Hezekiah’s Prayer(A)

14 Hezekiah received the letter(B) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple(C) of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed(D) to the Lord: 16 Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned(E) between the cherubim,(F) you alone are God(G) over all the kingdoms(H) of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.(I) 17 Give ear, Lord, and hear;(J) open your eyes, Lord, and see;(K) listen to all the words Sennacherib(L) has sent to ridicule(M) the living God.(N)

18 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.(O) 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire(P) and destroyed them,(Q) for they were not gods(R) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(S) 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver(T) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth(U) may know that you, Lord, are the only God.[a](V)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:20 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:19); Masoretic Text you alone are the Lord

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and he read[a] it. Then[b] he went up to the temple[c] of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out before the presence[d] of Yahweh. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh, saying, 16 “Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel who is enthroned on[e] 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[f] and their land, 19 to set[g] 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[h] now, Yahweh, our God, save us from his hand so that[i] all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, you alone!”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:14 Or “called”
  2. Isaiah 37:14 Or “And”
  3. Isaiah 37:14 Or “house”
  4. Isaiah 37:14 Literally “face”
  5. Isaiah 37:16 Literally “sitting”
  6. Isaiah 37:18 The parallel text in 2 Kings has “nations”
  7. Isaiah 37:19 Literally “give”
  8. Isaiah 37:20 Or “And”
  9. Isaiah 37:20 Or “and”