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2 Kings 19
New American Standard Bible 1995
2 Kings 19
New American Standard Bible 1995
Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah
19 (A)And when King Hezekiah heard it, he (B)tore his clothes, (C)covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, (D)covered with sackcloth, to (E)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver. 4 (F)Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent (G)to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (H)the remnant that is left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the (I)servants of the king of Assyria (J)have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that (K)he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And (L)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
Sennacherib Defies God
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (M)Libnah, for he had heard that [a]the king had left (N)Lachish. 9 When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of [b]Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of [c]Judah, ‘Do not (O)let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, “(P)Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be [d]spared? 12 (Q)Did the gods of [e]those nations which my fathers destroyed deliver them, even (R)Gozan and (S)Haran and Rezeph and (T)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 (U)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Then (V)Hezekiah took the [f]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [g]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, (W)who are [h]enthroned above the cherubim, (X)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 (Y)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; (Z)open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent (AA)to reproach the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, (AB)for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand (AC)that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O (AD)Lord, are God.”
God’s Answer through Isaiah
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, (AE)I have heard you.’ 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
‘She has despised you and mocked you,
(AF)The virgin daughter of Zion;
She (AG)has shaken her head behind you,
The daughter of Jerusalem!
22 ‘Whom have you (AH)reproached and (AI)blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice,
And [i]haughtily lifted up your eyes?
Against the (AJ)Holy One of Israel!
23 ‘(AK)Through your messengers you have reproached the Lord,
And you have said, “With my many chariots
I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
And I [j]cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses.
And I [k]entered its farthest lodging place, its (AL)thickest forest.
24 “I dug wells and drank foreign waters,
And with the sole of my feet I [l](AM)dried up
All the rivers of [m]Egypt.”
25 ‘(AN)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it;
From ancient times I planned it.
(AO)Now I have brought it to pass,
That you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
26 ‘Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength,
They were dismayed and put to shame;
They were (AP)as the vegetation of the field and as the green herb,
As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is grown up.
27 ‘But (AQ)I know your sitting down,
And your going out and your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
28 ‘Because of your raging against Me,
And because your [n]arrogance has come up to My ears,
Therefore I (AR)will put My hook in your nose,
And My bridle in your lips,
And (AS)I will turn you back by the way which you came.
29 ‘Then this shall be (AT)the sign for you: [o]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 (AU)The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and (AV)out of Mount Zion [p]survivors. (AW)The zeal of [q]the Lord will perform this.
32 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, “(AX)He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 (AY)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘(AZ)For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and (BA)for My servant David’s sake.’”
35 (BB)Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when [r]men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were [s]dead. 36 So (BC)Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at (BD)Nineveh. 37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that [t](BE)Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into (BF)the land of Ararat. And (BG)Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 19:8 Lit he
- 2 Kings 19:9 Or Ethiopia
- 2 Kings 19:10 Lit Judah, saying,
- 2 Kings 19:11 Lit delivered
- 2 Kings 19:12 Lit the
- 2 Kings 19:14 Lit letters...read them
- 2 Kings 19:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
- 2 Kings 19:15 Lit seated
- 2 Kings 19:22 Lit on high
- 2 Kings 19:23 So with some ancient versions; M.T. will cut...will enter
- 2 Kings 19:23 So with some ancient versions; M.T. will cut...will enter
- 2 Kings 19:24 So with some ancient versions; M.T. will dry up
- 2 Kings 19:24 Lit the besieged place
- 2 Kings 19:28 Lit complacency
- 2 Kings 19:29 Lit eating
- 2 Kings 19:31 Lit those who escape
- 2 Kings 19:31 Some ancient mss read the Lord of hosts
- 2 Kings 19:35 Lit they
- 2 Kings 19:35 Lit dead bodies
- 2 Kings 19:37 Some ancient mss read Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him
2 Kings 19
New International Version
2 Kings 19
New International Version
Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(A)
19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore(B) his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim(C) the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,(D) all wearing sackcloth,(E) to the prophet Isaiah(F) son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment(G) of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(H) the living God, and that he will rebuke(I) him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant(J) that still survives.”
5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(K) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(L) me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report,(M) I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.(N)’”
8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(O) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.(P)
9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[a] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend(Q) on deceive(R) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver(S) them—the gods of Gozan,(T) Harran,(U) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”(V)
Hezekiah’s Prayer(W)
14 Hezekiah received the letter(X) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(Y) you alone(Z) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear,(AA) Lord, and hear;(AB) open your eyes,(AC) Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods(AD) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(AE) 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver(AF) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms(AG) of the earth may know(AH) that you alone, Lord, are God.”
Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall(AI)(AJ)
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard(AK) your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against(AL) him:
“‘Virgin Daughter(AM) Zion
despises(AN) you and mocks(AO) you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head(AP) as you flee.
22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(AQ)
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One(AR) of Israel!
23 By your messengers
you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,(AS)
“With my many chariots(AT)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down(AU) its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest parts,
the finest of its forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign lands
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
25 “‘Have you not heard?(AV)
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned(AW) it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.(AX)
26 Their people, drained of power,(AY)
are dismayed(AZ) and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,(BA)
like grass sprouting on the roof,
scorched(BB) before it grows up.
27 “‘But I know(BC) where you are
and when you come and go
and how you rage against me.
28 Because you rage against me
and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(BD) in your nose
and my bit(BE) in your mouth,
and I will make you return(BF)
by the way you came.’
29 “This will be the sign(BG) for you, Hezekiah:
“This year you will eat what grows by itself,(BH)
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
plant vineyards(BI) and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant(BJ) of the kingdom of Judah
will take root(BK) below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(BL)
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(BM)
“The zeal(BN) of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
“‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return;(BO)
he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend(BP) this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David(BQ) my servant.’”
35 That night the angel of the Lord(BR) went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(BS) 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.(BT) He returned to Nineveh(BU) and stayed there.
37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek(BV) and Sharezer killed him with the sword,(BW) and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(BX) And Esarhaddon(BY) his son succeeded him as king.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 19:9 That is, the upper Nile region
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.