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Isaiah Brings a Prophetic Response

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘What you have prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him:

She despises you, she scorns you,
    the virgin daughter of Zion.
Behind you the daughter of Jerusalem
    shakes her head.
22 Whom have you mocked and reviled?
    And against whom have you have raised your voice
and have haughtily lifted your eyes?
    Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By the hand of your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
    and you have said,
‘With my many chariots I have gone up
    to the height of the mountains.
To the remote areas of Lebanon,
    I have felled the tallest of its cedars,
    the choicest of its cypresses.
I have entered the place of overnight lodging.
    Even to the edge of forest of its fertile land.
24 I dug wells and I drank foreign water,
    and I dried up with the sole of my steps
    all the canals of Egypt.’
25 Have you not heard?
    From long ago I have determined it,
    from the days of old I have planned it,
    and now I am bringing it to pass.
It shall be turned into a pile of rocks;
    fortified cities are ruined.
26 Their inhabitants, short of hand, shall be dismayed;
    and they shall be ashamed.
They have become green plants of the open field,
    and tender grass,
    green grass of the roof
    and blight before the standing grain.
27 Your sitting, your going out, and your coming in I know,
    and your raging against me.
28 Because you are raging against me,
    and your arrogance has come up in my ears,
I will put my nose ring in your nose
    and my bridle in your mouth.
And I will turn you back
    on the way that you have come.

29 “‘This will be the sign for you: Eat the volunteer plants for the year, and in the second year, the volunteer plants that spring up from that. But in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30 The remainder of the house of Judah which survives will again take root below and bear fruit above. 31 For from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out and survivors from Mount Zion; the zeal of Yahweh will do this.

32 “‘Therefore thus says Yahweh to the king of Assyria, “He shall not come to this city, nor shall he shoot an arrow there, nor shall he bring a small shield near her, nor shall he cast a siege ramp against her. 33 By the way that he came to her he shall return; but to this city, he shall not come,” declares Yahweh. 34 And I will defend this city to save her for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’”

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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.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 19:22 The Heb. lacks against whom
  2. 2 Kings 19:23 Or its densest
  3. 2 Kings 19:29 Lit. eat
  4. 2 Kings 19:30 Or upwards
  5. 2 Kings 19:31 So MT; LXX and a MT variant read Lord of the Heavenly Armies