For thus says the Lord God:

“My people went down at first
Into (A)Egypt to [a]dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:4 As resident aliens

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt(A) to live;
    lately, Assyria(B) has oppressed them.

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So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, (A)Jacob and all his descendants with him.

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So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt,(A) taking with them their livestock and the possessions(B) they had acquired(C) in Canaan.

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Those who (A)hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.

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Those who hate me(A) without reason(B)
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,(C)
    those who seek to destroy me.(D)
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

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14 (A)Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and (B)all his relatives to him, [a]seventy-five people. 15 (C)So Jacob went down to Egypt; (D)and he died, he and our fathers.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:14 Or seventy, Ex. 1:5

14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family,(A) seventy-five in all.(B) 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died.(C)

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Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, (A)a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he (B)holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, (C)to [a]destroy him without cause.”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 2:3 Lit. consume

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.(A) And he still maintains his integrity,(B) though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”(C)

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Indeed, let no one who [a]waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 25:3 Waits for You in faith

No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,(A)
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous(B) without cause.

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25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, (A)‘They hated Me without a cause.’

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25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(A) ‘They hated me without reason.’[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4

17 “Israel is like (A)scattered sheep;
(B)The lions have driven him away.
First (C)the king of Assyria devoured him;
Now at last this (D)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”

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17 “Israel is a scattered flock(A)
    that lions(B) have chased away.
The first to devour(C) them
    was the king(D) of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones(E)
    was Nebuchadnezzar(F) king(G) of Babylon.”

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Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord(A)

36 Now (B)it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Then the king of Assyria sent the [a]Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. And (C)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, (D)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.

(E)Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are [b]mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Look! You are trusting in the (F)staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who (G)trust in him.

“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’ Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in [c]Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; (H)and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 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. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the (I)gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered (J)Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

21 But they [d]held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:2 A title, probably Chief of Staff or Governor
  2. Isaiah 36:5 Lit. a word of the lips
  3. Isaiah 36:11 Lit. Judean
  4. Isaiah 36:21 were silent

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) 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) 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.

The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel(M) against me? Look, I know you are depending(N) on Egypt,(O) that splintered reed(P) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. But if you say to me, “We are depending(Q) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,(R) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?(S)

“‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses(T)—if you can put riders on them! How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt(U) for chariots(V) and horsemen[a]?(W) 10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told(X) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

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.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers

25 That I will break the (A)Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then (B)his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.

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25 I will crush the Assyrian(A) in my land;
    on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(B) will be taken from my people,
    and his burden removed from their shoulders.(C)

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