| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. | 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 over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the 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: |
| 3And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. | 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. |
| 4It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” | 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 came to Isaiah. | 5When King Hezekiah's servants came to Isaiah, |
| 6And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which 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. |
| 7Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ” | 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."'" |
| 8Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. | 8When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. |
| 9And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, 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: |
| 10“Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given 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." |
| 11Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? | 11Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued? |
| 12Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were 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, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ” | 13Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'" |
| 14And 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. | 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, saying: | 15Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: |
| 16“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and 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. |
| 17Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach 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! |
| 18Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, | 18It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. |
| 19and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they 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 therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, 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 the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against 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 which the LORD has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken 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. |
| 23“Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? 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! |
| 24By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful 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 have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.’ | 25I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.' |
| 26“Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. | 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. |
| 27Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. | 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. |
| 28“But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. | 28I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me. |
| 29Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which 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." |
| 30“This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. | 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. |
| 31And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. | 31Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. |
| 32For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do 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. |
| 33“Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound 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. |
| 34By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the LORD. | 34He will go back the way he came--he will not enter this city,' says the LORD. |
| 35‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ” | 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 killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. | 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 departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. | 37So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. |
| 38Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned 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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