2 Kings 19:20-34

New Century Version

‘The people of Jerusalem
    hate you and make fun of you.
The people of Jerusalem
    laugh at you as you run away.
²² You have insulted me and spoken against me;
    you have raised your voice against me.
You have a proud look on your face,
    which is against me, the Holy One of Israel.
²³ You have sent your messengers to insult the Lord.
    You have said, “With my many chariots
I have gone to the tops of the mountains,
    to the highest mountains of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
    and its best pine trees.
I have gone to its farthest places
    and to its best forests.
²⁴ I have dug wells in foreign countries
    and drunk water there.
By the soles of my feet,
    I have dried up all the rivers of Egypt.”

²⁵ “‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard.
    Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things.
Long ago I designed them,
    and now I have made them happen.
I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities
    into piles of rocks.
²⁶ The people in those cities were weak;
    they were frightened and put to shame.
They were like grass in the field,
    like tender, young grass,
like grass on the housetop
    that is burned by the wind before it can grow.

²⁷ “‘I know when you rest,
    when you come and go,
    and how you rage against me.
²⁸ Because you rage against me,
    and because I have heard your proud words,
I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will force you to leave my country
    the same way you came.’

This year you will eat the grain that grows wild,
    and the second year you will eat what grows wild from that.
But in the third year, plant grain and harvest it.
    Plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
³⁰ Some of the people in the family of Judah
    will escape.
Like plants that take root,
    they will grow strong and have many children.
³¹ A few people will come out of Jerusalem alive;
    a few from Mount Zion will live.
The strong love of the Lord All-Powerful
    will make this happen.’

‘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.
³³ He will return to his country the same way he came,
    and he will not enter this city,’
    says the Lord.
³⁴ ‘I will defend and save this city
    for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.’”