2Ki 18-19, 2Ch 28:19-21, 2Ch 32, Isa 8:7-8, 10:5-6, Isa 36-37 | ESV | STEP | In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah , king of Israel , Hezekiah the son of Ahaz , king of Judah , began to reign .

1 ^aIn the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^bHezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was ^ctwenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^dAbi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 ^eAnd he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 ^fHe removed the high places and broke the ^gpillars and cut down ^hthe Asherah. And he broke in pieces ⁱthe bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). ^{▼▼ Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and serpent} 5 ^kHe trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, ^lso that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 ^mFor he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 ⁿAnd the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, ^ohe prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. 8 ^pHe struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, ^qfrom watchtower to fortified city.

9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^rShalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in ^sHalah, and on the ^tHabor, ^uthe river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.

Sennacherib Attacks Judah

13 ^vIn the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear.” ^wAnd the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents ^{▼▼A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms} of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezekiah ^ygave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. 17 And the king of Assyria sent the ^zTartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by ^aathe conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 18 And when they called for the king, there came out to them ^abEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and ^acShebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

19 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 20 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of ^ada staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he ^aewhose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, "Go up against this land, and destroy it."’”

26 Then ^afEliakim the son of Hilkiah, and ^agShebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in ^ahAramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”

28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my ^{▼▼Hebrew his} hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will 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 your peace with me ^{▼▼Hebrew Make a blessing with me} and come out to me. Then ^akeach one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, ^ala land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and ^amhoney, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” 33 ^anHas any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 ^aoWhere are the gods of ^apHamath and ^aqArpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^arIvvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, ^asthat the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then ^atEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah ^auwith their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

2 Kings 19

Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah

1 ^avAs soon as King Hezekiah heard it, ^awhe tore his clothes and ^axcovered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, ^aycovered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 ^azIt may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^bato mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^bbthe remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which ^bcthe servants of the king of Assyria have ^bdreviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that ^behe shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him ^bffall by the sword in his own land.’”

Sennacherib Defies the Lord

8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^bgLibnah, for he heard that the king had left ^bhLachish. 9 ^biNow the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God ^bjin whom you trust deceive you by promising that ^bkJerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 ^blHave the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^bmGozan, ^bnHaran, Rezeph, and the people of ^boEden who were in Telassar? 13 ^bpWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received ^bqthe letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, ^brenthroned above the cherubim, ^bsyou are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 ^btIncline your ear, O Lord, and hear; ^buopen your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^bvto mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, ^bwbut the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, ^bxthat all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ^byyou, O Lord, are God alone.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria ^bzI have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“She despises you, she scorns you—
^cathe virgin daughter of Zion;
she ^cbwags her head behind you—
the daughter of Jerusalem.
22 “Whom have you ^ccmocked and ^cdreviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against ^cethe Holy One of Israel!
23 ^cfBy your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, ^cg‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of ^chLebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest lodging place,
its most ^cifruitful forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams ^cjof Egypt.’
25 “Have you not heard
that ^ckI determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what ^clnow I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
into heaps of ruins,
26 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become ^cmlike plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted before it is grown.
27 “But I know your sitting down
^cnand your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come into my ears,
I will ^coput my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and ^cpI will turn you back on the way
by which you came.
29 “And this shall be ^cqthe sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 ^crAnd the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion ^csa band of survivors. ^ctThe zeal of the Lord will do this.

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or ^cucast up a siege mound against it. 33 ^cvBy the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 ^cwFor I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake ^cxand for the sake of my servant David.”

35 And that night ^cythe angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at ^czNineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, ^daAdrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

2 Chronicles 28:19-21

19 For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made ^dbJudah act sinfully ^{▼▼Or wildly} and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. 20 So ^ddTiglath-pileser ^{▼▼Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser} king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. 21 ^dfFor Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

2 Chronicles 32

Sennacherib Invades Judah

1 ^dgAfter these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, 3 he planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and ^dhthe brook that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 He set to work resolutely and built up ^diall the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, ^{▼▼Vulgate; Hebrew and raised upon the towers} and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the ^dkMillo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance. 6 And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke ^dlencouragingly to them, saying, 7 ^dm“Be strong and courageous. ^dnDo not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, ^dofor there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is ^dpan arm of flesh, ^dqbut with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Blasphemes

9 After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? 11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 ^drHas not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? 14 Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? 15 Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!’”

