Isaiah Assures Deliverance^(A)

37 And ^(B)so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. ² Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of ^(C)trouble and rebuke and ^[a]blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. ⁴ It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to ^(D)reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for 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 the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. ⁷ Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”

Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer^(E)

⁸ Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. ⁹ And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall 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 by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? ¹² Have the ^(F)gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of ^(G)Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”

¹⁴ And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. ¹⁵ Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁶ “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You ^(H)alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ^17 (I)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and ^(J)hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. ¹⁸ Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their ^(K)lands, ¹⁹ and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were ^(L)not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. ²⁰ Now therefore, O Lord our God, ^(M)save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may ^(N)know that You are the Lord, You alone.”

The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib^(O)

²¹ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, ²² this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him:

³⁰ “This shall be a sign to you:

³³ “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death^(V)

³⁶ Then the ^(W)angel^[c] of the Lord went out, and ^[d]killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. ³⁷ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. ³⁸ Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then ^(X)Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.