2 Kings 19

1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.s4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rab–shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.s5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8 So Rab–shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.16 Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.17 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.s19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.21 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.sss24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.s25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.s26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.s27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.s28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.s31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.s32 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar–haddon his son reigned in his stead.s

2 Kings 19

1 When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes in grief, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s temple.

2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and the leaders of the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz.
3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it.

4 The Lord your God may have heard all the words of the field commander. His master, the king of Assyria, sent him to defy the living God. The Lord your God may punish him because of the message that the Lord your God heard. Pray for the few people who are left.”
5 So King Hezekiah’s men went to Isaiah.6 Isaiah answered them, “Say this to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid of the message that you heard when the Assyrian king’s assistants slandered me.

7 I’m going to put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own country. I’ll have him assassinated in his own country.’ ”
8 The field commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah. He had heard that the king left Lachish.

9 Now, Sennacherib heard that King Tirhakah of Sudan was coming to fight him.
Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah, ‘Don’t let the god whom you trust deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be put under the control of the king of Assyria.11 You heard what the kings of Assyria did to all countries, how they totally destroyed them. Will you be rescued?12 Did the gods of the nations which my ancestors destroyed rescue Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’ ”
14 Hezekiah took the letters from the messengers, read them, and went to the Lord’s temple. He spread them out in front of the Lord15 and prayed to the Lord, “Lord of Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned over the angels.t You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the world. You made heaven and earth.16 Turn your ear toward me, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to the message that Sennacherib sent to defy the living God.17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have leveled nations.t18 They have thrown the gods from these countries into fires because these gods aren’t real gods. They’re only wooden and stone statues made by human hands. So the Assyrians have destroyed them.

19 Now, Lord our God, rescue us from Assyria’s control so that all the kingdoms on earth will know that you alone are the Lord God.”

Isaiah’s Prophecy Against King Sennacherib of Assyria—Isaiah 37:21–38

20 Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent a message to Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: You prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.

21 This is the message that the Lord speaks to him,
‘My dear people in Zion despise you and laugh at you.My people in Jerusalem shake their heads behind your back.22 Whom are you defying and slandering?Against whom are you shouting?Who are you looking at so arrogantly?It is the Holy One of Israel!23 Through your servantst you defy the Lord and say,“With my many chariots I’ll ride up the high mountains,up the slopes of Lebanon.I’ll cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypresses.I’ll come to its most distant bordersand its most fertile forests.24 I’ll dig wells and drink foreign water.I’ll dry up all the streams of Egyptwith the trampling of my feet.”25 “ ‘Haven’t you heard? I did this long ago.I planned it in the distant past.Now I make it happen so that you will turn fortified citiesinto piles of rubble.26 Those who live in these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed.They will be like plants in the field,like fresh, green grass on the roofs,scorched before it sprouted.27 I know when you get up and sit down,when you go out and come in,and how you rage against me.28 Since you rage against me and your boasting has reached my ears,I will put my hook in your noseand my bridle in your mouth.I will make you go back the way you came.29 “ ‘And this will be a sign for you, Hezekiah: You will eat what grows by itself this year and next year. But in the third year you will plant and harvest, plant vineyards, and eat what is produced.30 Those few people from the nation of Judah who escape will again take root and produce crops.

31 Those few people will go out from Jerusalem, and those who escape will go out of Mount Zion. The Lord is determined to do this.’
32 “This is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:He will never come into this city,shoot an arrow here,hold a shield in front of it,or put up dirt ramps to attack it.33 He will go back the way he came,and he won’t come into this city,”declares the Lord of Armies.34 “I will shield this city to rescue it for my sakeand for the sake of my servant David.”35 It happened that night. The Lord’s angel went out and killed 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp. When the Judeans got up early in the morning, they saw all the corpses.36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left. He went home to Nineveh and stayed there.

37 While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer assassinated him and escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king.