Chronological
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up[a] against Samaria and besieged it. 10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel, Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel[b] to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 12 This happened because they did not obey[c] the Lord their God and broke his covenant with them. They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded.[d]
Sennacherib Invades Judah
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty.[e] If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.”[f] So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay 300 talents[g] of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in[h] the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts that he had plated[i] and gave them to the king of Assyria.
17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser[j] from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went[k] and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.[l] 18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna, the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.
19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?[m] 20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.[n] In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 22 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ 23 Now make a deal[o] with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you 2,000 horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.[p] 25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up[q] against this land and destroy it.’”’”[r]
26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,[s] for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect[t] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you.[u] His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.”[v]
28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,[w] “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand![x] 30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me.[y] Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?[z] 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[aa] Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?[ab] 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”[ac] 36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn[ad] and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 19 1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[ae] clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[af] and humiliation,[ag] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[ah] 4 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.[ai] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[aj] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[ak]
5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 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. 7 Look, I will take control of his mind;[al] he will receive[am] a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[an] with a sword in his own land.”’”
8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.[ao] 9 The king[ap] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him.[aq] 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[ar] to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[as] Do you really think you will be rescued?[at] 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?[au] 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair,[av] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
14 Hezekiah took the letter[aw] from the messengers and read it.[ax] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim![ay] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[az] and the earth. 16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![ba] 17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 18 They have burned the gods of the nations,[bb] for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.[bc] 19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I have heard your prayer[bd] concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. 21 This is what the Lord says about him:[be]
“‘“The virgin daughter Zion[bf]
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.[bg]
22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted,[bh]
and looked so arrogantly?[bi]
At the Holy One of Israel![bj]
23 Through your messengers you taunted the Sovereign Master,[bk]
‘With my many chariots[bl]
I climbed up the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions,[bm]
its thickest woods.
24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands.[bn]
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
25 [bo] Certainly you must have heard![bp]
Long ago I worked it out.
In ancient times I planned[bq] it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.[br]
26 Their residents are powerless,[bs]
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation.[bt]
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops[bu]
when it is scorched by the east wind.[bv]
27 I know where you live
and everything you do.[bw]
28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,[bx]
I will put my hook in your nose,[by]
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
29 [bz] “‘This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth:[ca] This year you will eat what grows wild,[cb] and next year[cc] what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.[cd] 30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.[ce]
31 “‘For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[cf] will accomplish this.
32 So this is what the Lord has said about the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.[cg]
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors,[ch]
nor will he build siege works against it.
33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.
34 “‘I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’”[ci]
35 That very night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 in the Assyrian camp. When they[cj] got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses.[ck] 36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.[cl] 37 One day,[cm] as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch,[cn] his sons[co] Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.[cp] They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
Psalm 46[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style;[b] a song.
46 God is our strong refuge;[c]
he is truly our helper in times of trouble.[d]
2 For this reason we do not fear[e] when the earth shakes,[f]
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,[g]
3 when its waves[h] crash[i] and foam,
and the mountains shake[j] before the surging sea.[k] (Selah)
4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God,[l]
the special, holy dwelling place of[m] the Most High.[n]
5 God lives within it,[o] it cannot be moved.[p]
God rescues it[q] at the break of dawn.[r]
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown.[s]
God[t] gives a shout,[u] the earth dissolves.[v]
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side.[w]
The God of Jacob[x] is our stronghold.[y] (Selah)
8 Come, Witness the exploits[z] of the Lord,
who brings devastation to the earth.[aa]
9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth.[ab]
He shatters[ac] the bow and breaks[ad] the spear;
he burns[ae] the shields with fire.[af]
10 He says,[ag] “Stop your striving and recognize[ah] that I am God.
I will be exalted[ai] over[aj] the nations! I will be exalted over[ak] the earth!”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side![al]
The God of Jacob[am] is our stronghold![an] (Selah)
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 135[a]
135 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 who serve[b] in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant.[c]
4 Indeed,[d] the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession.[e]
5 Yes,[f] I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He performed awesome deeds[g] and acts of judgment[h]
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name endures,[i]
your reputation, O Lord, lasts.[j]
14 For the Lord vindicates[k] his people,
and has compassion on his servants.[l]
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold;
they are man-made.[m]
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe.[n]
18 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
19 O family[p] of Israel, praise the Lord.
O family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You loyal followers[q] of the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion[r]—
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
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