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Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall(A)

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: That which you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

She despises you, she ridicules you—
    virgin daughter of Zion.
Behind you, she shakes her head—
    daughter of Jerusalem.
22 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
    And against whom have you raised a voice
and lifted your eyes upward?
    Against the Holy One of Israel.
23 By your messengers
    you have taunted the Lord,
and have said,
    ‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the height of the mountains,
    to farthest reaches of Lebanon,
and I will cut down its tallest cedars,
    its choicest junipers.
I will enter its most remote canopies of night,
    its dense forest.
24 I have dug wells
    and drunk foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
    all the streams of Egypt.’

25 “Have you not heard?
    Long ago I arranged it,
in ancient times I formed it;
    now I bring it to pass,
that you will turn impregnable cities
    into desolate heaps of stones.
26 Their inhabitants are powerless;
    they are terrified and ashamed.
They are like grass of the field
    and new vegetation,
grass on the roof tops,
    scorched before it stands.

27 “But I know your dwelling place,
    your going out and your coming in,
    and your raging against Me.
28 Because you have raged against Me,
    and your self-assuredness has come up to My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
    and My bridle on your lips,
and I will turn you back
    on the way by which you came.

29 “This will be the sign to you:

This year you will eat what grows itself,
    and in the second year the same.
Then in the third year sow, reap,
    and plant vineyards, and eat their fruits.
30 The spared of the house of Judah who remain
    will again take root below, and bear fruit above.
31 For from Jerusalem a remnant will go forth,
    and escapees from Mount Zion.

“The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this.

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:

He will not enter this city,
    shoot an arrow there,
approach it with shield,
    or heap up a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came, he will return;
    he will not enter this city,
    declares the Lord.
34 For I will protect this city to save it,
    for My own sake and for the sake of David My servant.”

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20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard thee. 21 This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head [a]at thee. 22 Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. 23 By thy messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hast said, With the [b]multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice [c]fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitful field. 24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of [d]Egypt.

25 Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps. 26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blasted before it is grown up. 27 But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me. 28 Because of thy raging against me, and because [e]thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

29 And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 30 And [f]the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of [g]Jehovah shall perform this. 32 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith Jehovah. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 19:21 Hebrew after.
  2. 2 Kings 19:23 According to another reading, driving.
  3. 2 Kings 19:23 Or, cypress
  4. 2 Kings 19:24 Or, defence. Hebrew Mazor.
  5. 2 Kings 19:28 Or, thy careless ease
  6. 2 Kings 19:30 Hebrew the escaped of the house of Judah that remain.
  7. 2 Kings 19:31 According to another reading, Jehovah of hosts: and so in Isa. 37:32