation of Nusku, the Mesopotamian god of light and fire. Other proposals have tried to relate the name to Ashur, the chief god of the Assyria, or to Ninurta, the Assyrian god of war.
  70. Isaiah 37:38 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
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以赛亚书 37
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

希西迦向以赛亚求助

37 希西迦王听后就撕裂衣服，披上麻衣，进入耶和华的殿。 2 他派身披麻衣的宫廷总管以利亚敬、书记舍伯那和祭司中的长者去见亚摩斯的儿子以赛亚先知， 3 对他说：“希西迦说，‘今日是遭难、蒙羞、受辱的日子，就像婴儿要出生，产妇却无力生产一样。 4 亚述王派他的元帅来辱骂永活的上帝，也许你的上帝耶和华听见那些话，就惩罚他。请你为我们这些剩下的人祷告。’” 5 希西迦王的臣仆说完后， 6 以赛亚对他们说：“告诉你们主人，耶和华这样说，‘你不要因亚述王的仆人那些亵渎我的话而害怕。 7 我必惊动[a]亚述王的心，让他听见风声后便返回本国，使他在那里死于刀下。’”

8 亚述的将军听说亚述王已经离开拉吉，便回去见王，发现王在攻打立拿。 9 亚述王听说古实王特哈加要来攻打他，就派使者去对希西迦说： 10 “不要让你所倚靠的上帝愚弄你，说什么耶路撒冷必不会落在亚述王手中。 11 你肯定听过亚述诸王扫灭列国的事，难道你能幸免吗？ 12 我先祖毁灭了歌散、哈兰、利色和提·拉撒的伊甸人，这些国家的神明救得了他们吗？ 13 哈马王、亚珥拔王、西法瓦音城的王、希拿王和以瓦王如今在哪里呢？”

希西迦的祷告

14 希西迦从使者手中接过信，读完后走进耶和华的殿，在耶和华面前展开信， 15 祷告说： 16 “坐在二基路伯天使之上、以色列的上帝——万军之耶和华啊，唯有你是天下万国的上帝，你创造了天地。 17 耶和华啊，求你侧耳垂听！耶和华啊，求你睁眼察看！求你听听西拿基立派人来辱骂永活上帝的话。 18 耶和华啊，亚述诸王确实扫灭列国，使其土地荒凉， 19 把他们的神像丢进火中烧毁。因为那些神像只是人用木头石头制造的，根本不是神。 20 我们的上帝耶和华啊，现在求你从亚述王手中拯救我们，让天下万国都知道唯有你是耶和华。”

预言亚述必败

21 亚摩斯的儿子以赛亚先知派人对希西迦说：“以色列的上帝耶和华说，‘因为你就亚述王西拿基立的事向我祷告， 22 以下是耶和华对他的判语，

“‘锡安的居民藐视你，嘲笑你；
耶路撒冷的居民朝你逃窜的背影摇头。

23 “‘你在侮辱、亵渎谁呢？
你不放在眼里、高声骂的是谁呢？
是以色列的圣者！
24 你借你的使者侮辱主。
你说你带着许多战车上到群山之巅，
上到黎巴嫩的巅峰，
砍下最高的香柏树和上好的松树，
征服最高的山和最美的树林。
25 你说你已在外邦之地挖井喝水，
已用脚掌踏干埃及的河流。

26 “‘难道你不知这是我在远古所定的吗？
如今我要实现我昔日所定的计划，
就是借着你使坚城沦为废墟。
27 城中的居民软弱无力，
惊慌失措，羞愧难当，
脆弱如野草和菜蔬，
又像还未长大就被晒焦的房顶草。

28 “‘你起你坐，你出你进，
你向我发怒，我都知道。
29 因为你向我发怒，
你狂傲的话达到了我耳中，
我要用钩子钩住你的鼻子，
把嚼环放在你嘴里，
使你原路返回。’

30 “希西迦啊，我要给你一个兆头。你们今年明年要吃野生的，后年要撒种，收割，栽种葡萄园，吃园中的果子。 31 犹大的幸存者要再次向下扎根，向上结果。 32 因为将有余民从耶路撒冷出来，有幸存者从锡安山出来。万军之耶和华必热切地成就这事。 33 至于亚述王，耶和华说，‘他必不能进城或向这里射一箭，必不能手持盾牌兵临城下或修筑攻城的高台。 34 他必原路返回，不得进入这城。这是耶和华说的。 35 我必为自己和我仆人大卫而保护、拯救这城。’”

36 于是，耶和华的天使到亚述营中杀了十八万五千人。人们清早起来，发现到处是尸体。 37 亚述王西拿基立便拔营回国，住在尼尼微。 38 有一天，他在庙中祭拜他的神明尼斯洛的时候，他儿子亚得米勒和沙利色用刀杀了他，然后逃往亚拉腊。他儿子以撒哈顿继位。

Footnotes

  1. 37:7 “惊动”希伯来文是“使灵进入”。
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