Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options Listen to Isaiah 37
Close CSB

Isaiah 37
Christian Standard Bible

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

37 When King Hezekiah heard their report,(A) he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,(B) and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace.(C) It is as if children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.(D) 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God,(E) and will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(F)

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6 who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid(G) because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed me.(H) 7 I am about to put a spirit(I) in him and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(J)

Sennacherib’s Letter

8 When the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,(K) he left and found him fighting against Libnah.(L) 9 The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush,(M) “He has set out to fight against you.” So when he heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely, deceive you(N) by promising that Jerusalem won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations(O) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—Gozan,(P) Haran,(Q) Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of[a] Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.(R) 15 Then Hezekiah prayed(S) to the Lord:

16 Lord of Armies, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(T) you are God(U)—you alone(V)—of all the kingdoms of the earth.(W) You made the heavens and the earth.(X) 17 Listen closely, Lord, and hear;(Y) open your eyes, Lord, and see.(Z) Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.(AA) 18 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods(AB) but made from wood and stone(AC) by human hands.(AD) So they have destroyed them. 20 Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God[b](AE)—you alone.(AF)

God’s Answer through Isaiah

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion(AG)
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head(AH)
behind your back.
23 Who is it you have mocked(AI) and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?(AJ)
Against the Holy One of Israel!(AK)
24 You have mocked the Lord through your servants.
You have said, “With my many chariots(AL)
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its distant heights,
its densest forest.
25 I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands.[c]
I dried up all the streams of Egypt
with the soles of my feet.”(AM)

26 Have you not heard?(AN)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.(AO)
I have now brought it to pass,
and you have crushed fortified cities(AP)
into piles of rubble.
27 Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,
blasted by the east wind.[d]

28 But I know your sitting down,
your going out and your coming in,(AQ)
and your raging against me.
29 Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,(AR)
I will put my hook in your nose(AS)
and my bit in your mouth;(AT)
I will make you go back
the way you came.

30 “‘This will be the sign for you:(AU) This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root(AV) downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For a remnant(AW) will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.’(AX)

33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
come before it with a shield,
or build up a siege ramp against it.
34 He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

35 I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake(AY)
and for the sake of my servant David.”(AZ)

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

36 Then(BA) the angel of the Lord(BB) went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies! 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.(BC)

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.(BD) Then his son Esar-haddon(BE) became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 37:13 Or king of Lair,
  2. 37:20 are God supplied for clarity; see v. 16
  3. 37:25 DSS, 2Kg 19:24; MT omits in foreign lands
  4. 37:27 DSS; MT reads rooftops, field before standing grain
Close LEB

Isaiah 37
Lexham English Bible

Hezekiah Consults Isaiah

37 And this happened: When King Hezekiah heard, he tore his garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the temple[a] of Yahweh. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of[b] the palace,[c] and Shebna the secretary, and the elders of the priests covered[d] with sackcloth to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the cervical opening, and there is no strength to give birth. 4 Maybe Yahweh your God heard the words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt the living God, and he will rebuke the words that Yahweh your God hears. And you must lift up a prayer for the benefit of the remnant that is found.’”

5 When[e] the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “You must say this to your master: ‘Thus says Yahweh: “You must not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Look! I am about to put[f] a spirit in him so that[g] he shall hear a rumor and he shall return to his land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.”’”

8 And Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had left from Lachish. 9 Now[h] he[i] heard concerning Tirhakah the king of Cush, saying, “He has set out to fight against[j] you.”

When[k] he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “You shall say this to Hezekiah, king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust in him deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands to destroy them, and you—shall you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors[l] destroyed deliver them—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or[m] Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and he read[n] it. Then[o] he went up to the temple[p] of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out before the presence[q] of Yahweh. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh, saying, 16 “Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel who is enthroned on[r] the cherubim, you are the one, God by yourself, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you are the one who made the heavens and the earth. 17 Yahweh, extend your ear and hear! Yahweh, open your eyes and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to taunt the living God! 18 Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the lands[s] and their land, 19 to set[t] their gods in the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone, and they destroyed them. 20 So[u] now, Yahweh, our God, save us from his hand so that[v] all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, you alone!”

God’s Answer

21 And Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to me concerning[w] Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him:

She shows contempt for you; she derides you, virgin daughter of Zion;
    she shakes her head behind you, daughter of Jerusalem.
23 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed,
    and against whom have you raised up your voice and lifted your eyes upward?

