God’s Answer through Isaiah

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion(A)
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head(B)
behind your back.
23 Who is it you have mocked(C) and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?(D)
Against the Holy One of Israel!(E)
24 You have mocked the Lord through your servants.
You have said, “With my many chariots(F)
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 and drank water in foreign lands.[a]
I dried up all the streams of Egypt
with the soles of my feet.”(G)

26 Have you not heard?(H)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.(I)
I have now brought it to pass,
and you have crushed fortified cities(J)
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.[b]

28 But I know your sitting down,
your going out and your coming in,(K)
and your raging against me.
29 Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,(L)
I will put my hook in your nose(M)
and my bit in your mouth;(N)
I will make you go back
the way you came.

30 “‘This will be the sign for you:(O) 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(P) downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For a remnant(Q) will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.’(R)

33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
come before it with a shield,
or build up a siege 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.

35 I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake(S)
and for the sake of my servant David.”(T)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 37:25 DSS, 2Kg 19:24; MT omits in foreign lands
  2. 37:27 DSS; MT reads rooftops, field before standing grain

God Answers through Isaiah

21 Then (A)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 (B)virgin (C)daughter of Zion;
The daughter of Jerusalem has (D)shaken her head behind you!
23 Whom have you (E)taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And [a]haughtily (F)raised your eyes?
Against the (G)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 (H)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (I)cedars and its choice junipers.
And I will come to its [b]highest peak, its thickest (J)forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
And (K)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals of [c]Egypt.’
26 (L)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times I (M)planned it.
Now (N)I have brought it about
That (O)you would turn fortified cities into (P)ruined heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants were [d]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame;
They were like the (Q)vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like (R)grass on the housetops [e]that is scorched before it has grown.
28 But I (S)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 (T)complacency has come up to My ears,
I will put My (U)hook in your nose
And My (V)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (W)by the way that you came.

30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [f]you will eat this year what (X)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 (Y)survivors that are (Z)left of the house of Judah will again (AA)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a (AB)remnant will go, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The (AC)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 (AD)assault ramp against it. 34 (AE)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 (AF)protect this city to save it (AG)for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
  2. Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
  3. Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
  4. Isaiah 37:27 Lit short of hand
  5. Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; MT and as a terraced field
  6. Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating