Beginning
Sennacherib Attacks
36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,[a] King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander,[b] along with a very[c] large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the field commander stopped at the aqueduct at the Upper Pool on the road to Laundryman’s Field, 3 Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, the recorder, went out to him.
4 The field commander told them:
“Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah,[d] ‘This is what the mighty king, the king of Assyria, has to say: What is this “guarantee” that makes you yourself[e] rely on it?[f] 5 Do you really think that guarantees alone can withstand[g] strategy and military strength? On whom are you now depending, that you’re rebelling against me? 6 Take note: you’re relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the palm of anyone who leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to everybody who depends on him!
7 But if you all[h] say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, while he kept on telling Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship in front of this altar in[i] Jerusalem’?[j] 8 Come now, all of you,[k] make a bet with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you can furnish riders for them! 9 How, then, can you repulse even one officer from[l] the least of my master’s officials, when you are depending for yourselves[m] on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 One other thing: have I really marched against this country to destroy it apart from the Lord’s direction?[n] The Lord himself ordered me, ‘March against this country to[o] destroy it.’”[p]
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to him,[q] “Please speak with[r] your servants—with us[s]—in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew[t] where the people sitting on[u] the wall can hear.”
12 But the field commander asked, “Was it only to all of you and to your[v] master that my master sent me to speak these things? Wasn’t it also to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
13 Then the[w] commander stood up and shouted out loud in Hebrew:[x]
“Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king of Assyria[y] says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you—for he cannot save you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord when he says, “The Lord will really deliver[z] us!” and[aa] “This city will never be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—to[ab] a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’ 18 Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, “The Lord will save us.” Has any god of any nation ever delivered[ac] his country from the[ad] king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me?[ae] 20 Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered[af] their land from me?[ag] How then can the Lord deliver[ah] Jerusalem from me?’”[ai]
21 But the people remained silent and didn’t respond to him with so much as a single word, because the king had commanded, “Don’t answer him.”
22 Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, the recorder, approached Hezekiah with their clothes torn,[aj] and let him know what the field commander had said.
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
37 As soon as Hezekiah the king[ak] heard this, he tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s Temple. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, all wearing sackcloth, to Amoz’s son, the prophet Isaiah. 3 “Here is what Hezekiah says,” they told him. “This day is a day of trouble, rebuke, and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no energy to deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and perhaps he will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. So lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives in this city.”[al] 5 That’s why King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah.
Isaiah Responds to Hezekiah
6 “Here is what to tell your master,” Isaiah told them. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t be afraid of the words you’ve heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have insulted me. 7 Watch this! I’m going to place an attitude[am] within him,[an] so that when he hears a certain report, he’ll return to his own country. Then I’ll have him cut down by the sword in his own land.”[ao]
Sennacherib Retreats
8 So the field commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, since he had heard that the king of Assyria[ap] had left Lachish. 9 Now King Sennacherib[aq] had received this report concerning King Tirhakah of Cush: “He has marched out to fight against you.”
When he heard it, he returned and[ar] sent messengers to Hezekiah: 10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God on whom you depend deceive you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all countries, dooming them to destruction. So do you think you will be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my ancestors save them—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden, who were in Tel-assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephar-vaim, or of Hena, or of Ivvah, or of Samaria?’”[as]
Hezekiah Prays
14 Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers, and read them.[at] Then he[au] went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread the letters[av] in front of the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:
16 “O Lord of the Heavenly Armies, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. 17 Extend your ear, Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, Lord, and look! Listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. 18 It is true, Lord, that Assyrian kings have devastated all these countries,[aw] 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire—but they are not gods, but rather the products[ax] of human hands, mere wood and stone. So the Assyrians[ay] destroyed them. 20 So now, Lord our God, save us from his oppressive[az] hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”[ba]
God’s Answer
21 Then Amoz’s son Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, to whom you prayed[bb] concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 22 This is the message that the Lord has spoken in opposition to him:
“‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises and mocks you;
the Daughter of Jerusalem—
she tosses her head behind you as you flee.
23 Whom have you insulted and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your messengers[bc] you have insulted the Lord,
and you have said,
“With my many chariots
I have climbed the heights of mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its pines;
I reached its remotest heights,
the most verdant of its forests.
25 I myself dug wells[bd]
and drank foreign[be] waters;
with the soles of my feet
I dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
26 “‘Didn’t you hear
how in the distant past I decided to do it,
how[bf] I planned from days of old?
Now I’ve made it happen—
that fortified cities become devastated, besieged heaps.[bg]
27 Their inhabitants are devoid of power,
and are terrified and put to shame.
They’ve become like plants in the field,
like[bh] green shoots,
like grass on rooftops,
scorched by the east wind.[bi]
28 “‘I know when you rise up
and[bj] when you sit down,
your comings and goings—
and how you’ve become enraged at me.
29 Your insolence[bk] has reached my ears,
so I’ll put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,[bl]
and I’ll make you turn back on the road
by which you came.
30 “And this will be your sign, Hezekiah:[bm] Eat this year what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 Then the ones belonging to the house of Judah who have escaped will gather,[bn] and those who are found[bo] will take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For a remnant will come out of Zion,[bp] and a band of survivors from Jerusalem.[bq] The zeal of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.
33 “Therefore this what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He won’t enter this city, build up a siege ramp against it, shoot an arrow here, or threaten it with a shield.[br] 34 By the same way that he came, he will return; he won’t enter this city,’ declares the Lord, 35 ‘because I will defend this city and deliver[bs] it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David!’”
Sennacherib is Defeated
36 After this, the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When Hezekiah’s army[bt] awakened in the morning—there were all the dead bodies!
37 King Sennacherib broke camp, retreated, returned home to Nineveh, and remained there. 38 Later, while he was worshiping in[bu] the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with swords and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then Sennacherib’s[bv] son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
38 During that time,[bw] Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. Then Amoz’s son Isaiah the prophet came to him and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your house in order, because you are going to die. You won’t recover.’”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3 “Please, Lord,” he said, “Remember how I have walked before you faithfully and with a true heart, and I have done what pleases you.”[bx] And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then this message[by] from the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David has to say: “I’ve heard your prayer and[bz] I’ve seen your tears; so I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I’ll save you and this city from the[ca] king of Assyria, and I’ll defend this city, for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.[cb] 7 This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will carry out this thing he has promised: 8 Watch! I will make the shadow on the steps of the upper[cc] dial of Ahaz that marks the sun go ten steps backwards.”’”
Then the sunlight turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had gone down.
Hezekiah’s Prayer
9 A composition by King Hezekiah of Judah, following his illness and recovery:
10 I said, “Must I leave in the prime of my life?
Must I be consigned to the control[cd] of Sheol?[ce]
Bitter are[cf] my years!”
11 I said, “I won’t see the Lord[cg] in the land of the living;
and[ch] I’ll no longer observe human beings
among the denizens of the grave.[ci]
12 My house has been plucked up and vanishes[cj] from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver, I’ve taken account of[ck] my life,
and he cuts me off from the loom—
day and night you make an end of me.
13 I’ve been swept bare[cl] until morning;
just like a lion, he breaks all my bones—
day and night you make an end of me.
14 Like a swallow or a crane I chirp,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes look weakly upward.
O Lord,[cm] I am oppressed, so[cn] stand up for me!
15 What can I say, so I tell myself,[co]
since he has done this to me?[cp]
I will walk slowly all my years
because of my soul’s anguish.
16 “My Lord is against them, yet they live,
and among all of them who live is his spirit.[cq]
Now you have restored me to health,
so let me live!
17 Yes, it was for my own good
that I suffered extreme anguish.[cr]
But in love you have held back[cs] my life
from the Pit[ct] in which it has been confined;[cu]
you have tossed all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol[cv] cannot thank you,
death cannot[cw] sing your praise;
and[cx] those who go down to the Pit[cy] cannot hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living—yes the living—they thank you,
just as I am doing today;
fathers will tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,[cz]
and we will play my music on strings
all the days of our lives
in the Lord’s Temple.[da]
21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them prepare[db] a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.”
