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Yahweh’s Answer Through Isaiah

21 Then (A)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 (B)virgin (C)daughter of Zion;
She has (D)shaken her head behind you,
The daughter of Jerusalem!
23 Whom have you [a](E)reproached and blasphemed?
And against whom have you heightened your voice
And [b]haughtily (F)lifted up your eyes?
Against the (G)Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have [c]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 (H)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (I)cedars and its choice cypresses.
And I will go to its [d]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 rivers of [e]Egypt.’
26 (L)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it;
From days of old I (M)formed it.
Now (N)I have brought it to pass,
That (O)you should devastate fortified cities into (P)ruinous heaps.
27 So their inhabitants were short of power;
They were dismayed and put to shame;
They were as the (Q)plant of the field and as the green herb,
As (R)grass on the rooftops [f]is scorched before it rises.
28 But I (S)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 [g](T)presumptuousness has come up to My ears,
Therefore 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 which you came.

30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [h]you will eat this year what (X)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 (Y)surviving (Z)remnant of the house of Judah will again (AA)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a (AB)remnant and out of Mount Zion [i]survivors. The (AC)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 (AD)siege 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 Yahweh. 35 ‘Indeed I will (AF)defend this city to save it (AG)for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:23 Or defied
  2. Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
  3. Isaiah 37:24 Or defied
  4. Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
  5. Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
  6. Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; M.T. as a plowed field
  7. Isaiah 37:29 Lit complacency
  8. Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating
  9. Isaiah 37:32 Lit those who escape

Sennacherib’s Fall(A)

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz(B) sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

“Virgin Daughter(C) Zion(D)
    despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(E) as you flee.
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(F)
    Against whom have you raised your voice(G)
and lifted your eyes in pride?(H)
    Against the Holy One(I) of Israel!
24 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots(J)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights(K) of Lebanon.(L)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.(M)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands[a]
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up(N) all the streams of Egypt.(O)

26 “Have you not heard?
    Long ago I ordained(P) it.
In days of old I planned(Q) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(R)
27 Their people, drained of power,
    are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,
like grass(S) sprouting on the roof,(T)
    scorched[b] before it grows up.

28 “But I know where you are
    and when you come and go(U)
    and how you rage(V) against me.
29 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence(W) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(X) in your nose(Y)
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
    by the way you came.(Z)

30 “This will be the sign(AA) for you, Hezekiah:

“This year(AB) you will eat what grows by itself,
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year(AC) sow and reap,
    plant vineyards(AD) and eat their fruit.(AE)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root(AF) below and bear fruit(AG) above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(AH)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(AI)
The zeal(AJ) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

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

“He will not enter this city(AK)
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp(AL) against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;(AM)
    he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend(AN) this city and save it,
    for my sake(AO) and for the sake of David(AP) my servant!”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
  2. Isaiah 37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields