²Hezekiah sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, to the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz. He also sent the leading priests and the secretary Shebna to him. All of them were wearing black clothes.

³They 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 allow them to be born. 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.’ ”

⁵King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah. ⁶Then Isaiah 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. ⁷Listen! I will send him news from his own country. It will upset him so much that he will return home. There I will have him cut down with a sword.” ’ ”

⁸The 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.

⁹During that time Sennacherib received a report. He was told that Tirhakah was marching out to fight against him. Tirhakah was the king of Egypt. He was from the land of Cush.

Sennacherib 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 of the other countries. They have destroyed them completely. So do you think you will be saved? ¹²The kings who ruled before me destroyed many nations. Did the gods of those nations save them? Did the gods of Gozan, Haran or Rezeph save them? What about the gods of the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? ¹³Where is the king of Hamath? Where is the king of Arpad? Where is the king of the city of Sepharvaim? Where are the kings of Hena or Ivvah?’ ”

Hezekiah Prays to the Lord

¹⁴When 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.

¹⁵Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord, you are the God of Israel. You sit on your throne between the cherubim. You alone are God over all of the kingdoms on earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶Listen, 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!

¹⁷“Lord, it’s true that the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations and their lands. ¹⁸They 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 that were made out of wood and stone. They were made by the hands of men.

¹⁹“Lord our God, save us from the powerful hand of Sennacherib. Then all of the kingdoms on earth will know that you alone are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies That Sennacherib Will Fall From Power

²⁰Isaiah sent a message to Hezekiah. Isaiah was the son of Amoz. Isaiah said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I have heard your prayer about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.’

²¹“Here is the message the Lord has spoken against him. The Lord says,

“ ‘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.

²²Who 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!

²³Through 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 pine trees.

I’ve reached its farthest parts.

I’ve reached its finest forests.

²⁴I’ve dug wells in strange lands.

I’ve drunk the water from them.

I’ve walked through all of Egypt’s streams.

I’ve dried up every one of them.”

²⁵“ ‘But I, the Lord, say, “Haven’t you heard what I have done?

Long ago I arranged for you to do all of that.

In days of old I planned it.

Now I have made it happen.

You have turned cities with high walls

into piles of stone.

²⁶Their 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.

²⁷“ ‘ “But I know where you live.

I know when you come and go.

I know how very angry you are with me.

²⁸You roar against me and brag.

And I have heard your bragging.

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.” ’ ”

²⁹The Lord said, “Hezekiah, here is a miraculous sign for you.

“This year you will eat what grows by itself.

In the second 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.

³⁰The people of Judah who are still alive will be like plants.

Once more they will put down roots and produce fruit.

³¹Out of Jerusalem will come those 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.

³²“Here is a message from me about the king of Assyria. It says,

“ ‘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.

³³By the same way he came he will go home.

He will not enter this city,’

announces the Lord.

³⁴“ ‘I will guard this city and save it.

I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David.’ ”

³⁵That night 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 of the dead bodies. ³⁶So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, took the army tents down. Then he left. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

³⁷One day Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch. His sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with their swords. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. Esarhaddon became the next king after his father Sennacherib.

Hezekiah Becomes Sick

20In those days Hezekiah became very sick. He knew he was about to die.

The prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, went to him. Isaiah told Hezekiah, “The Lord says, ‘Put everything in order. Make out your will. You are going to die soon. You will not get well again.’ ”

²Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall. He prayed to the Lord. He said, ³“Lord, please remember how faithful I’ve been to you. I’ve lived the way you wanted me to. I’ve served you with all my heart. I’ve done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah cried bitterly.

⁴Isaiah was leaving the middle courtyard. Before he had left it, a message came to him from the Lord. He said, ⁵“Go back and speak to Hezekiah. He is the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of King David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. And I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to my temple. ⁶I will add 15 years to your life. And I will save you and this city from the powerful hand of the king of Assyria. I will guard this city. I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David.” ’ ”

⁷Then Isaiah said, “Press some figs together. Spread them on a piece of cloth.” So that’s what they did. Then they applied it to Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well again.

⁸Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “You say the Lord will heal me. You say that I’ll go up to his temple on the third day from now. What will the miraculous sign be to prove he’ll really do that?”

⁹Isaiah answered, “The Lord will do what he has promised. Here is his sign to you. Do you want the shadow the sun makes to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”

¹⁰“It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “So have it go back ten steps.”

¹¹Then the prophet Isaiah called out to the Lord. And the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps. It went back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway Ahaz had made.

Messengers Come From Babylon to Hezekiah

¹²At that time Merodach-Baladan, the king of Babylonia, sent Hezekiah letters and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. Merodach-Baladan was the son of Baladan.

¹³Hezekiah received the messengers. He showed them everything that was in his storerooms. He showed them the silver and gold. He showed them the spices and the fine olive oil. He showed them where he kept his weapons. And he showed them all of his treasures. In fact, he showed them everything that was in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

¹⁴Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. He asked him, “What did those men say? Where did they come from?”

“They came from a land far away,” Hezekiah said. “They came from Babylon.”

¹⁵The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “I showed them all of my treasures.”

¹⁶Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the Lord’s message. He says, ¹⁷…

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