37 When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes in grief, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into Yahweh’s temple. ² Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and the leaders of the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz.

³ They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it. ⁴ Yahweh your Elohim may have heard the words of the field commander. His master, the king of Assyria, sent him to defy Elohim Chay. Yahweh your Elohim may punish him because of the message that Yahweh your Elohim heard. Pray for the few people who are left.”

⁵ So King Hezekiah’s men went to Isaiah. ⁶ Isaiah answered them, “Say this to your master, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Don’t be afraid of the message that you heard when the Assyrian king’s assistants slandered me. ⁷ I’m going to put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own country. I’ll have him assassinated in his own country.’”

⁸ The field commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah. He had heard that the king left Lachish. ⁹ Now, Sennacherib heard that King Tirhakah of Sudan was coming to fight him.

When he heard this, he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah, ‘Don’t let the god whom you trust deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be put under the control of the king of Assyria. ¹¹ You heard what the kings of Assyria did to all countries, how they totally destroyed them. Will you be rescued? ¹² Did the gods of the nations which my ancestors destroyed rescue Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

¹⁴ Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, and went to Yahweh’s temple. He spread it out in front of Yahweh ¹⁵ and prayed to Yahweh, ¹⁶ “Yahweh Tsebaoth, Elohim of Israel, you are enthroned over the angels.^[a] You alone are Elohim of the kingdoms of the world. You made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Turn your ear toward me, Yahweh, and listen. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see. Listen to the entire message that Sennacherib sent to defy Elohim Chay. ¹⁸ It is true, Yahweh, that the kings of Assyria have leveled every country.^{[b] 19} They have thrown the gods from these countries into fires because these gods aren’t real gods. They’re only wooden and stone statues made by human hands. So the Assyrians have destroyed them. ²⁰ Now, Yahweh our Elohim, rescue us from Assyria’s control so that all the kingdoms on earth will know that you alone are Yahweh.”

Isaiah’s Prophecy against King Sennacherib of Assyria^(A)

²¹ Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent a message to Hezekiah, “This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says: You prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. ²² This is the message that Yahweh speaks to him,

³⁰ “‘And this will be a sign for you, Hezekiah: You will eat what grows by itself this year, and the next year you will eat what comes up by itself. But in the third year you will plant and harvest, plant vineyards, and eat what is produced. ³¹ Those few people from the nation of Judah who escape will again take root and produce crops. ³² Those few people will go out from Jerusalem, and those who escape will go out from Mount Zion. Yahweh Tsebaoth is determined to do this.’

³³ “This is what Yahweh says about the king of Assyria:

³⁶ Yahweh’s angel went out and killed 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp. When the Judeans got up early in the morning, they saw all the corpses.

³⁷ Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left. He went home to Nineveh and stayed there. ³⁸ While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, assassinated him and escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king.

Hezekiah’s Illness^(B)

38 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was about to die. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came to him and said, “This is what Yahweh says: Give final instructions to your household, because you’re about to die. You won’t get well.”

² Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed to Yahweh. ³ “Please, Yahweh, remember how I’ve lived faithfully and sincerely in your presence. I’ve done what you consider right.” And he cried bitterly.

⁴ Then Yahweh spoke his word to Isaiah, ⁵ “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what Yahweh Elohim of your ancestor David says: I’ve heard your prayer. I’ve seen your tears. I’m going to give you 15 more years to live. ⁶ I’ll rescue you and defend this city from the control of the king of Assyria.’”

^21 [c] Then Isaiah said, “Take a fig cake, and place it over the boil so that the king will get well.”

²² Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign that I’ll go to Yahweh’s temple?”

⁷ Isaiah said, “This is your sign from Yahweh that he will do what he promises. ⁸ The sun made a shadow that went down the stairway of Ahaz’s upper palace. I’m going to make the shadow go back ten steps.” So the sun on the stairway went back up the ten steps it had gone down.

⁹ King Hezekiah of Judah wrote this after he was sick and became well again:

Live as God’s People

3 Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above—where Christ holds the highest position. ² Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. ³ You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). ⁶ It is because of these sins that God’s anger comes on those who refuse to obey him.^{[a] 7} You used to live that kind of sinful life. ⁸ Also get rid of your anger, hot tempers, hatred, cursing, obscene language, and all similar sins. ⁹ Don’t lie to each other. You’ve gotten rid of the person you used to be and the life you used to live, ¹⁰ and you’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. ¹¹ Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave, or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.

¹² As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. ¹³ Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ Above all, be loving. This ties everything together perfectly. ¹⁵ Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful. ¹⁶ Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about God’s kindness.^[b] Sing to God in your hearts. ¹⁷ Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Advice for Wives and Husbands, Parents and Children, Slaves and Masters

¹⁸ Wives, place yourselves under your husbands’ authority.^[c] This is appropriate behavior for the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives, and don’t be harsh with them.

²⁰ Children, always obey your parents. This is pleasing to the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, don’t make your children resentful, or they will become discouraged.

²² Slaves, always obey your earthly masters. Don’t obey them only while you’re being watched, as if you merely wanted to please people. Be sincere in your motives out of respect for your real master. ²³ Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans. ²⁴ You know that your real master will give you an inheritance as your reward. It is Christ, your real master, whom you are serving. ²⁵ The person who does wrong will be paid back for the wrong he has done. God does not play favorites.