Isaiah 37 | King James Version

King James Version

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' 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' 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.

New International Reader’s Version

Isaiah prophesies that Jerusalem will be saved

1 When King Hezekiah heard what the field commander had said, he tore his clothes. He put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. Then he went into the LORD’s temple. 2 Hezekiah sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. He also sent the leading priests and Shebna the secretary to him. All of them were wearing rough clothing. 3 They told Isaiah, ‘Hezekiah says, “Today we’re in great trouble. The LORD is warning us. He’s bringing shame on us. Sometimes babies come to the moment when they should be born. But their mothers aren’t strong enough to give birth to them. Today we are like those mothers. We aren’t strong enough to save ourselves. 4 Perhaps the LORD your God will hear everything the field commander has said. His master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to make fun of the living God. Maybe the LORD your God will punish him for what he has heard him say. So pray for the remaining people who are still alive here.” ’ 5 King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah. 6 Then he said to them, ‘Tell your master, “The LORD says, ‘Do not be afraid of what you have heard. The officers who are under the king of Assyria have spoken evil things against me. 7 Listen! I will send him news from his own country. It will make him want to return home. There I will let him be cut down by a sword.’ ” ’ 8 The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. So the commander pulled his troops back from Jerusalem. He went to join the king. He found out that the king was fighting against Libnah. 9 During that time Sennacherib received a report. He was told that Tirhakah was marching out to fight against him. Tirhakah was the king of Cush. When Sennacherib heard the report, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah with a letter. It said, 10 ‘Tell Hezekiah, the king of Judah, “Don’t let the god you depend on trick you. He says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ But don’t believe him. 11 I’m sure you have heard about what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries. They have destroyed them completely. So do you think you will be saved? 12 The kings who ruled before me destroyed many nations. Did the gods of those nations save them? Did the gods of Gozan, Harran or Rezeph save them? What about the gods of the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath? Where is the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?” ’

Hezekiah prays to the Lord

14 When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, he read it. Then he went up to the LORD’s temple. There he spread the letter out in front of the LORD. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the LORD. He said, 16 ‘LORD who rules over all, you are the God of Israel. You sit on your throne between the cherubim. You alone are God over all the kingdoms on earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Listen, LORD. Hear us. Open your eyes, LORD. Look at the trouble we’re in. Listen to what Sennacherib is saying. You are the living God. And he dares to make fun of you! 18 ‘LORD, it’s true that the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations and their lands. 19 They have thrown the statues of the gods of those nations into the fire. And they have destroyed them. That’s because they weren’t really gods at all. They were nothing but statues made out of wood and stone. They were made by human hands. 20 LORD our God, save us from the power of Sennacherib. Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you are the only God.’

Sennacherib falls from power

21 Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah. Isaiah said, ‘The LORD is the God of Israel. He says, “You have prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. 22 So here is the message the LORD has spoken against him. The LORD is telling him, ‘ “ ‘You will not win the battle over Zion. Its people hate you and make fun of you. The people of Jerusalem lift up their heads proudly as you run away. 23 Who have you laughed at? Who have you spoken evil things against? Who have you raised your voice against? Who have you looked at so proudly? You have done it against me. I am the Holy One of Israel! 24 Through your messengers you have laughed at me again and again. And you have said, “I have many chariots. With them I have climbed to the tops of the mountains. I’ve climbed the highest mountains in Lebanon. I’ve cut down its tallest cedar trees. I’ve cut down the best of its juniper trees. I’ve reached its farthest mountains. I’ve reached its finest forests. 25 I’ve dug wells in other lands. I’ve drunk the water from them. I’ve walked through all the streams of Egypt. I’ve dried up every one of them.” 26 ‘ “ ‘But I, the LORD, say, “Haven’t you heard what I have done? Long ago I arranged for you to do this. In days of old I planned it. Now I have made it happen. You have turned cities with high walls into piles of stone. 27 Their people do not have any power left. They are troubled and put to shame. They are like plants in the field. They are like new green plants. They are like grass that grows on a roof. It dries up before it is completely grown. 28 ‘ “ ‘ “But I know where you are. I know when you come and go. I know how very angry you are with me. 29 You roar against me and boast. And I have heard your boasting. So I will put my hook in your nose. I will put my bit in your mouth. And I will make you go home by the same way you came.” ’ ” ’ 30 The LORD said, ‘Hezekiah, here is a sign for you. ‘This year you will eat what grows by itself. Next year you will eat what grows from that. But in the third year you will plant your crops and gather them in. You will plant your grapevines and eat their fruit. 31 The people of the kingdom of Judah who are still alive will be like plants. Once more they will put down roots and produce fruit. 32 Out of Jerusalem will come the people who remain. Out of Mount Zion will come those who are still left alive. My great love will make sure that happens. I rule over all. 33 ‘Here is a message from me about the king of Assyria. I say, ‘ “He will not enter this city. He will not even shoot an arrow at it. He will not come near it with a shield. He will not build a ramp in order to climb over its walls. 34 By the way that he came he will go home. He will not enter this city,” announces the LORD. 35 “I will guard this city and save it. I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David.” ’ 36 Then the angel of the LORD went into the camp of the Assyrians. He put to death 185,000 soldiers there. The people of Jerusalem got up the next morning. They looked out and saw all the dead bodies. 37 So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, took the army tents down. Then he left. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 38 One day Sennacherib was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisrok. His sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with their swords. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. Esarhaddon became the next king after his father Sennacherib.