2Ki 19:1-19 | ESV | STEP | As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord .

1 ^aAs soon as King Hezekiah heard it, ^bhe tore his clothes and ^ccovered 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, ^dcovered 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 ^eIt may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^fto mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^gthe 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 ^hthe servants of the king of Assyria have ⁱreviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that ^jhe shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him ^kfall by the sword in his own land.’”

Sennacherib Defies the Lord

8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^lLibnah, for he heard that the king had left ^mLachish. 9 ⁿNow 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 ^oin whom you trust deceive you by promising that ^pJerusalem 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 ^qHave the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^rGozan, ^sHaran, Rezeph, and the people of ^tEden who were in Telassar? 13 ^uWhere 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 ^vthe 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, ^wenthroned above the cherubim, ^xyou are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 ^yIncline your ear, O Lord, and hear; ^zopen your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^aato 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, ^abbut 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, ^acthat all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ^adyou, O Lord, are God alone.”