Historical
Sennacherib Invades Judah
36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,[a] King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser[b] from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser[c] stood at the conduit of the upper pool that is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.[d] 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.
4 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?[e] 5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.[f] In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 7 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.’ 8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you 2,000 horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.[g] 10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’”[h]
11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,[i] for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect[j] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you.[k] 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!”[l]
13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,[m] “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 16 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.[n] Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 17 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. 18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Have any of the gods of the nations rescued their lands from the power of the king of Assyria?[o] 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?[p] Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?[q] 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”[r] 21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
22 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[s] and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.
37 When King Hezekiah heard this,[t] he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[u] clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 3 “This is what Hezekiah says:[v] ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[w] and humiliation,[x] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[y] 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.[z] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[aa] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[ab]
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—these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.[ac] 7 Look, I will take control of his mind;[ad] he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[ae] 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.[af] 9 The king[ag] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[ah] was marching out to fight him.[ai] He again sent[aj] 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 to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[ak] Do you really think you will be rescued?[al] 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors[am] destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?[an] 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the kings of Lair,[ao] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
14 Hezekiah took the letter[ap] from the messengers and read it.[aq] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim![ar] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[as] and the earth. 17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![at] 18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations[au] and their lands. 19 They have burned the gods of the nations,[av] 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.[aw] 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”[ax]
21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘As to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,[ay] 22 this is what the Lord says about him:[az]
“‘The virgin daughter Zion[ba]
despises you—she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.[bb]
23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?[bc]
At the Holy One of Israel![bd]
24 Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,[be]
“With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its remotest regions,[bf]
its thickest woods.
25 I dug wells
and drank water.[bg]
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.”’
26 [bh] Certainly you must have heard![bi]
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned[bj] it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.[bk]
27 Their residents are powerless;[bl]
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.[bm]
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops[bn]
when it is scorched by the east wind.[bo]
28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.[bp]
29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,[bq]
I will put my hook in your nose,[br]
and my bit between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.’
30 [bs] “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth:[bt] This year you will eat what grows wild,[bu] and next year[bv] what grows on its own. But the year after that[bw] you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.[bx] 31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.[by]
32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[bz] will accomplish this.
33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.[ca]
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,[cb]
nor will he build siege works against it.
34 He will go back the way he came—
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
35 I will shield this city and rescue it
for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”[cc]
36 The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops[cd] in the Assyrian camp. When they[ce] got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses![cf] 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.[cg] 38 One day,[ch] as he was worshiping[ci] in the temple of his god Nisroch,[cj] his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.[ck] They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
The Lord Hears Hezekiah’s Prayer
38 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.[cl] The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you[cm] faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,[cn] and how I have carried out your will.”[co] Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.[cp]
4 The Lord’s message came to Isaiah, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor[cq] David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will also rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 7 Isaiah replied,[cr] “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.”[cs] And then the shadow went back ten steps.[ct]
Hezekiah’s Song of Thanks
9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:
10 “I thought,[cu]
‘In the middle of my life[cv] I must walk through the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived[cw] of the rest of my years.’
11 “I thought,
‘I will no longer see the Lord[cx] in the land of the living,
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.[cy]
12 My dwelling place[cz] is removed and taken away[da] from me
as a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth;[db]
from the loom he cuts me off.[dc]
You turn day into night and end my life.[dd]
13 I cry out[de] until morning;
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life.[df]
14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo[dg] like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.[dh]
O Lord,[di] I am oppressed;
help me![dj]
15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted.[dk]
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.[dl]
16 O Lord, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me.[dm]
Restore my health[dn] and preserve my life.’
17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit.[do]
You delivered me[dp] from the Pit of oblivion.[dq]
For you removed all my sins from your sight.[dr]
18 Indeed[ds] Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not[dt] praise you.
Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord is about to deliver me,[du]
and we will celebrate with music[dv]
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”[dw]
21 [dx] (Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”)
Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah
39 At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah welcomed[dy] them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.[dz] 3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 4 Isaiah[ea] asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: 6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors[eb] have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father[ec] will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s message that you have announced is appropriate.”[ed] Then he thought,[ee] “For[ef] there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”
The Lord Returns to Jerusalem
40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your[eg] God.
2 “Speak kindly to[eh] Jerusalem and tell her
that her time of warfare is over,[ei]
that her punishment is completed.[ej]
For the Lord has made her pay double[ek] for all her sins.”
3 A voice cries out,
“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;
build a level road[el] through the rift valley[em] for our God.
4 Every valley must be elevated,
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
5 The splendor[en] of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people[eo] will see it at the same time.
For[ep] the Lord has decreed it.”[eq]
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks,[er] “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds:[es] “All people are like grass,[et]
and all their promises[eu] are like the flowers in the field.
7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord[ev] blows on them.
Surely humanity[ew] is like grass.
