| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD's temple. | 1When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD's temple. |
| 2Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. | 2Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: |
| 3They said to him, "This is what Hezekiah says: 'Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, and 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 Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke him for the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.'" | 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 said to them, "Tell your master this, 'The LORD says: Don't be afraid because of the words you have heard, which the king of Assyria's attendants have blasphemed Me with. | 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. |
| 7I am about to put a spirit in him and 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 returned and found him 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. |
| 9The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: "He has set out to fight against you." So when he heard this, he 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: |
| 10Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: 'Don't let your God, whom you trust, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem won't be handed over to 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." |
| 11Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? | 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 that my predecessors destroyed rescue them--Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? | 12Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyed--the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar--rescued by their gods? |
| 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?'" | 13Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'" |
| 14Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the LORD's temple 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. |
| 15Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: | 15Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: |
| 16 LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are God--You alone--of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. | 16"O LORD who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. |
| 17Listen closely, LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, LORD, and see. Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. | 17Pay attention, LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, LORD, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! |
| 18 LORD, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands. | 18It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. |
| 19They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands--wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. | 19They 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. |
| 20Now, LORD our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD--You alone. | 20Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD." |
| 21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "The LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, | 21Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, |
| 22this is the word the LORD has spoken against him: Virgin Daughter Zion despises you and scorns you: Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head behind your back. | 22this 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. |
| 23Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised your voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! | 23Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel! |
| 24You have mocked the LORD through your servants. You have said, "With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its distant heights, its densest forest. | 24Through 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. |
| 25I dug wells and drank water. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet." | 25I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.' |
| 26Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble. | 26Certainly 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. |
| 27Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind. | 27Their 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. |
| 28But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me. | 28I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me. |
| 29Because your raging against Me and your arrogance have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came." | 29Because 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." |
| 30This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. | 30"This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. |
| 31The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. | 31Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. |
| 32For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.'" | 32"For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the LORD who commands armies will accomplish this. |
| 33Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or build up an assault ramp against it. | 33So 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 shielded warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. |
| 34He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is the LORD's declaration. | 34He will go back the way he came--he will not enter this city,' says the LORD. |
| 35I will defend this city and rescue it because of Me and because of My servant David." | 35I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant."'" |
| 36Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning--there were all the dead bodies! | 36The LORD's messenger went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! |
| 37So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh. | 37So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. |
| 38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place. | 38One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king. |
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