2 Kings 18:9-19:37
Christian Standard Bible
Review of Israel’s Fall
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and besieged it.(A) 10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes,(B) 12 because they did not listen to the Lord their God but violated his covenant—all he had commanded Moses the servant of the Lord. They did not listen, and they did not obey.(C)
Sennacherib’s Invasion
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Assyria’s King Sennacherib attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(D) 14 So King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish:(E) “I have done wrong;(F) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded eleven tons[a] of silver and one ton[b] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.
16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.(G)
17 Then the king of Assyria sent the field marshal,(H) the chief of staff, and his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.(I) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and[c] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field.(J) 18 They called for the king, but Eliakim(K) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah(L) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.(M)
The Royal Spokesman’s Speech
19 Then(N) the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[d](O) 20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?(P) 21 Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(Q) that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it.(R) This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. 22 Suppose you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,(S) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem”?’
23 “So now, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! 24 How then can you drive back a single officer(T) among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Now, have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?(U) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the royal spokesman, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(V) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew[e] within earshot of the people on the wall.”
27 But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?” (W)
28 The royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive(X) you; he can’t rescue you from my power.(Y) 30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord by saying, “Certainly the Lord will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”’(Z)
31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[f] with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(AA) and each may drink water from his own cistern 32 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, a land of olive trees and honey(AB)—so that you may live(AC) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will rescue us.” 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued(AD) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[g] Have they rescued Samaria from my power?(AE) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” (AF)
36 But the people kept silent; they did not answer him at all, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,(AG) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(AH) and reported to him the words of the royal spokesman.
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,(AI) and went into the Lord’s temple.(AJ) 2 He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(AK) and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth,(AL) to the prophet Isaiah(AM) son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,(AN) but there is no strength to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God(AO) will hear(AP) all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke(AQ) him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(AR)
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6 who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid(AS) because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants(AT) have blasphemed(AU) me. 7 I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land,(AV) where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(AW)
Sennacherib’s Departing Threat
8 When(AX) the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,(AY) he left and found him fighting against Libnah.(AZ) 9 The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely,(BA) deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.(BB) 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(BC) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan,(BD) Haran,(BE) Rezeph, and the Edenites(BF) in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of[h] Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’” (BG)
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah took(BH) the letter(BI) from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.(BJ) 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:
Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(BK) you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.(BL) 16 Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see.(BM) Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.(BN) 17 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.(BO) 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone.(BP) So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone.(BQ)
God’s Answer through Isaiah
20 Then(BR) Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer(BS) to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’(BT) 21 This is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
Virgin Daughter Zion(BU)
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head behind your back.(BV)
22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?(BW)
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!(BX)
23 You have mocked the Lord[i] through[j] your messengers.(BY)
You have said, ‘With my many chariots(BZ)
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 farthest outpost,
its densest forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank water in foreign lands.
I dried up all the streams of Egypt(CA)
with the soles of my feet.’
25 Have you not heard?(CB)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,(CC)
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
26 Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,(CD)
blasted by the east wind.[k]
27 But I know your sitting down,(CE)
your going out and your coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose(CF)
and my bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.
29 “This will be the sign(CG) for you: 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. 30 The surviving remnant(CH) of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion.(CI) The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.(CJ)
32 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
come before it with a shield,
or build up a siege ramp against it.(CK)
33 He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
34 I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”(CL)
Defeat and Death of Sennacherib
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(CM) 36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.(CN)
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech(CO) and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.(CP) Then his son Esar-haddon(CQ) became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 18:14 Lit 300 talents
- 18:14 Lit 30 talents
- 18:17 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and came and
- 18:19 Lit ‘What is this trust which you trust
- 18:26 Lit Judahite, also in v. 28
- 18:31 Lit a blessing
- 18:34 Some LXX mss, Old Lat read Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria?
- 19:13 Or king of Lair,
- 19:23 Many mss read Lord
- 19:23 Lit by the hand of
- 19:26 DSS; MT reads blasted before standing grain; Is 37:27
Psalm 46
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.(A)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(B)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(C)
3 though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(D)Selah
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(E)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(F)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when he lifts his voice.(G)
7 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(H)Selah
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(I)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
he sets wagons ablaze.(J)
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(K)
11 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(L)Selah
Psalm 80
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 80
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”(A) A testimony of Asaph.(B) A psalm.
1 Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;(C)
you who sit enthroned between the cherubim,(D)
shine(E) 2 on Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasseh.(F)
Rally your power and come to save us.(G)
3 Restore us, God;
make your face shine on us,(H)
so that we may be saved.(I)
4 Lord God of Armies,
how long will you be angry
with your people’s prayers?(J)
5 You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure[a]
of tears to drink.(K)
6 You put us at odds with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.(L)
7 Restore us, God of Armies;
make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.(M)
8 You dug up a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.(N)
9 You cleared a place for it;
it took root and filled the land.(O)
10 The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars[b] with its branches.(P)
11 It sent out sprouts toward the Sea[c]
and shoots toward the River.[d](Q)
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?(R)
13 Boars from the forest tear at it
and creatures of the field feed on it.(S)
14 Return, God of Armies.(T)
Look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
15 the root[e] your right hand planted,
the son[f] that you made strong for yourself.(U)
16 It was cut down and burned;
they[g] perish at the rebuke of your countenance.(V)
17 Let your hand be with the man at your right hand,
with the son of man
you have made strong for yourself.(W)
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.(X)
19 Restore us, Lord, God of Armies;(Y)
make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.(Z)
Psalm 135
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 135
The Lord Is Great
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Give praise, you servants of the Lord(A)
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.(B)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for it is delightful.(C)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(D)
5 For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.(E)
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(F)
7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(G)
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both people and animals.(H)
9 He sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his officials.(I)
10 He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:(J)
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.(K)
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.(L)
13 Lord, your name endures forever,
your reputation, Lord,
through all generations.(M)
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.(N)
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