16 And his servants said still more against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” 18 And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. 19 And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.

The Lord Delivers Jerusalem

20 Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with ^dsshame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. 22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. 23 And many ^dtbrought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.

Hezekiah’s Pride and Achievements

24 ^duIn those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah ^dvdid not make return according to the benefit done to him, for ^dwhis heart was proud. Therefore ^dxwrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah ^dyhumbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of ^dzcostly vessels; 28 storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. 29 He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. 30 This same Hezekiah ^eaclosed the upper outlet of the waters of ^ebGihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, ^ecwho had been sent to him to inquire about ^edthe sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, ^eein order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written ^efin the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, ^egin the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ^ehupper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Isaiah 8:7-8

7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them ^eithe waters of ^ejthe River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it ^ekwill rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, ^elreaching even to the neck, and its ^emoutspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, ^enO Immanuel.”

Isaiah 10:5-6

Judgment on Arrogant Assyria

5 Woe to Assyria, ^eothe rod of my anger;
the staff in their hands is my fury!
6 Against a ^epgodless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take ^eqspoil and seize plunder,
and to ^ertread them down like the mire of the streets.

Isaiah 36

Sennacherib Invades Judah

1 ^esIn the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, ^etSennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 ^euAnd the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh ^{▼▼ Rabshakeh is the title of a high-ranking Assyrian military officer} from ^ewLachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood ^exby the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 3 And there came out to him ^eyEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and ^ezShebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the ^fagreat king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 ^fbBehold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he ^fcwhose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse ^fda single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when ^feyou trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? ^ffThe Lord said to me, "Go up against this land and destroy it."’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants ^fgin Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ^fh‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me ^{▼▼Hebrew Make a blessing with me} and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until ^fjI come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 ^fkWhere are the gods of ^flHamath and ^fmArpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ^fnHave they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 ^foWho among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 ^fpThen Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Isaiah 37

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help

1 ^fqAs soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet ^frIsaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a ^fsday of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; ^ftchildren have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 ^fuIt may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^fvthe remnant that is left.’”

5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, ^fwI will put a spirit in him, so that ^fxhe shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and ^fyI will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’”

8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^fzLibnah, for he had heard that the king had left ^gaLachish. 9 Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of ^gbCush, ^{▼▼Probably Nubia} “He has set out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ^gd‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 ^geHave the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^gfGozan, ^ggHaran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 ^ghWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer for Deliverance

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, ^gienthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; ^gjyou have made heaven and earth. 17 ^gkIncline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear ^glall the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 18 Truly, O Lord, ^gmthe kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 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 were destroyed. 20 So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”

Sennacherib’s Fall

21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“‘She despises you, she scorns you—
^gnthe virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you—
the daughter of Jerusalem.
23 “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against ^gothe Holy One of Israel!
24 By your servants you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, ^gpWith my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon,
^gqto cut down its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses,
to come to its remotest height,
its most fruitful forest.
25 I dug wells
and drank waters,
to dry up with the sole of my foot
all ^grthe streams ^gsof Egypt.
26 ^gt“‘Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins,
27 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become like plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts and 2 Kings 19:26; most Hebrew manuscripts like a field} before it is grown.
28 “‘I know your sitting down
and your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
29 ^gvBecause you have raged against me
and your complacency has come to my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and ^gwI will turn you back on the way
by which you came.’
30 “And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah ^gxshall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 ^gyFor out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. ^gzThe zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or ^hacast up a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 35 ^hbFor I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for ^hcthe sake of my servant David.”

36 ^hdAnd the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at ^heNineveh. 38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of ^hfArarat, ^hgEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place.