Chapter 19

And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard² [it], that he rent⁴ his clothes, and covered¹⁰¹ himself with sackcloth, and went⁴ into the house of the LORD.

And he sent⁴ Eliakim, which [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe,⁶ and the elders of the priests, covered¹⁰² with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

And they said⁴ unto him, Thus saith¹ Hezekiah, This day [is] a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come¹ to the birth, and [there is] not strength to bring forth.²

It may be the LORD thy God will hear⁴ all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent¹ to reproach¹⁵ the living God; and will reprove⁵² the words which the LORD thy God hath heard:¹ wherefore lift up¹ [thy] prayer for the remnant that are left.¹²

So the servants of king Hezekiah came⁴ to Isaiah.

And Isaiah said⁴ unto them, Thus shall ye say⁴ to your master, Thus saith¹ the LORD, Be not afraid⁴ of the words which thou hast heard,¹ with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed¹⁴ me.

Behold, I will send⁶ a blast upon him, and he shall hear¹ a rumour, and shall return¹ to his own land; and I will cause him to fall⁵² by the sword in his own land.

So Rabshakeh returned,⁴ and found⁴ the king of Assyria warring¹² against Libnah: for he had heard¹ that he was departed¹ from Lachish.

And when he heard⁴ say² of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out¹ to fight⁹ against thee: he sent⁴ messengers again⁴ unto Hezekiah, saying,²

Thus shall ye speak⁴ to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying,² Let not thy God in whom thou trustest⁶ deceive⁵⁵ thee, saying,² Jerusalem shall not be delivered¹¹ into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Behold, thou hast heard¹ what the kings of Assyria have done¹ to all lands, by destroying them utterly:⁵³ and shalt thou be delivered?¹¹

Have the gods of the nations delivered⁵² them which my fathers have destroyed;¹⁴ [as] Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Thelasar?

Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

And Hezekiah received⁴ the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read⁴ it: and Hezekiah went up⁴ into the house of the LORD, and spread⁴ it before the LORD.

And Hezekiah prayed¹⁰¹ before the LORD, and said,⁴ O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest⁶ [between] the cherubims, thou art the God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made¹ heaven and earth.

LORD, bow down⁵⁴ thine ear, and hear:³ open,³ LORD, thine eyes, and see:³ and hear³ the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent¹ him to reproach¹⁵ the living God.

Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed⁵² the nations and their lands,

And have cast¹ their gods into the fire: for they [were] no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed¹⁷ them.

Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save⁵⁴ thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know⁴ that thou [art] the LORD God, [even] thou only.

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent⁴ to Hezekiah, saying,² Thus saith¹ the LORD God of Israel, [That] which thou hast prayed⁹⁸ to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.¹

This [is] the word that the LORD hath spoken¹⁴ concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised¹ thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn;¹ the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken⁵² her head at thee.

Whom hast thou reproached¹⁴ and blasphemed?¹⁴ and against whom hast thou exalted⁵² [thy] voice, and lifted up⁴ thine eyes on high? [even] against the Holy [One] of Israel.

By thy messengers thou hast reproached¹⁴ the Lord, and hast said,⁴ With the multitude ⁷³⁹³ of my chariots I am come up¹ to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down⁴ the tall cedar trees thereof, [and] the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter⁴ into the lodgings of his borders, [and into] the forest of his Carmel.

I have digged¹ and drunk¹ strange⁵ waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up⁵⁵ all the rivers of besieged places. ⁴⁶⁹²

Hast thou not heard¹ long ago [how] I have done¹ it, [and] of ancient times that I have formed¹ it? now have I brought it to pass,⁵² that thou shouldest be to lay waste⁵³ fenced⁷ cities [into] ruinous¹² heaps.

Therefore their inhabitants⁶ were of small power, they were dismayed¹ and confounded;⁴ they were [as] the grass of the field, and [as] the green herb, [as] the grass on the housetops, and [as corn] blasted before it be grown up.

But I know¹ thy abode,² and thy going out,² and thy coming in,² and thy rage⁹⁹ against me.

Because thy rage⁹⁹ against me and thy tumult is come up¹ into mine ears, therefore I will put¹ my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back⁵² by the way by which thou camest.¹

And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat² this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow³ ye, and reap,³ and plant³ vineyards, and eat³ the fruits thereof.

And the remnant¹² that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again¹ take root downward, and bear¹ fruit upward.

For out of Jerusalem shall go forth⁴ a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD [of hosts] shall do⁴ this.

Therefore thus saith¹ the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come⁴ into this city, nor shoot⁵⁵ an arrow there, nor come before¹⁷ it with shield, nor cast⁴ a bank against it.

By the way that he came,⁴ by the same shall he return,⁴ and shall not come⁴ into this city, saith⁷ the LORD.

For I will defend¹ this city, to save⁵³ it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out,⁴ and smote⁵⁵ in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early⁵⁵ in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead⁵ corpses.

So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed,⁴ and went⁴ and returned,⁴ and dwelt⁴ at Nineveh.

And it came to pass, as he was worshipping¹⁰² in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote⁵² him with the sword: and they escaped⁸ into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned⁴ in his stead.