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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.

Jerusalem Will Be Saved(A)

19 When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes [C a sign of mourning or distress] and put on ·rough cloth [sackcloth; burlap; C also a sign of mourning]. Then he went into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Hezekiah sent Eliakim, the ·palace [L king’s house] manager, and Shebna, the royal secretary, and the ·older [or elders of the] priests to Isaiah. They were all wearing ·rough cloth [sackcloth; burlap] when they came to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. They told Isaiah, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of ·sorrow [distress; trouble] and ·punishment [insults, rebuke] and ·disgrace [rejection], as when a child ·should [is ready to] be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it. The king of Assyria sent his field commander to ·make fun of [defy; ridicule; insult] the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear what the commander said and will ·punish [rebuke] him for it. So pray for the ·few of us who are left alive [remnant that is left].”

When Hezekiah’s ·officers [officials] came to Isaiah, he said to them, “Tell your ·master [lord] this: ·The Lord says [T Thus says the Lord], ‘Don’t be afraid of what you have heard. Don’t be frightened by the words the servants of the king of Assyria have ·spoken [used to blaspheme] against me. Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a ·report [rumor; message] that will make him return to his own country, and I will cause him to ·die [L fall] by the sword there.’”

The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. When he went back, he found the king fighting against the city of Libnah.

The king received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of ·Egypt [L Cush; C present-day Ethiopia], was coming to attack him. When the king of Assyria heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Tell Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t be ·fooled [deceived; deluded] by the god you trust. Don’t believe him when he says Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 You ·have heard [know] what the kings of Assyria have done. They have completely defeated every country, so do ·not [L you…?] think you will be ·saved [rescued; T delivered]. 12 Did the gods of those ·people [nations] ·save [rescue; T deliver] them? My ·ancestors [fathers] destroyed them, defeating the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. 13 Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”

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