2 Kings 19:20-34
English Standard Version
Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib's Fall
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria (A)I have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:
“She despises you, she scorns you—
(B)the virgin daughter of Zion;
she (C)wags her head behind you—
the daughter of Jerusalem.
22 “Whom have you (D)mocked and (E)reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against (F)the Holy One of Israel!
23 (G)By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, (H)‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of (I)Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest lodging place,
its most (J)fruitful forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams (K)of Egypt.’
25 “Have you not heard
that (L)I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what (M)now I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
into heaps of ruins,
26 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become (N)like plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted before it is grown.
27 “But I know your sitting down
(O)and your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come into my ears,
I will (P)put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and (Q)I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.
29 “And this shall be (R)the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 (S)And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion (T)a band of survivors. (U)The zeal of the Lord will do this.
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or (V)cast up a siege mound against it. 33 (W)By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 (X)For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake (Y)and for the sake of my servant David.”
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2 Kings 19:20-34
International Standard Version
God’s Answer through Isaiah the Prophet
20 Then Amoz’s son Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, I have listened.’”
21 “This is what the Lord has spoken against him:
‘She despises and mocks you,
this virgin daughter of Zion!
Behind your back she shakes her head,
this daughter of Jerusalem!
22 Who are you reproaching and blaspheming?
Against whom have you raised your voice?
And against whom[a] have you lifted up your eyes in arrogance?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers you have insulted the Lord.
You have claimed,
“With my many chariots
I ascended the heights of the mountains,
including the remotest regions of Lebanon;
I cut down its tall cedars
and the best of its cypress trees.
I entered its most remote lodging place
and its most fruitful[b] forest.
24 I myself dug for and drank foreign water.
With the sole of my foot I dried up all the streams of Egypt!”
25 ‘Didn’t you hear?
I determined it years ago!
I planned this from ancient times,
and now I’ve brought it to pass,
to turn fortified cities
into piles of ruins
26 while their inhabitants, lacking strength,
stand dismayed and confused.
They were like vegetation out in the fields,
and like green herbs—
just as grass that grows on a housetop
dries out before it can grow.
27 ‘But when you sit down,
when you go out,
and when you come in,
I’m aware of it!
28 Because of your rage against me,
your complacency has reached my ears.
I’ll put my hook into your nostrils
and my bit into your mouth.
Then I’ll turn you back on the road
by which you came.’
29 “This will serve as a sign for you: you’ll eat this year from what grows by itself, in the second year what grows from that, and in the third year you’ll sow, reap, plant vineyards, and enjoy[c] their fruit. 30 Those who survive from Judah’s household will again put down deep roots and bear fruit extensively,[d] 31 because a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord[e] will bring this about.”
32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘Not only will he not approach this city or shoot an arrow in its direction, he won’t approach it with so much as a shield, nor will he throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 He’ll return on the same route by which he came—he won’t come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘I will defend this city and preserve it for my own reasons, and because of my servant David.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 19:22 The Heb. lacks against whom
- 2 Kings 19:23 Or its densest
- 2 Kings 19:29 Lit. eat
- 2 Kings 19:30 Or upwards
- 2 Kings 19:31 So MT; LXX and a MT variant read Lord of the Heavenly Armies
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