2 Kings 19:1–10

Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah

19^uAs soon as King Hezekiah heard it, ^the tore his clothes and ^vcovered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. ²And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, ^vcovered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. ³They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. ^4wIt may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^xto mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^ythe remnant that is left.” ⁵When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which ^zthe servants of the king of Assyria have ^areviled me. ⁷Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that ^bhe shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him ^cfall by the sword in his own land.’ ”

Sennacherib Defies the Lord

⁸The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^dLibnah, for he heard that the king had left ^eLachish. ^9fNow the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰“Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God ^gin whom you trust deceive you by promising that ^hJerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.