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Isaiah 35-36
New King James Version
Isaiah 35-36
New King James Version
The Future Glory of Zion
35 The (A)wilderness and the [a]wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the (B)desert[b] shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 (C)It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the (D)glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.
3 (E)Strengthen the [c]weak hands,
And make firm the [d]feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with (F)vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and (G)save you.”
5 Then the (H)eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And (I)the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the (J)lame shall leap like a deer,
And the (K)tongue of the dumb sing.
For (L)waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In (M)the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A (N)highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
(O)The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 (P)No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the (Q)ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And (R)sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord(S)
36 Now (T)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. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the [e]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. 3 And (U)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, (V)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.
4 (W)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? 5 I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are [f]mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 Look! You are trusting in the (X)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 (Y)trust in him.
7 “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’?” ’ 8 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! 9 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 [g]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; (Z)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 (AA)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 (AB)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 [h]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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 35:1 desert
- Isaiah 35:1 Heb. arabah
- Isaiah 35:3 Lit. sinking
- Isaiah 35:3 tottering or stumbling
- Isaiah 36:2 A title, probably Chief of Staff or Governor
- Isaiah 36:5 Lit. a word of the lips
- Isaiah 36:11 Lit. Judean
- Isaiah 36:21 were silent
Isaiah 35-36
New International Version
Isaiah 35-36
New International Version
Joy of the Redeemed
35 The desert(A) and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.(B)
Like the crocus,(C) 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.(D)
The glory of Lebanon(E) will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel(F) and Sharon;(G)
they will see the glory(H) of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.(I)
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees(J) that give way;
4 say(K) to those with fearful hearts,(L)
“Be strong, do not fear;(M)
your God will come,(N)
he will come with vengeance;(O)
with divine retribution
he will come to save(P) you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened(Q)
and the ears of the deaf(R) unstopped.
6 Then will the lame(S) leap like a deer,(T)
and the mute tongue(U) shout for joy.(V)
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams(W) in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground(X) bubbling springs.(Y)
In the haunts where jackals(Z) once lay,
grass and reeds(AA) and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway(AB) will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;(AC)
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean(AD) will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion(AE) will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;(AF)
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed(AG) will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued(AH) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(AI)
everlasting joy(AJ) will crown their heads.
Gladness(AK) and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(AL)
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(AM)
36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s(AN) reign, Sennacherib(AO) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(AP) 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish(AQ) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,(AR) 3 Eliakim(AS) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,(AT) Shebna(AU) the secretary,(AV) and Joah(AW) son of Asaph the recorder(AX) went out to him.
4 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? 5 You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel(AY) against me? 6 Look, I know you are depending(AZ) on Egypt,(BA) that splintered reed(BB) 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. 7 But if you say to me, “We are depending(BC) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,(BD) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?(BE)
8 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses(BF)—if you can put riders on them! 9 How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt(BG) for chariots(BH) and horsemen[a]?(BI) 10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told(BJ) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah(BK) said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(BL) 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?(BM)”
13 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,(BN) “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!(BO) 14 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive(BP) 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(BQ) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’(BR)
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(BS) and drink water from your own cistern,(BT) 17 until I come and take you to a land like your own(BU)—a land of grain and new wine,(BV) 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?(BW) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?(BX) Have they rescued Samaria(BY) from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods(BZ) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(CA)
21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”(CB)
22 Then Eliakim(CC) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder(CD) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,(CE) and told him what the field commander had said.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.