Open English Translation ISA Chapter 37

37 When King Hezkiyah heard the report, he torn his clothes too, and covered himself with sackcloth and went into Yahweh’s residence. 2 Then he sent Elyakim (the palace supervisor) and Shevna (the administrator) and the elders of the priests to go to Yeshayah (Isaiah), the son of Amots (Amos) the prophet, 3 and they told him, “King Hezkiyah says that today is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, like when children go to their mother who’s about to deliver her baby but she doesn’t have the strength to give birth. 4 Perhaps your god Yahweh heard the messages from the negotiator who was sent by his master, the Assyrian king, to defy the living god. Perhaps Yahweh will rebuke him for the words that Yahweh heard. So send up a prayer for the remnant of us here.”

5 When King Hezkiyah’s servants got to Yeshayah, 6 he told them to tell their master, “Yahweh says not to be afraid because of the words that you heard when the Assyrian king’s servants insulted me. 7 Listen, I’ll put a spirit in him and he’ll hear a report that he needs to return to his own country, and then I’ll cause him to be assassinated at home.”

8 Then the Assyrian negotiator returned to find the Assyrian king because he’d heard that he had left Lakish, and he found him fighting against Livnah. 9 Then the king heard that Ethiopia’s King Tirhakah was marching out to attack him, so he sent messengers back to Hezkiyah with instructions, 10 “Tell Yehudah’s King Hezkiyah: don’t let your god that you trust in, deceive you by telling you that Yerushalem won’t be conquered by the Assyrian king. 11 Listen, you’ve heard how that the Assyrian kings have destroyed all the other regions. Don’t think that you’ll be saved. 12 Did the gods of those other nations save them—places like Gozan and Haran and Retsef, and the people of Eden who lived in Telassar? 13 What happened to the kings of Hamat, Arpad, La’ir, Sefarvayim, Hena, and Ivvah?”

14 Hezkiyah accepted the letter brought by the messengers and read it. Then he went into Yahweh’s residence and spread it out in front of Yahweh 15 and prayed to Yahweh, saying, 16 “Commander-in-chief Yahweh, Yisrael’s god, who’s enthroned above the winged creatures. You alone are God over all of earth’s kingdoms—you made the heavens and the earth. 17 Yahweh, please pay attention and listen. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and look, and listen to everything that Sennacherib has said to defy the living god. 18 Yahweh, it’s true that the Assyrian kings have destroyed all those nations and their regions, 19 and his men threw their gods into the fire, because they weren’t gods at all—they’re just crafted from wood and stone, so they destroyed them. 20 But now, Yahweh our god, save us from his power so that all of the world’s kingdoms will know that you alone are Yahweh who is God.

21 Then Amots’ son Yeshayah sent this message to King Hezkiyah: “Yisrael’s god Yahweh says that because you prayed to me about the Assyrian King Sennacherib, 22 then this is what Yahweh pronounces about him:

Tsiyyon’s (Zion’s) virgin daughter despises you—she scorns you.

Yerushalem’s daughter shakes her head at you.

23 Who is it that you’ve defied and insulted?

Who did you raise your voice against

and arrogantly challenged?

It was Yisrael’s holy one.

24 You’ve defied my master by sending your servants,

and you’ve said that you’ve gone to the tops of the mountains with your chariots—

up to the remotest parts of Lebanon to cut down its tallest cedars and best pines.

You’ve said that you’ll enter the highest parts of its forest plantation.

25 It’s me who has dug and drunk water,

and dried up all of Egypt’s canals with the soles of my feet.

26 “Haven’t you heard that I determined it from long ago.

≈ I planned it since ancient times and now I’m making it happen,

→ and you’re about to make fortified cities into desolate heaps of ruins.

27 Their powerless inhabitants are dismayed and ashamed.

They come and go like the vegetation in the countryside,

and like how a grass roof doesn’t stay green for long

and like a field as the grain crop grows.

28 “I know when you sit down and when you go in or out,

and I know your raging against me.

29 Because of that raging against me,

≈ and your arrogance that’s reached my ears,

I’ll put my hook in your nose

≈ and my bit in your mouth,

and I’ll send you home on the same road that you came here on.”

30 So this will be the sign for you Hezkiyah:

This year you’ll eat wild crops,

and next year you’ll eat the self-seeded growth.

But in the third year you must sow and harvest,

and plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

31 The people of Yehudah who’ve remained here

will send their roots down and their fruit will grow up,

32 because a remnant will come out of Yerushalem,

≈ and survivors from Mt. Tsiyyon (Zion).

Commander-in-chief Yahweh will accomplish this through his zeal.

33 Therefore Yahweh says this about the Assyrian king:

He won’t come into this city and he won’t shoot an error here.

≈ He won’t bring a shield near it, and he won’t build ramps up against it.

34 He’ll return by the road that he came on, and he won’t enter this city.

That is Yahweh’s declaration 35 and I’ll protect this city and rescue it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.

36 Then Yahweh’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers—when the others got up early the next morning, wow, there were corpses all around! 37 Then the Assyrian King Sennacherib left and headed back there, and he settled down in Nineveh. 38 One day he was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisrok, and his sons Adrammelek and Sharetser ran a sword through him before escaping to the Ararat region, and his son Esar-Haddon replaced him as king.