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) 2} 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) 3} 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.

⁴ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

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. ² 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) 3} 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. ⁴ 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.”

⁵ When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, ⁶ 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. ⁷ 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.’”

⁸ When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,^(BM) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.^(BN)

⁹ 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:

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

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

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)