Isaiah

And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.

1When King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes in grief. He put on rough cloth and went into the LORD's house.

NoteTearing your clothes and putting on "sackcloth," a rough scratchy cloth, was how people showed deep grief or fear in public.

2And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

2He sent Eliakim, who ran the palace, and Shebna the scribe, along with the leading priests. All of them wore rough cloth. They went to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

3And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

3They said to him, "Hezekiah says this: Today is a day of trouble, of scolding, and of shame. It is like a birth where the baby is ready but the mother has no strength left to push."

4It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

4"Maybe the LORD your God heard what the Rabshakeh said. His master, the king of Assyria, sent him to insult the living God. Maybe the LORD your God will punish him for those words. So please pray for the few of us who are left."

Note"Rabshakeh" is not a name. It is the title of a high officer of the Assyrian king, something like chief commander.

5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

5So King Hezekiah's servants came to Isaiah.

6And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

6Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master that the LORD says this: Do not be afraid of the words you heard. The servants of the king of Assyria used them to insult me."

7Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

7"Listen. I will put a spirit in him. He will hear a report and go back to his own country. There I will have him killed by the sword."

8So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

8The Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. So he went back and found the king fighting against the town of Libnah.

9And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

9Then the king heard news about Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia: "He has marched out to fight you." When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this message:

10Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

10"Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the God you trust fool you. He says Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

11Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

11"You have surely heard what the kings of Assyria did to every land. They destroyed them completely. So will you be the one who escapes?"

12Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?

12"My fathers wiped out nations, and their gods could not rescue them. Think of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who lived in Telassar."

13Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?

13"Where is the king of Hamath, or the king of Arphad, or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena and Ivah?"

14And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

14Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the LORD's house and spread the letter open before the LORD.

15And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,

15And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD. He said:

16O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

16"LORD of armies, God of Israel, you sit on your throne above the winged creatures. You alone are God over every kingdom on earth. You made the sky and the land."

17Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.

17"Turn your ear this way, LORD, and listen. Open your eyes, LORD, and look. Hear everything Sennacherib said when he sent his message to insult the living God."

18Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,

18"It is true, LORD. The kings of Assyria have ruined all those nations and their lands."

19And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

19"They threw their gods into the fire. But those were not gods at all. They were only wood and stone made by human hands, so they could be destroyed."

20Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.

20"So now, LORD our God, save us from his power. Then every kingdom on earth will know that you alone are the LORD."

21Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:

21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this word to Hezekiah: "The LORD, the God of Israel, says: You prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria."

22This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

22"So here is what the LORD says about him: The young woman, the daughter of Zion, looks down on you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head as you go."

23Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

23"Who is it you have insulted and mocked? Who did you shout at and stare down with pride? You did it to the Holy One of Israel."

24By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

24"Through your servants you insulted the Lord. You said, 'With my many chariots I climbed the high mountains, to the far peaks of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars and its finest fir trees. I reached its highest edge, its thickest forest.'"

25I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.

25"'I dug wells and drank the water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of the places I attacked.'"

26Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.

26"Have you not heard? I decided this long ago. I planned it in ancient times, and now I have made it happen. That is why you can smash walled cities into piles of rubble."

27Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

27"So the people in them had no strength. They were frightened and ashamed. They were like grass in a field, like tender green shoots, like grass on a roof, burned up before it grows."

Note"Corn" in the King James Version means grain of any kind, like wheat or barley, not the corn on the cob we know today.

28But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

28"But I know where you live, when you go out and when you come in, and how you rage against me."

29Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

29"Because your rage and your shouting have reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. I will turn you back the way you came."

30And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

30"And here is the sign for you, Hezekiah. This year you will eat what grows on its own. Next year you will eat what grows from that. But in the third year, plant and harvest, plant vineyards and eat their fruit."

31And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

31"The people of Judah who are left and have escaped will grow roots down deep and bear fruit up above."

32For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.

32"A few will come out of Jerusalem alive. Some will escape from Mount Zion. The strong love of the LORD of armies will make this happen."

33Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.

33"So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot a single arrow into it. He will not come at it with shields or pile up dirt against its wall."

NoteTo "cast a bank" against a city means to pile up a huge ramp of dirt against the wall so soldiers can climb over it.

34By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

34"He will go back the way he came. He will not enter this city, says the LORD."

35For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

35"I will guard this city and save it. I will do it for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David."

36Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

36Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck the Assyrian camp. He killed 185,000 men. When the people got up early the next morning, all of them lay dead.

37So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

37So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He went home and stayed in the city of Nineveh.

38And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

38One day he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch. His sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword and escaped to the land of Armenia. His son Esarhaddon became king after him.