Isaiah 36–37

Sennacherib Warns Jerusalem

36Sennacherib attacked and captured all of the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria. ²He sent his field commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He sent him along with a large army. The commander stopped at the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. It was on the road to the Washerman’s Field.

³Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to him. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was in charge of the palace. Shebna was the secretary. Joah, the son of Asaph, kept the records.

⁴The field commander said to them, “Give Hezekiah this message. Tell him,

“ ‘Sennacherib is the great king of Assyria. He says, “Why are you putting your faith in what your king says? ⁵You say you have a military plan. You say you have a strong army. But your words don’t mean anything. Who are you depending on? Why don’t you want to stay under my control?

⁶“ ‘ “You are depending on Egypt. Why are you doing that? Egypt is nothing but a broken papyrus stem. Try leaning on it. It will only cut your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who depends on him.

⁷“ ‘ “Suppose you say to me, ‘We are depending on the Lord our God.’ Didn’t Hezekiah remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at the altar in Jerusalem’?

⁸“ ‘ “Come on. Make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses. But only if you can put riders on them! ⁹You are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen. You can’t drive away even the least important officer among my master’s officials.

¹⁰“ ‘ “Besides, do you think I’ve come without being sent by the Lord? Have I come to attack and destroy this land without receiving a message from him? The Lord himself told me to march out against your country. He told me to destroy it.” ’ ”

¹¹Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah spoke to the field commander. They said, “Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew. If you do, the people who are on the wall will be able to understand you.”

¹²But the commander replied, “My master sent me to say these things. Are these words only for your master and you to hear? Aren’t they also for the men who are sitting on the wall? They are going to suffer just like you. They’ll have to eat their own waste. They’ll have to drink their own urine.”

¹³Then the commander stood up and spoke in the Hebrew language. He called out, “Pay attention to what the great king of Assyria is telling you. ¹⁴He says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah trick you. He can’t save you! ¹⁵Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord. Don’t believe him when he says, “You can be sure that the Lord will save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ’

¹⁶“Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make a peace treaty with me. Come over to my side. Then every one of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree. Every one of you will drink water from your own well. ¹⁷You will do that until I come back. Then I’ll take you to a land that is just like yours. It’s a land that has a lot of grain and fresh wine. It has plenty of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸“ ‘Don’t let Hezekiah fool you. He’s telling you a lie when he says, “The Lord will save us.” Has the god of any nation ever saved his land from the powerful hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they saved Samaria from my power? ²⁰Which one of all of the gods of those countries has been able to save his land from me? So how can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power?’ ”

²¹But the people remained silent. They didn’t say anything. That’s because King Hezekiah had commanded, “Don’t answer him.”

²²Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, went to Hezekiah. Eliakim was in charge of the palace. The secretary Shebna went with him. So did Joah, the son of Asaph. Joah kept the records. All of them went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn. They told him what the field commander had said.

Isaiah Prophesies That Jerusalem Will Be Saved

37When King Hezekiah heard what the field commander had said, he tore his clothes. He put on black clothes. Then he went into the Lord’s temple. ²Hezekiah sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, to me. He also sent the leading priests and the secretary Shebna to me. All of them were wearing black clothes.

³They told me, “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 me. ⁶Then I 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 king of Egypt. He was from the land 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. ¹¹I’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?

¹²“ ‘The 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, 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 of the kingdoms on earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁷Listen, 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. ¹⁹They 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 human hands.

²⁰“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.”

Sennacherib Falls From Power

²¹I sent a message to Hezekiah. I said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘You have prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. ²²So here is the message I have spoken against him. I am 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.

²³Who 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!

²⁴Through 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 mountains.

I’ve reached its finest forests.

²⁵I’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.’

²⁶“ ‘ “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.

²⁷Their 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 live.

I know when you come and go.

I know how very angry you are with me.

²⁹You 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.’ ” ’ ”

³⁰The Lord said, “Hezekiah, here is a miraculous 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.

³¹The people of Judah who are still alive will be like plants.

Once more they will put down roots and produce fruit.

³²Out of…