8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”[ex]
9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion.
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem![ey]
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Look, the Sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;[ez]
his military power establishes his rule.[fa]
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him.[fb]
11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart;[fc]
he leads the ewes along.
The Lord is Incomparable
12 Who has measured out the waters[fd] in the hollow of his hand,
or carefully[fe] measured the sky,[ff]
or carefully weighed[fg] the soil of the earth,
or weighed the mountains in a balance,
or the hills on scales?[fh]
13 Who comprehends[fi] the mind[fj] of the Lord,
or gives him instruction as his counselor?[fk]
14 From whom does he receive directions?[fl]
Who[fm] teaches him the correct way to do things,[fn]
or imparts knowledge to him,
or instructs him in skillful design?[fo]
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales.
He lifts[fp] the coastlands[fq] as if they were dust.
16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;[fr]
its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.[fs]
17 All the nations are insignificant before him;
they are regarded as absolutely nothing.[ft]
18 To whom can you compare God?
To what image can you liken him?
19 A craftsman casts[fu] an idol;
a metalsmith overlays it with gold
and forges silver chains for it.
20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot;[fv]
he then seeks a skilled craftsman
to make[fw] an idol that will not fall over.
21 Do you not know?
Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?
Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?
22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon;[fx]
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.[fy]
He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain,[fz]
and spreads it out[ga] like a pitched tent.[gb]
23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;
he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.
24 Indeed, they are barely planted;
yes, they are barely sown;
yes, they barely take root in the earth,
and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,
and the wind carries them away like straw.
25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”
says the Holy One.[gc]
26 Look up at the sky![gd]
Who created all these heavenly lights?[ge]
He is the one who leads out their ranks;[gf]
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you say, Jacob,
Why do you say, Israel,
“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me;[gg]
My God is not concerned with my vindication”?[gh]
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the Creator of the whole earth.[gi]
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom.[gj]
29 He gives strength to those who are tired;
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.
30 Even youths get tired and weary;
even strong young men clumsily stumble.[gk]
31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help[gl] find renewed strength;
they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings,[gm]
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.
The Lord Challenges the Nations
41 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands![gn]
Let the nations find renewed strength!
Let them approach and then speak;
let us come together for debate.[go]
2 Who stirs up this one from the east?[gp]
Who[gq] officially commissions him for service?[gr]
He hands nations over to him,[gs]
and enables him to subdue[gt] kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow.[gu]
3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed;[gv]
he advances with great speed.[gw]
4 Who acts and carries out decrees?[gx]
Who[gy] summons the successive generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,
and at the very end—I am the one.[gz]
5 The coastlands[ha] see and are afraid;
the whole earth[hb] trembles;
they approach and come.
6 They help one another;[hc]
one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’
7 The craftsman encourages the metalsmith,
the one who wields the hammer encourages[hd] the one who pounds on the anvil.
He approves the quality of the welding,[he]
and nails it down so it won’t fall over.
The Lord Encourages His People
8 “You, my servant Israel,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend,[hf]
9 you whom I am bringing back[hg] from the earth’s extremities,
and have summoned from the remote regions—
I told you, ‘You are my servant.’
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God![hh]
I strengthen you—
yes, I help you—
yes, I uphold you with my victorious right hand![hi]
11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;
your adversaries[hj] will be reduced to nothing[hk] and perish.
12 When you will look for your opponents,[hl] you will not find them;
your enemies[hm] will be reduced to absolutely nothing.
13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob,[hn]
men of[ho] Israel.
I am helping you,” says the Lord,
your Protector,[hp] the Holy One of Israel.[hq]
15 “Look, I am making you like[hr] a sharp threshing sledge,
new and double-edged.[hs]
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw.[ht]
16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers;[hu]
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18 I will make streams flow down the slopes
and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the wilderness into a pool of water
and the arid land into springs.
19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;
I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the arid rift valley.[hv]
20 I will do this so[hw] people[hx] will observe and recognize,
so they will pay attention and understand
that the Lord’s power[hy] has accomplished this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.[hz]
The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods
21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,”[ia] says Jacob’s king.[ib]
22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!
Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles,[ic]
so we may examine them[id] and see how they were fulfilled.[ie]
Or decree for us some future events!
23 Predict how future events will turn out,[if]
so we might know you are gods.
Yes, do something good or something bad,
so we might be frightened and in awe.[ig]
24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;
the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.[ih]
25 I have stirred up one out of the north[ii] and he advances,
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name.[ij]
He steps on[ik] rulers as if they were clay,
like a potter treading the clay.
26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it[il] ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it.
Indeed, none of them announced it.
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’[im]
I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
28 I look, but there is no one,
among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,
that I might ask questions and receive answers.
29 Look, all of them are nothing,[in]
their accomplishments are nonexistent;
their metal images lack any real substance.[io]
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