Isaiah 37
36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief1 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this,2 he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the
37:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah,
37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the
37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.14 37:9 The king15 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia16 was marching out to fight him.17 He again sent18 messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 37:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.19 Do you really think you will be rescued?20 37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors21 destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods?22 37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair,23 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter24 from the messengers and read it.25 Then Hezekiah went up to the
37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the
“The virgin daughter Zion35
despises you – she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.36
37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?37
At the Holy One of Israel!38
37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master,39
‘With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions,40
its thickest woods.
and drank water.41
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
37:2642 Certainly you must have heard!43
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned44 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.45
37:27 Their residents are powerless;46
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.47
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops48
when it is scorched by the east wind.49
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.50
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,51
I will put my hook in your nose,52
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:3053 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth:54 This year you will eat what grows wild,55 and next year56 what grows on its own. But the year after that57 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.58 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.59
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the
37:33 So this is what the
‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.61
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,62
nor will he build siege works against it.
37:34 He will go back the way he came –
he will not enter this city,’ says the
37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’”63
37:36 The