“1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard [it], that he rent
his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house
of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who [was] over the household, and
Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth,
unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus
saith Hezekiah, This day [is] a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of
blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and [there is] not
strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the
words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to
reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy
God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that is
left. 5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah
said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD,
Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants
of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will send a blast
upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I
will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”
“8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring
against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9
And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth
to make war with thee. And when he heard [it], he sent messengers to
Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,
saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11
Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands
by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the
gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, [as]
Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in
Telassar? 13 Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and
the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? 14 And Hezekiah
received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and
Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the
LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16 O LORD of hosts,
God of Israel, that dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou [art] the
God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made
heaven and earth. 17 Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine
eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath
sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of
Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, 19 And
have cast their gods into the fire: for they [were] no gods, but the
work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the
kingdoms of the earth may know that thou [art] the LORD, [even] thou
only.”
“21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith
the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against
Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22 This [is] the word which the LORD hath
spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised
thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken
her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and
against whom hast thou exalted [thy] voice, and lifted up thine eyes on
high? [even] against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By thy servants hast
thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots
am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon;
and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, [and] the choice fir trees
thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, [and] the
forest of his Carmel. 25 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the
sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.
26 Hast thou not heard long ago, [how] I have done it; [and] of ancient
times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou
shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities [into] ruinous heaps. 27
Therefore their inhabitants [were] of small power, they were dismayed
and confounded: 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. 28 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and
thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29 Because thy rage against me,
and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook
in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the
way by which thou camest. 30 And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, Ye
shall eat [this] year such as groweth of itself; and the second year
that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and
reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 31 And the remnant
that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward,
and bear fruit upward: 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant,
and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts
shall do this. 33 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of
Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor
come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. 34 By the way
that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this
city, saith the LORD. 35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine
own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. 36 Then the angel of the LORD
went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and
fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning,
behold, they [were] all dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria
departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to
pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that
Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they
escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his
stead.” (Isaiah 37:1-38 AV)