⁶ For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him and ^(A)turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have ^[a]turned their backs. ⁷ They have also ^(B)shut the doors of the porch and extinguished the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore ^(C)the wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of ^(D)hissing, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ For behold, ^(E)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this. ¹⁰ Now it is in my heart ^(F)to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that His burning anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not be negligent now, for ^(G)the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”

²⁶ However, ^(A)Hezekiah ^[a]humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help

37 Now ^(A)when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord.

⁴ Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to ^(A)taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^(B)the remnant that is left.’”

¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “Lord of armies, God of Israel, ^(A)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the ^(B)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. ^(C)You made heaven and earth. ^17 (D)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and ^(E)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to ^(F)taunt the living God. ¹⁸ Truly, Lord, the ^(G)kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, ¹⁹ and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the ^(H)work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have ^(I)destroyed them. ²⁰ But now Lord, our God, ^(J)save us from his hand, so that ^(K)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, ^[a]Lord, are God.”