Isaiah 37
Legacy Standard Bible
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
37 Now it happened that (A)when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh. 2 Then he sent (B)Eliakim, who was over the household with (C)Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to (D)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a (E)day of distress, reproof, and rejection; for (F)children have come to the point of breaking forth, but there is no strength to give birth. 4 Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to [a](G)reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, lift up a prayer for (H)the remnant that is left.’”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “(I)Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will (J)hear a report and (K)return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (L)Libnah, for he had heard that [b]the king had set out from (M)Lachish. 9 Then he (N)heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of [c](O)Ethiopia, “He has come out to fight against you.” So he heard it and sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of [d]Judah, ‘(P)Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 (Q)Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction. So will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of [e]those nations, which my fathers have brought to ruin, deliver them, even (R)Gozan and (S)Haran and 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, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple
14 Then Hezekiah took the [f]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and [g]spread it out before Yahweh. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh saying, 16 “O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, (T)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the (U)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. (V)You have made heaven and earth. 17 (W)Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and (X)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to [h](Y)reproach the living God. 18 Truly, O Yahweh, the (Z)kings of Assyria have laid waste to all the countries and their lands 19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the (AA)work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have (AB)destroyed them. 20 But now, O Yahweh our God, (AC)save us from his hand that (AD)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that [i]You are Yahweh, You alone.”
Yahweh’s Answer Through Isaiah
21 Then (AE)Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that Yahweh has spoken against him:
“She has despised you and mocked you,
The (AF)virgin (AG)daughter of Zion;
She has (AH)shaken her head behind you,
The daughter of Jerusalem!
23 Whom have you [j](AI)reproached and blasphemed?
And against whom have you heightened your voice
And [k]haughtily (AJ)lifted up your eyes?
Against the (AK)Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have [l]reproached the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of (AL)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (AM)cedars and its choice cypresses.
And I will go to its [m]highest peak, its thickest (AN)forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
And (AO)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the rivers of [n]Egypt.’
26 (AP)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it;
From days of old I (AQ)formed it.
Now (AR)I have brought it to pass,
That (AS)you should devastate fortified cities into (AT)ruinous heaps.
27 So their inhabitants were short of power;
They were dismayed and put to shame;
They were as the (AU)plant of the field and as the green herb,
As (AV)grass on the rooftops [o]is scorched before it rises.
28 But I (AW)know your sitting down
And your going out and your coming in
And your raging against Me.
29 Because of your raging against Me
And because your [p](AX)presumptuousness has come up to My ears,
Therefore I will put My (AY)hook in your nose
And My (AZ)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (BA)by the way which you came.
30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [q]you will eat this year what (BB)grows of its own accord, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 And the (BC)surviving (BD)remnant of the house of Judah will again (BE)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a (BF)remnant and out of Mount Zion [r]survivors. The (BG)zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.”’
33 “Therefore, thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a (BH)siege ramp against it. 34 (BI)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares Yahweh. 35 ‘Indeed I will (BJ)defend this city to save it (BK)for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”
The Defeat and Death of Sennacherib
36 Then the (BL)angel of Yahweh went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And [s]the men arose early in the morning, and behold, all of them were dead bodies. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria set out and [t]returned home and lived at (BM)Nineveh. 38 Now it happened that as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of (BN)Ararat. And (BO)Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:4 Or defy, cf. 1 Sam 17:26
- Isaiah 37:8 Lit he
- Isaiah 37:9 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Isaiah 37:10 Lit Judah, saying
- Isaiah 37:12 Lit the
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit letters
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
- Isaiah 37:17 Or defy
- Isaiah 37:20 DSS and 2 Kin 19:19 You alone, O Yahweh, are God
- Isaiah 37:23 Or defied
- Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
- Isaiah 37:24 Or defied
- Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
- Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
- Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; M.T. as a plowed field
- Isaiah 37:29 Lit complacency
- Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating
- Isaiah 37:32 Lit those who escape
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit they
- Isaiah 37:37 Lit went and returned
Isaiah 37
New American Standard Bible
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
37 Now (A)when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent (B)Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with (C)Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to (D)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a (E)day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for (F)children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to [a]deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to (G)taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (H)the remnant that is left.’”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says: “(I)Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that he will (J)hear news and (K)return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (L)Libnah, for he had heard that [b]the king had left (M)Lachish. 9 Now he (N)heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of [c](O)Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of [d]Judah: ‘(P)Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 (Q)Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: (R)Gozan, (S)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, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple
14 Then Hezekiah took the [e]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [f]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, 16 “Lord of armies, God of Israel, (T)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the (U)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. (V)You made heaven and earth. 17 (W)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and (X)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to (Y)taunt the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the (Z)kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the (AA)work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have (AB)destroyed them. 20 But now Lord, our God, (AC)save us from his hand, so that (AD)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, [g]Lord, are God.”
God Answers through Isaiah
21 Then (AE)Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
“She has shown contempt for you and derided you,
The (AF)virgin (AG)daughter of Zion;
The daughter of Jerusalem has (AH)shaken her head behind you!
23 Whom have you (AI)taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And [h]haughtily (AJ)raised your eyes?
Against the (AK)Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of (AL)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (AM)cedars and its choice junipers.
And I will come to its [i]highest peak, its thickest (AN)forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
And (AO)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals of [j]Egypt.’
26 (AP)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times I (AQ)planned it.
Now (AR)I have brought it about
That (AS)you would turn fortified cities into (AT)ruined heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants were [k]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame;
They were like the (AU)vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like (AV)grass on the housetops [l]that is scorched before it has grown.
28 But I (AW)know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
29 Because of your raging against Me
And because your (AX)complacency has come up to My ears,
I will put My (AY)hook in your nose
And My (AZ)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (BA)by the way that you came.
30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [m]you will eat this year what (BB)grows of itself, in the second year what grows from the same, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 The (BC)survivors that are (BD)left of the house of Judah will again (BE)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a (BF)remnant will go, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The (BG)zeal of the Lord of armies will perform this.”’
33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an (BH)assault ramp against it. 34 (BI)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will (BJ)protect this city to save it (BK)for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’”
Assyrians Destroyed
36 Then the (BL)angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of [n]the 185,000 were [o]dead. 37 So Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and [p]returned home and lived in (BM)Nineveh. 38 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of (BN)Ararat. And his son (BO)Esarhaddon became king in his place.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:3 Lit give birth
- Isaiah 37:8 Lit he
- Isaiah 37:9 Or Ethiopia
- Isaiah 37:10 Lit Judah, saying
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit letters
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
- Isaiah 37:20 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:19; MT are the Lord
- Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
- Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
- Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
- Isaiah 37:27 Lit short of hand
- Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; MT and as a terraced field
- Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit them
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit dead bodies
- Isaiah 37:37 Lit went and returned
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
