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God Answers Hezekiah

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah that said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is ·what [L the word] the Lord has said against Sennacherib:

‘The ·people of Jerusalem [L virgin daughter of Zion]
    ·hate you [despises] and ·make fun of [mocks; scorns] you.
The ·people [L daughter] of Jerusalem
    ·laugh at you [L tosses her head] ·as you run away [as you flee; or behind your back].
22 ·You have insulted me and spoken against me [Whom have you defied/ridiculed/mocked?];
    ·you have raised your voice against me [Against whom have you raised your voice…].
·You have a proud look on your face [and arrogantly lifted your eyes/gaze?]!
    Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 You have sent your messengers to ·insult [defy; ridicule; mock] the Lord.
    You have said, “With my many chariots
I have gone to the tops of the mountains,
    to the ·highest [or remotest] mountains of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
    and its best ·pine [cypress] trees.
I have gone to its farthest places
    and to its ·best [densest] forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign ·countries [lands]
    and drunk water there.
By the soles of my feet,
    I have ·dried [stopped] up all the rivers of Egypt.”

25 “‘King of Assyria, ·surely you have [L have you not…?] heard.
    Long ago I, the Lord, ·planned [determined; ordained] these things.
·Long ago [In ancient times/days of old] I ·designed them [planned it],
    and now I have ·made them happen [brought them to pass].
I allowed you to turn those ·strong, walled [fortified] cities
    into piles of ·rocks [rubble; ruins].
26 The people in those cities were ·weak [powerless; drained of strength];
    they were ·frightened [dismayed] and ·put to shame [confused; confounded].
They were like grass in the field,
    like tender, young ·grass [shoots],
like grass on the housetop
    that is ·burned [scorched] by the wind before it can grow.

27 “‘I know ·when you rest [when you stand or sit; or where you are],
    when you come and go,
    and how you ·rage [rave] against me.
28 Because you ·rage [rave] against me,
    and because I have heard your ·proud [arrogant] words,
I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will ·force you to leave my country [turn you back; make you retreat]
    the ·same way [road] you came.’

29 “Then the Lord said, ‘Hezekiah, I will give you this sign:

This year you will eat the grain that grows ·wild [L of itself],
    and the second year you will eat what ·grows [springs] from that.
But in the third year, ·plant grain [sow] and ·harvest it [reap].
    Plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 ·Some of the people in [A remnant of] the ·family [L house] of Judah
    will ·escape [survive].
·Like plants that take root [They will put down roots below],
    ·they will grow strong and have many children [and will bear fruit above].
31 A ·few people will come out of Jerusalem alive [remnant will spread out from Jerusalem];
    ·a few from Mount Zion will live [and survivors out from Mount Zion].
The ·strong love [zeal] of the Lord All-Powerful
    will ·make this happen [accomplish this].’

32 “So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

‘He will not enter this city
    or even shoot an arrow here.
He will not fight against it with shields
    or build a ramp to ·attack the city walls [lay siege to it].
33 He will ·return to his country [retreat] the same ·way [road] he came,
    and he will not enter this city,’
    says the Lord.
34 ‘I will defend and ·save [rescue; T deliver] this city
    for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.’”

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God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have heard your prayer to Me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria.’(A) 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

‘The virgin daughter of Zion
Has despised you and mocked you;
The daughter of Jerusalem
Has shaken her head behind you!
22 
‘Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice,
And haughtily lifted up your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 
‘Through your messengers you have taunted and defied the Lord,
And have said [boastfully], “With my many chariots
I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
I cut down its tall cedar trees and its choicest cypress trees.
I entered its most distant lodging, its densest forest.
24 
“I dug wells and drank foreign waters,
And with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the rivers of [the Lower Nile of] Egypt.”

25 
‘Have you not heard [asks the God of Israel]?
Long ago I did it;
From ancient times I planned it.
Now I have brought it to pass,
That you [king of Assyria] should [be My instrument to] turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
26 
‘Therefore their inhabitants were powerless,
They were shattered [in spirit] and put to shame;
They were like plants of the field, the green herb,
As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.
27 
‘But I [the Lord] know your sitting down [O Sennacherib],
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
28 
‘Because of your raging against Me,
And because your arrogance and complacency have come up to My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose,
And My bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back [to Assyria] by the way that you came.

29 ‘Then this shall be the sign [of these things] to you [Hezekiah]: this year you will eat what grows of itself, in the second year what springs up voluntarily, and in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 The survivors who remain of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and [a band of] survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

32 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: “He will not come to this city [Jerusalem] nor shoot an arrow there; nor will he come before it with a shield nor throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same way he will return, and he will not come into this city,”’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘For I will protect this city to save it, for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”

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