22 Hezekiah also had asked, “What will be the sign for me to go up to the Lord’s Temple?”[dc]
The Visit by Merodach-baladan
39 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, when[dd] he heard he had been sick and had survived.[de] 2 Hezekiah was delighted with them, and showed them everything in[df] his treasure-houses[dg]—the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oils, his entire armory, and everything found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom[dh] that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isaiah Rebukes Hezekiah
3 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men have to say? And from where did they come to you?”
Hezekiah replied, “From a distant land—they came to me from Babylon.”
4 “What did they see in your palace?” he asked.
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah replied. “There is nothing in my treasuries that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Listen to this message[di] from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies: 6 ‘The days are surely coming when everything in your palace and all that your ancestors have stored up to this day will be carried off[dj] to Babylon. They will come in, and[dk] nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘Then some of your own sons, who will come from your loins,[dl] whom you will father, will be taken away to become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
8 “The message from the Lord that you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, since he was thinking, “…at least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
God Comforts His People
40 “Comfort! Yes, comfort my people,”
says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her heavy service has been completed,
that her penalty has been paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”
3 A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;
and[dm] in the desert a straight highway for our God.’
4 Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be lowered;
the rough ground will become level,
and the mountain ridges made a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all humanity will see it at once;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Endures Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
So I[dn] asked, “What am I to cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,
and all its loyalty[do] is like the flowers of the field.
7 Grass withers and flowers fade away
when the Lord’s breath blows on them;
surely the people are like grass.[dp]
8 Grass withers and flowers fade away,
when the Lord’s breath blows on them,
but the word of[dq] our God will stand forever.”
Here is Your God
9 “Climb up a high mountain,
you messenger of good news to Zion!
Lift up your voice with strength,
you messenger to Jerusalem!
Lift it up!
Don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
10 Look! The Lord God comes with strength,
and his arm[dr] rules for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his payment accompanies him.
11 Like a shepherd, he tends his flock.
He gathers the lambs in his arms,
carries them close to his heart,
and gently leads the mother sheep.”
Who is Like the Lord?
12 “Who has measured the waters of the sea[ds]
in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens
by the width of his hand?[dt]
Who has enclosed the dust of the earth
in a measuring bowl,
or weighed the mountains
in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has fathomed the Spirit of the Lord,
or as his counselor has taught him?[du]
14 With whom did he consult
to enlighten and instruct him on the path of justice?
Or who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of wisdom?
15 “Look! The nations are like a drop in a bucket,
and are reckoned as dust on the scales.
Look! He even lifts up the islands like powder!
16 Lebanon would not provide enough fuel,
nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.[dv]
17 All the nations are as nothing before him—
they are reckoned by him as[dw] nothing and chaos.
18 “To whom, then, will you compare me,[dx] the One who is[dy] God?
Or to what image will you liken me?[dz]
19 To an idol? A craftsman makes[ea] the image,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts silver chains.
20 To the impoverished person?
He prepares[eb] an offering—[ec]
wood that won’t rot—
Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman[ed]
and[ee] seeks[ef] to erect an idol that won’t topple?”
The Majesty of the Lord
21 “You know, don’t you?
You have heard, haven’t you?
Hasn’t it been told you from the beginning?
Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the[eg] earth?
22 He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in,
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes void the rulers of the earth.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner have[eh] their stems taken root in the earth,
than[ei] he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest sweeps them away like stubble.
25 “To[ej] whom, then, will you compare me,
and to whom should I be equal?”
asks the Holy One.
26 “Lift your eyes up to heaven and see
who created all these—
the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number,
calling them all by name—
because of his great might
and his[ek] powerful strength[el]—
and[em] not one is missing.”
The Lord Watches Israel
27 “Jacob, why do you say—
and Israel, why do you complain—
‘My predicament is hidden from the Lord,
and my cause is ignored by my God.’?
28 Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not grow tired or weary;
and[en] his understanding cannot be fathomed.
29 He’s the[eo] one who gives might to the faint,
renewing strength for the powerless.
30 Even boys grow tired and weary,
and young men collapse and fall,
31 but those who keep waiting for the Lord will renew their strength.
