Hezekiah asked Isaiah for advice

37 When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough sackcloth because he was very distressed. Then he went into the temple of Yahweh and prayed. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, Shebna, and the ◄older/most important► priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, to talk to me. 3 He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that this is a day when we are greatly distressed. Other nations are causing us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth to a baby, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it. 4 But perhaps Yahweh our God has heard what the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss, the King of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will punish the King of Assyria for what he said. And the king requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive here in Jerusalem.’ ”

5 After those men gave me that message, 6 I replied, “Tell the King, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “Those messengers from the King of Assyria have said evil things about me. But do not be disturbed by what they said. 7 Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that the armies of Babylon are about to attack his country, and that will worry him. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by men using swords.” ’ ”

8 The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria and his army had captured Lachish city and that they were attacking Libnah, which is a nearby city. So the official left Jerusalem and went to Libnah to report to the king what had happened in Jerusalem.

9 Soon after that, King Sennacherib received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah with his army to fight against the army from Ethiopia, he sent other messengers to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with a letter. In the letter he wrote this to Hezekiah:

10 “Do not allow your god, on whom you are relying, to deceive you by promising you that Jerusalem will not be captured by my army. 11 You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries; our armies have destroyed them completely. So, ◄do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!► [RHQ] 12 Did the gods of the nations that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue Gozan region, and Haran and Rezeph cities in northern Syria, and the people of Eden region who were forced to go to Tel-Assar city? 13 What happened to the King of Hamath and the King of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah cities? Did their gods rescue them [RHQ]?”