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)