Isaiah 37:22-29

Easy-to-Read Version

‘The virgin daughter Zion^[a] does not think you are important.
    She makes fun of you.
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you
    and laughs behind your back.
²³ But who was it that you insulted and made fun of?
    Who was it that you spoke against?
You were speaking against the Holy One of Israel.
    You acted like you were great and he was nothing.
²⁴ You sent your officers to insult the Lord.
    This is what you said:
“I took my many chariots up the high mountains
    deep inside Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars
    and its best fir trees.
I have been on its highest mountain
    and deep inside its forests.
²⁵ I dug wells and drank water from new places.
    I dried up the rivers of Egypt
    and walked where the water was.”

²⁶ ‘How could you say this, Sennacherib?
    Did no one ever tell you that I, the Lord, planned these things long ago?
From ancient times I decided what would happen.
    And now I have made it happen.
I let you tear down strong cities
    and change them into piles of rocks.
²⁷ The people living there had no power.
    They were afraid and confused.
They were about to be cut down
    like grass and plants in the field.
They were like grass growing on the housetops,
    dying before it grows tall.
²⁸ I know all about your battles;
    I know when you rested,
when you went out to war,
    and when you came home.
    I also know when you got upset at me.
²⁹ Yes, you were upset at me.
    I heard your proud insults.
So I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will turn you around
    and lead you back the way you came.’”