2 Kings 19

1And 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 Jehovah.

1When King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, put on rough burlap to show his grief, and went into the Temple of the LORD.

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, the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They were all wearing burlap.

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

3They told him, 'Hezekiah says: This is a day of distress, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is ready to give birth but has no strength to deliver the baby.

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

4Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the chief of staff, whom the king of Assyria sent to defy the living God. May the LORD your God rebuke him for the words he has heard. Please pray for those of us who are still left.'

5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

5So the officials of King Hezekiah went to see Isaiah.

6And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, 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 this: The LORD says, Do not be afraid of the words you heard, when the servants of the king of Assyria insulted me.

7Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

7Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country. There, I will have him killed with a sword.'

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

8The chief of staff returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.

9And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee, he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

9Then the king of Assyria heard a report that Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, was coming out to fight him. So he sent messengers to Hezekiah again 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'Tell Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that 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?

11You have certainly heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all other countries, destroying them completely. Do you really think you will be saved?

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

12Did the gods of the nations my ancestors destroyed rescue them? What about Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

13Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?

13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?'

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

14Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the Temple of the LORD and spread the letter out before the LORD.

15And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, that sittest above the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

15Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: 'O LORD, God of Israel, you sit on your throne above the cherubim. You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

16Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to defy the living God.

16Listen, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see. Listen to the words Sennacherib sent to insult the living God.

17Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,

17It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed these nations and their lands.

18and 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.

18They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, but those were not real gods. They were only wood and stone, shaped by human hands.

19Now therefore, O Jehovah our God, save thou us, I beseech thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou Jehovah art God alone.

19Now, O LORD our God, I beg you to rescue us from his power. Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, LORD, are God.'

20Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard thee.

20Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria.

21This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

21This is the word the LORD has spoken against him: The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you as you run away.

22Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

22Who do you think you have been insulting and mocking? Against whom have you raised your voice and looked so proudly? It was against the Holy One of Israel!

23By thy messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitful field.

23Through your messengers you have insulted the Lord. You said, 'With my many chariots I have climbed the high mountains and the highest peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars and its best pine trees. I have reached its most distant borders and its lushest forests.'

24I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.

24You said, 'I have dug wells and drunk water in foreign lands. With the soles of my feet, I dried up all the streams of Egypt.'

25Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

25But haven't you heard? I planned this long ago. I decided it in ancient times, and now I have made it happen. I used you to turn fortified cities into piles of rubble.

26Therefore 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 grain blasted before it is grown up.

26That is why the people living there had no power. They were terrified and put to shame. They were like grass in the field or green plants, or like grass growing on a roof that withers before it can grow.

27But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me.

27But I know everything about you—when you sit down, when you go out, and when you come in. I know how you rage against me.

28Because of thy raging against me, and because thine arrogancy 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.

28Because you rage against me and your arrogance has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. I will force you to go back the same way you came.

29And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in 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.

29And Hezekiah, this will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and next year you will eat what grows from that. But in the third year, you will plant and harvest crops; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

30And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

30The people of Judah who are left will take root in the ground and grow fruit above.

31For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of Jehovah shall perform this.

31For a small group will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors will come from Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the LORD will make this happen.

32Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.

32Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or even shoot an arrow here. He will not march outside its gates with shields or build a dirt ramp against its walls.

33By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith Jehovah.

33He will return by the same road he came, and he will not enter this city, says the LORD.

34For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

34I will defend this city and save it for the sake of my own reputation and for the sake of my servant David.'

35And it came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

35That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers. When the remaining people woke up the next morning, they saw dead bodies everywhere.

36So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

36So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He went back to his own land and lived in the city of Nineveh.

37And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

37One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esarhaddon became the next king.