| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD. | 1When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD's temple. |
| 2And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz | 2He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: |
| 3to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them. | 3"This is what Hezekiah says: 'This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. |
| 4Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.” | 4Perhaps 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. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'" |
| 5So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, | 5When King Hezekiah's servants came to Isaiah, |
| 6who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. | 6Isaiah 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. |
| 7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’ ” | 7Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land."'" |
| 8When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. | 8When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. |
| 9Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, | 9The king heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: |
| 10“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. | 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." |
| 11Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared? | 11Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued? |
| 12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar? | 12Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed--the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar--rescued by their gods? |
| 13Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’ ” | 13Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'" |
| 14So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. | 14Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the LORD's temple and spread it out before the LORD. |
| 15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. | 15Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: "LORD God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. |
| 16Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God. | 16Pay attention, LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, LORD, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! |
| 17Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands. | 17It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. |
| 18They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands. | 18They have burned the gods of the nations, 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. |
| 19And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.” | 19Now, 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." |
| 20Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. | 20Isaiah 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. |
| 21This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you. | 21This is what the LORD says about him: "The virgin daughter Zion despises you, she makes fun of you; Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. |
| 22Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! | 22Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted, and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel! |
| 23Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest outposts, the densest of its forests. | 23Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, '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 most remote regions, its thickest woods. |
| 24I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.” | 24I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.' |
| 25Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble. | 25Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. |
| 26Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown. | 26Their residents are powerless, they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field, or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind. |
| 27But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me. | 27I know where you live, and everything you do. |
| 28Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’ | 28Because you rage against me, and the uproar you create has reached my ears; I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came." |
| 29And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. | 29This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year 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. |
| 30And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above. | 30Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. |
| 31For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this. | 31For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the sovereign LORD to his people will accomplish this. |
| 32So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it. | 32So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. |
| 33He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD. | 33He will go back the way he came. He will not enter this city," says the LORD. |
| 34‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’ ” | 34I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.'" |
| 35And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies! | 35That very night the LORD's messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. |
| 36So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. | 36So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. |
| 37One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place. | 37One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king. |
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