Isaiah 37

Hezekiah Asks Isaiah for Advice

(2 Kings 19.1-13)

1As soon as Hezekiah heard the news, he tore off his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. Then he went into the temple of the Lord .

2He told Prime Minister Eliakim, Assistant Prime Minister Shebna, and the senior priests to dress in sackcloth and tell me:

5When these leaders came to me,

6I told them that the Lord had this message for Hezekiah:

8Meanwhile the commander of the Assyrian forces heard that his king had left the town of Lachish and was now attacking Libnah. So he went there.

9About this same time, the king of Assyria learned that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was on his way to attack him. Then the king of Assyria sent some messengers with this note for Hezekiah:[#37.9 See the note at 11.11.]

Hezekiah Prays

(2 Kings 19.14-19)

14After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the Lord to see.

15Then he prayed:

Isaiah Gives the Lord 's Answer to Hezekiah

(2 Kings 19.20-34)

21-22I went to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord God of Israel had said:

The people of Jerusalem

hate and make fun of you;

they laugh behind your back.

23Sennacherib, you cursed,

shouted and sneered at me,

the holy One of Israel.

24You let your officials

insult me, the Lord.

And here is what you

have said about yourself,

“I led my chariots

to the highest heights

of Lebanon's mountains.

I went deep into its forest,

cutting down the best cedar

and cypress trees.

25I dried up every stream

in the land of Egypt,

and I drank water

from wells I had dug.”

26Sennacherib, now listen

to me, the Lord .

I planned all of this long ago.

And you don't even know

that I alone am the one

who decided that you

would do these things.

I let you make ruins

of fortified cities.

27Their people became weak,

terribly confused.

They were like wild flowers

or like tender young grass

growing on a flat roof

or like a field of grain

before it matures.

28I know all about you,

even how fiercely angry

you are with me.

29I have seen your pride

and the tremendous hatred

you have for me.

Now I will put a hook

in your nose,

a bit in your mouth,

then I will send you back

to where you came from.

The Death of King Sennacherib

(2 Kings 19.35-37)

36The Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed 185,000 of them all in one night. The next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies.

37After this, King Sennacherib went back to Assyria and lived in the city of Nineveh.

38One day he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, when his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. They escaped to the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon became king.[#37.38 He ruled Assyria 681–669 b.c.]

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Published by: American Bible Society