Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,(A) and went into the Lord’s temple.(B) He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(C) and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth,(D) to the prophet Isaiah(E) son of Amoz. They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,(F) but there is no strength to deliver them. Perhaps the Lord your God(G) will hear(H) all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke(I) him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(J)

So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid(K) because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants(L) have blasphemed(M) me. I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land,(N) where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(O)

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

When(P) the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,(Q) he left and found him fighting against Libnah.(R) The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely,(S) deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.(T) 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations(U) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan,(V) Haran,(W) Rezeph, and the Edenites(X) in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of[a] Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’” (Y)

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Footnotes

  1. 19:13 Or king of Lair,

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[a] clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[b] and humiliation,[c] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[d] Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.[e] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[f] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[g]

When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard, because the Assyrian king’s officers have insulted me. Look, I will take control of his mind;[h] he will receive[i] a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[j] with a sword in his own land.”’”

When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.[k] The king[l] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him.[m] He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over[n] to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[o] Do you really think you will be rescued?[p] 12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?[q] 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair,[r] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 19:2 tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
  2. 2 Kings 19:3 tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
  3. 2 Kings 19:3 tn Or “contempt.”
  4. 2 Kings 19:3 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
  5. 2 Kings 19:4 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
  6. 2 Kings 19:4 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
  7. 2 Kings 19:4 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
  8. 2 Kings 19:7 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
  9. 2 Kings 19:7 tn Heb “hear.”
  10. 2 Kings 19:7 tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
  11. 2 Kings 19:8 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
  12. 2 Kings 19:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. 2 Kings 19:9 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
  14. 2 Kings 19:10 tn Heb “will not be given in the hand.”
  15. 2 Kings 19:11 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
  16. 2 Kings 19:11 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
  17. 2 Kings 19:12 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
  18. 2 Kings 19:13 sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.