2 Kings 19

1-3 When Hezekiah heard it all, he too ripped his robes apart and dressed himself in rough burlap. Then he went into The Temple of God. He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, all of them dressed in rough burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They said to him, "A message from Hezekiah: 'This is a black day, a terrible day—doomsday! Babies poised to be born, No strength to birth them.

4  "'Maybe God, your God, has been listening to the blasphemous speech of the Rabshakeh who was sent by the king of Assyria, his master, to humiliate the living God; maybe God, your God, won't let him get by with such talk; and you, maybe you will lift up prayers for what's left of these people.'"

5  That's the message King Hezekiah's servants delivered to Isaiah.

6-7  Isaiah answered them, "Tell your master, 'God's word: Don't be at all concerned about what you've heard from the king of Assyria's bootlicking errand boys—these outrageous blasphemies. Here's what I'm going to do: Afflict him with self-doubt. He's going to hear a rumor and, frightened for his life, retreat to his own country. Once there, I'll see to it that he gets killed.'"

8-13  The Rabshakeh left and found that the king of Assyria had pulled up stakes from Lachish and was now fighting against Libnah. Then Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah king of Cush was on his way to fight against him. So he sent another envoy with orders to deliver this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: "Don't let that god that you think so much of keep stringing you along with the line, 'Jerusalem will never fall to the king of Assyria.' That's a barefaced lie. You know the track record of the kings of Assyria—country after country laid waste, devastated. And what makes you think you'll be an exception? Take a good look at these wasted nations, destroyed by my ancestors; did their gods do them any good? Look at Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, the people of Eden at Tel Assar. Ruins. And what's left of the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of Sepharvaim, of Hena, of Ivvah? Bones."

14-15  Hezekiah took the letter from the envoy and read it. He went to The Temple of God and spread it out before God. And Hezekiah prayed—oh, how he prayed! God, God of Israel, seated in majesty on the cherubim-throne. You are the one and only God, sovereign over all kingdoms on earth, Maker of heaven, maker of earth.

16  Open your ears, God, and listen, open your eyes and look. Look at this letter Sennacherib has sent, a brazen insult to the living God!

17  The facts are true, O God: The kings of Assyria have laid waste countries and kingdoms.

18  Huge bonfires they made of their gods, their no-gods hand-made from wood and stone.

19  But now O God, our God, save us from raw Assyrian power; Make all the kingdoms on earth know that you are God, the one and only God.20-21 It wasn't long before Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah: God's word: You've prayed to me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria; I've heard your prayer. This is my response to him: The Virgin Daughter of Zion holds you in utter contempt; Daughter Jerusalem thinks you're nothing but scum.

22  Who do you think it is you've insulted? Who do you think you've been bad-mouthing? Before whom do you suppose you've been strutting? The Holy One of Israel, that's who!

23  You dispatched your errand boys to humiliate the Master. You bragged, "With my army of chariots I've climbed the highest mountains, snow-peaked alpine Lebanon mountains! I've cut down its giant cedars, chopped down its prize pine trees. I've traveled the world, visited the finest forest retreats.

24  I've dug wells in faraway places and drunk their exotic waters; I've waded and splashed barefoot in the rivers of Egypt."25 Did it never occur to you that I'm behind all this? Long, long ago I drew up the plans, and now I've gone into action, Using you as a doomsday weapon, reducing proud cities to piles of rubble,

26  Leaving their people dispirited, slumped shoulders, limp souls. Useless as weeds, fragile as grass, insubstantial as wind-blown chaff.

27  I know when you sit down, when you come and when you go; And, yes, I've marked every one of your temper tantrums against me.

28  It's because of your temper, your blasphemous foul temper, That I'm putting my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth And turning you back to where you came from.29 And this, Hezekiah, will be for you the confirming sign: This year you'll eat the gleanings, next year whatever you can beg, borrow, or steal; But the third year you'll sow and harvest, plant vineyards and eat grapes.

30  A remnant of the family of Judah yet again will sink down roots and raise up fruit.

31  The remnant will come from Jerusalem, the survivors from Mount Zion. The Zeal of God will make it happen.32 To sum up, this is what God says regarding the king of Assyria: He won't enter this city, nor shoot so much as a single arrow there; Won't brandish a shield, won't even begin to set siege;

33  He'll go home by the same road he came; he won't enter this city. God's word!

34  I'll shield this city, I'll save this city, for my sake and for David's sake.

35  And it so happened that that very night an angel of God came and massacred 185,000 Assyrians. When the people of Jerusalem got up next morning, there it was—a whole camp of corpses!

36-37  Sennacherib king of Assyria got out of there fast, headed straight home for Nineveh, and stayed put. One day when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer murdered him and then escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon became the next king.

2 Kings 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,t clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:3 “This is what Hezekiah says:t ‘This is a day of distress, insults,t and humiliation,t as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.t

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.t When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.t So pray for this remnant that remains.’”t
5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah,6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.t

7 Look, I will take control of his mind;t he will receivet a report and return to his own land. I will cut him downt 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.t9 The kingt heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him.t 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 overt to the king of Assyria.”11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.t Do you really think you will be rescued?t12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods?t

13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair,s Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
14 Hezekiah took the letters from the messengers and read it.s 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 on the cherubs!s You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the skyt 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!t17 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,t 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.t

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 says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria.t

21 This is what the Lord says about him:t
“The virgin daughter Zions
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.s

22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted,t
and looked so arrogantly?t
At the Holy One of Israel!s

23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master,t
‘With my many chariotss
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,t
its thickest woods.

24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands.t
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’

25 tCertainly you must have heard!t
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I plannedt it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.t

26 Their residents are powerless,t
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation.t
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftopst
when it is scorched by the east wind.s

27 I know where you live,
and everything you do.s

28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears;s
I will put my hook in your nose,s
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
29 t This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth:t This year you will eat what grows wild,s and next yeart 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.t

30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.t

31 For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the sovereign Lordt to his peoplet will accomplish this.

32 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.t
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors,t
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.’”t
35 That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When theyt got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses.t36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.t

37 One day,s as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch,s his sonss Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.s They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.