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Sennacherib of Assyria Invades Judah
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me. What you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Then Hezekiah gave all of the silver found in the temple of Yahweh and in the storerooms of the house of the king. 16 At that time, Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Yahweh and the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and he gave them to the king of Assyria. 17 So the king of Assyria sent the commander in chief, the chief eunuch, and the chief advisor[a] from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a heavy army. They went up and came to Jerusalem, then they went up and came and stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool which is on the main road of the washer’s[b] field. 18 Then they called to the king, so Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.
Assyrians Advise against Trust in Yahweh
19 Then the chief advisor said to them, “Please say to Hezekiah: ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What is this confidence that you trust? 20 You think only a word of lips, ‘I have advice and power for the war.’ Now, on whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me? 21 Now, look! You rely[c] on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which when a man leans on it, it goes into his hand and pierces it! So is Pharaoh the king of Egypt for all who are trusting on him! 22 But if you say to me, ‘On Yahweh our God we trust,’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, and he had said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘In the presence of this altar you shall bow down only in Jerusalem?’ 23 So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses if you are able on your part to put riders on them.[d] 24 How can you repulse a single captain among the least of the servants of my master[e]? Yet you rely for yourself on Egypt for chariots and horsemen! 25 Have I now come up against this place without Yahweh to destroy it? Yahweh has said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it!’”’”
26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the chief commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we are understanding, but you must not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who are on the wall.” 27 The chief commander said to them, “Is it solely to your master and to you my master has sent me to speak these words? Is it not for the men who sit on the wall to eat their feces and to drink their urine with you?”
28 Then the chief commander stood and called with a great voice in Judean, and he spoke and said, “Hear the word of the king, the great king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my[f] hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Certainly Yahweh will rescue us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!”’ 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make with me a treaty of peace and come out to me that each may eat from his vine and each from his fig tree, and each may drink water from his cistern! 32 Until I come and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees, olive oil, and honey, that you may live and not die! You must not listen to Hezekiah, for he has misled you by saying, “Yahweh will deliver us!” 33 Did the gods of each of the nations ever rescue the land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? For did they rescue Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all of the gods of the countries have rescued their countries from my hand that Yahweh should rescue Jerusalem from my hand?’”
36 The people were silent, and they did not answer him a word, for the command of that king was saying, “You shall not answer him.” 37 Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah with torn clothes, and they told him the words of the chief commander.
Isaiah Sends Encouragement to Hezekiah
19 It happened that when King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went to the temple of Yahweh. 2 He sent Eliakim who was over the palace, Shebna the secretary, the elders, and the priests, all clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘A day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace is this day, for the children are about to be born,[g] but there is no strength to bear them. 4 Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all of the words of the chief commander whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to insult the living God, and he will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remainder who are left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 and Isaiah said to them, “Thus you must say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You must not be afraid because the face of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Look, I am putting in him a spirit. He will hear a rumor and return to his land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.”’”
The Assyrians Defy God
8 When the chief commander returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, “Look, he has set out to fight with you,” so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, ‘Let not your God whom you are trusting deceive you, by his saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!” 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and shall you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors[h] destroyed deliver them? Not Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, nor the children of Eden who were in Tel Assar. 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah Prays to Yahweh
14 Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the temple of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread them out before the presence of Yahweh. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the face of Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel who lives above the cherubim. You are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the world; you have made the heavens and the earth. 16 Incline your ears and hear; open, O Yahweh, your eyes and see and hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to insult the living God. 17 Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have utterly destroyed the nations and their land. 18 He has hurled their gods in the fire because they are not gods, but the work of the hands of a human made of wood and stone, so they destroyed them. 19 So then, O Yahweh our God, rescue us, please, from his hand, that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Yahweh, you alone are God!”
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.’”
An Angel Neutralizes the Assyrian Army
35 It happened in that night that an angel of Yahweh went out, and he struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of Assyria. When they got up early in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria set out and went and returned and lived in Nineveh. 37 It happened that he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer[i] struck him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
Paul Travels on to Jerusalem
21 And it happened that after we tore ourselves away[a] from them, we put out to sea, and[b] running a straight course we came to Cos and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 And finding a ship that was crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and[c] put out to sea. 3 And after we[d] sighted Cyprus and left it behind on the port side,[e] we sailed to Syria and arrived at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its[f] cargo there. 4 And we stayed there seven days after we[g] found the disciples, who kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. 5 And it happened that when our days were over, we departed and[h] went on our way, while[i] all of them accompanied us, together with their[j] wives and children, as far as outside the city. And after[k] falling to our knees on the beach and[l] praying, 6 we said farewell to one another and embarked in the ship, and they returned to their own homes.
7 And when[m] we had completed the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. And after we[n] greeted the brothers, we stayed one day with them. 8 And on the next day we departed and[o] came to Caesarea, and entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and[p] stayed with him. 9 (Now this man had[q] four virgin daughters who prophesied.)
10 And while we[r] were staying there[s] many days, a certain prophet named[t] Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And he came to us and took Paul’s belt. Tying up his own feet and hands, he said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will deliver him[u] into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 And when we heard these things, both we and the local residents urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus!” 14 And because[v] he would not be persuaded, we remained silent, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”
15 So after these days we got ready and[w] went up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea also traveled together with us, bringing us[x] to a certain Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing,[y] with whom we were to be entertained as guests.
Paul Visits the Leaders of the Jerusalem Church
17 And when[z] we came to Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.
Praise to God for His Future Judgment
149 Praise Yah.[a]
Sing to Yahweh a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing;
let them sing praises to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For Yahweh takes pleasure in his people;
he glorifies the afflicted with salvation.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the extolling of God be in their throat,
and a double-edged sword in their hand,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,[b]
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles[c] with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment that is decreed.[d]
This will be honor for all his faithful ones;
Praise Yah.[e]
8 The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,
and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.
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