Then[ep] they’ll soar on wings like eagles;
they’ll run and not grow weary;
they’ll walk and not grow tired.”
The Lord Comes as Judge
41 “Be silent before me, you coastlands,
and let the people renew their strength!
Let them come forward,
then let them speak together—
let’s draw near for a ruling.
2 Who has aroused victory from the east,
and[eq] has summoned it to his service,
and[er] has handed over nations to him?
Who brings down kings,
and[es] turns them into dust with his sword,
into windblown stubble with his bow?
3 And[et] who pursues them
and[eu] moves on unscathed
by a path that his feet don’t know?[ev]
4 Who has performed and carried this out,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—the first
and will be with the last
—I am the One!”
Idolaters Encourage Each Other
5 “The coastlands have looked and are afraid;
the ends of the earth have drawn near together[ew]
and come forward.
6 Each helps his neighbor,
saying[ex] to each other, ‘Be strong!’
7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and the hammersmith[ey] encourages the one who strikes the anvil.
He says[ez] about the welding, ‘It’s good!’
and he reinforces it with nails so that it won’t topple.”
The Lord Encourages Israel
8 “But as for you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I’ve chosen,
the offspring of my friend Abraham—
9 you whom I encouraged from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
and told you, ‘You’re my servant,
I’ve chosen you
and haven’t cast you aside.’
10 Don’t be afraid,
because I’m with you;
don’t be anxious,
because I am your God.
I keep on strengthening you;
I’m truly helping you.
I’m surely upholding you
with my victorious right hand.”
The Coming Defeat of God’s Enemies
11 “Look! All who are enraged at you
will be put to shame and disgraced;
those who contend with you
will all die.[fa]
12 Those who quarrel with you[fb]
will be as nothing;
those who fight you
like nothing at all!”
A Call to Courage
13 “For I am the Lord your God,
who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I’ll help you.
14 Don’t be afraid, you little worm Jacob,
and[fc] you insects of Israel!
I myself will help you,’[fd] declares the Lord,
your[fe] Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
A Promise of Victory
15 “See, I’m making you[ff] into
a new, sharp, and multi-tooth threshing sledge.
You’ll thresh and crush the mountains,
and make the hills like chaff.
16 You’ll winnow them, and the wind will lift them up,
and a tempest will blow them away.
Then you’ll rejoice in the Lord,
and[fg] you’ll make your boast in the Holy One of Israel.”
17 “As for the poor, the needy, those seeking[fh] water—
when there is none
and their tongues are parched from thirst—
I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I’ll open up rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I’ll turn the[fi] desert into a pool of water,
and the parched land into springs of water.
19 I’ll put cedar trees in the wilderness,
along with acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I’ll plant cypresses in the desert—
box[fj] trees, and pine trees together—
20 all so that people may see and recognize,
perceive,[fk] consider, and comprehend at the same time,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Can God’s Enemies Predict the Future?
21 “Put forward your case!” says the Lord.
“Submit your arguments!” says Jacob’s King.
22 Let them approach and ask us,
‘What will happen?
As to the former things, what were they?
Tell us, so that we may consider them and know.
Or[fl] the latter things or the things to come—
let us hear.
23 Tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods!
Yes, do something good or something bad,
so we may hear[fm] and gaze at it together.’”
24 “Look! You and your work are less than nothing;[fn]
whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting.”
25 “You are stirring up[fo] one from the north,
and they are coming[fp] from the rising of the sun;
and[fq] he will be called by his[fr] name.
Rulers will arrive like mud;[fs]
just[ft] like a potter, he will trample the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,
so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could ask,
‘Is it right?’[fu]
Indeed, no one told of this,
no one made an announcement,
and no one heard your words:
27 First, to Zion: “There is slumber.”[fv]
And to Jerusalem: “I’ll send a messenger with good news.”
28 But when I look, there is no one—
among them there’s no one to give counsel,
no one to give an answer when I ask them.
29 See, none of them exist, and their deeds are nothing.[fw]
Their metal images are only wind and confusion.’”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.