To the holy one of Israel!

24 By the hand of your servants you have taunted the Lord,
    and you have said, “With my many chariots,[x]
I myself have gone up the height of the mountains,
    to the remote areas of Lebanon.
And I cut off its tall cedars,[y]
    the choicest of its junipers.
And I came to the height of its limit,
    the forest of its orchard.[z]
25 I myself dug and drank waters,
    and I caused all the streams of Egypt to dry up by the sole of my feet.”
26 Have you not heard from a long time ago?[aa] I have made it
    from days of primeval time, and I formed it.
Now I have brought it about,
    and it is for fortified cities to collapse into heaps of destroyed stones.
27 And their inhabitants are weak;[ab]
    they are dismayed, and they are ashamed;
they have become like plants[ac] of the field,
    and like greens of grass,
like grass on[ad] the roofs
    and a cultivated field before[ae] the standing grain.
28 And I know your sitting down and your going out,
    and your coming in, and your raging against[af] me.
29 Because you were enraged against[ag] me,
    and your noise[ah] has come up to[ai] 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.

30 And this shall be the sign for you: the eating of volunteer plants[aj] this[ak] year, and in the second year self-seeded plants,[al] and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 And the remnant of the house of Judah that remain shall grow[am] roots[an] downwards and make fruit upwards.

32 For a remnant shall go out from Jerusalem
    and survivors[ao] from mountain Zion.

The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.’

33 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning[ap] the king of Assyria:

‘He shall not come to this city,
    and he shall not shoot an arrow there,
and he shall not meet it with a shield,
    and he shall not heap a siege ramp up against her.
34 He shall return by the way that he came,
    and he shall not come to this city,’

declares[aq] Yahweh.

35 ‘And I will defend this city, to save it for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.’”

Sennacherib’s Defeat

36 And the angel of Yahweh set out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When[ar] they rose in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses. 37 Then[as] Sennacherib king of Assyria left, went, and returned and lived at Nineveh. 38 And this happened: he was bowing in worship in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword. And they themselves escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son reigned as king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:1 Or “house”
  2. Isaiah 37:2 Literally “over”
  3. Isaiah 37:2 Or “house”
  4. Isaiah 37:2 Literally “covering themselves”
  5. Isaiah 37:5 Or “And”
  6. Isaiah 37:7 Literally “give”
  7. Isaiah 37:7 Or “and”
  8. Isaiah 37:9 Or “And”
  9. Isaiah 37:9 That is, the king
  10. Isaiah 37:9 Or “with”
  11. Isaiah 37:9 Or “And”
  12. Isaiah 37:12 Literally “fathers”
  13. Isaiah 37:13 Or “and”
  14. Isaiah 37:14 Or “called”
  15. Isaiah 37:14 Or “And”
  16. Isaiah 37:14 Or “house”
  17. Isaiah 37:14 Literally “face”
  18. Isaiah 37:16 Literally “sitting”
  19. Isaiah 37:18 The parallel text in 2 Kings has “nations”
  20. Isaiah 37:19 Literally “give”
  21. Isaiah 37:20 Or “And”
  22. Isaiah 37:20 Or “and”
  23. Isaiah 37:21 Literally “to”
  24. Isaiah 37:24 Hebrew “chariot”
  25. Isaiah 37:24 Literally “the height of its cedars”
  26. Isaiah 37:24 Or “Carmel”
  27. Isaiah 37:26 Literally “distant”
  28. Isaiah 37:27 Literally “short of hand”
  29. Isaiah 37:27 Hebrew “plant”
  30. Isaiah 37:27 Or “of”
  31. Isaiah 37:27 Literally “before the face of”
  32. Isaiah 37:28 Literally “to”
  33. Isaiah 37:29 Literally “to”
  34. Isaiah 37:29 Or “complacency”
  35. Isaiah 37:29 Literally “in”
  36. Isaiah 37:30 Hebrew “plant”
  37. Isaiah 37:30 Literally “the”
  38. Isaiah 37:30 Hebrew “plant”
  39. Isaiah 37:31 Literally “add”
  40. Isaiah 37:31 Hebrew “root”
  41. Isaiah 37:32 Hebrew “survivor”
  42. Isaiah 37:33 Or “to”
  43. Isaiah 37:34 Literally “declaration of”
  44. Isaiah 37:36 Or “And”
  45. Isaiah 37:37 Or “And”
Next
Isaiah 36
Isaiah 38
Next
dropdown
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software