Isaiah 37
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
37 When King Hezekiah heard their report,(A) he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,(B) and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing 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) for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.(D) 4 Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God,(E) and will rebuke him for the words that Yahweh 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 this, ‘The Lord says: Don’t be afraid(G) because of the words you have heard, which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed Me with.(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 Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(K) he returned and found him fighting against Libnah.(L) 9 The king had heard this about Tirhakah king 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 Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust, 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 Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, 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 Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above 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 by human hands(AC)—wood and stone.(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 are the Lord(AE)—You alone.(AF)
God’s Answer through Hezekiah
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king 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.[a]
23 Who is it you have mocked(AI) and blasphemed?
Who have you raised your voice against
and lifted your eyes in pride?(AJ)
Against the Holy One of Israel!(AK)
24 You have mocked the Lord through[b] 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[c] and drank water.
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[e] 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 Hosts will accomplish this.’(AX)
33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow there
or come before it with a shield
or build up an assault 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.
Defeat and Death of Sennacherib
36 Then(BA) the angel of the Lord(BB) went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib king 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
- Isaiah 37:22 Lit behind you
- Isaiah 37:24 Lit by the hand of
- Isaiah 37:25 DSS add in foreign lands
- Isaiah 37:27 DSS; MT reads rooftops, field before standing grain
- Isaiah 37:28 DSS read know your rising up and
Isaiah 37
New Living Translation
Hezekiah Seeks the Lord’s Help
37 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. 4 But perhaps the Lord your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff,[a] sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
5 After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, 6 the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. 7 Listen! I myself will move against him,[b] and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”
8 Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.
9 Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[c] was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message:
10 “This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. 11 You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? 12 Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! 13 What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
14 After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 17 Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.
18 “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. 19 And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.[d]”
Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22 the Lord has spoken this word against him:
“The virgin daughter of Zion
despises you and laughs at you.
The daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head in derision as you flee.
23 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?
Against whom did you raise your voice?
At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?
It was the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your messengers you have defied the Lord.
You have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have conquered the highest mountains—
yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its finest cypress trees.
I have reached its farthest heights
and explored its deepest forests.
25 I have dug wells in many foreign lands[e]
and refreshed myself with their water.
With the sole of my foot,
I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’
26 “But have you not heard?
I decided this long ago.
Long ago I planned it,
and now I am making it happen.
I planned for you to crush fortified cities
into heaps of rubble.
27 That is why their people have so little power
and are so frightened and confused.
They are as weak as grass,
as easily trampled as tender green shoots.
They are like grass sprouting on a housetop,
scorched[f] before it can grow lush and tall.
28 “But I know you well—
where you stay
and when you come and go.
I know the way you have raged against me.
29 And because of your raging against me
and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
I will make you return
by the same road on which you came.”
30 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:
“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,
and next year you will eat what springs up from that.
But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;
you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 And you who are left in Judah,
who have escaped the ravages of the siege,
will put roots down in your own soil
and grow up and flourish.
32 For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,
a group of survivors from Mount Zion.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
33 “And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem.
They will not even shoot an arrow at it.
They will not march outside its gates with their shields
nor build banks of earth against its walls.
34 The king will return to his own country
by the same road on which he came.
He will not enter this city,’
says the Lord.
35 ‘For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,
I will defend this city and protect it.’”
36 That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians[g] woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 37 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.
38 One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.
Footnotes
- 37:4 Or the rabshakeh; also in 37:8.
- 37:7 Hebrew I will put a spirit in him.
- 37:9 Hebrew of Cush.
- 37:20 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 19:19); Masoretic Text reads you alone are the Lord.
- 37:25 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 19:24); Masoretic Text lacks in many foreign lands.
- 37:27 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Kgs 19:26); most Hebrew manuscripts read like a terraced field.
- 37:36 Hebrew When they.
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