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Isaiah 37:21-38
GOD’S WORD Translation
Isaiah 37:21-38
GOD’S WORD Translation
Isaiah’s Prophecy against King Sennacherib of Assyria(A)
21 Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent a message to Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: You prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. 22 This is the message that the Lord speaks to him,
‘My dear people in Zion despise you and laugh at you.
My people in Jerusalem shake their heads behind your back.
23 Whom are you defying and slandering?
Against whom are you shouting?
Who are you looking at so arrogantly?
It is the Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you defy the Lord and say,
“With my many chariots I’ll ride up the high mountains,
up the slopes of Lebanon.
I’ll cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypresses.
I’ll come to its most distant heights
and its most fertile forests.
25 I’ll dig wells and drink water.
I’ll dry up all the streams of Egypt
with the trampling of my feet.”
26 “ ‘Haven’t you heard? I did this long ago.
I planned it in the distant past.
Now I make it happen so that you will turn fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
27 Those who live in these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed.
They will be like plants in the field,
like fresh, green grass on the roofs,
dried up by the east wind.
28 I know when you ⌞get up⌟ and sit down,
when you go out and come in,
and how you rage against me.
29 Since you rage against me and your boasting has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bridle in your mouth.
I will make you go back the way you came.
30 “ ‘And this will be a sign for you, Hezekiah: You will eat what grows by itself this year, and the next year you will eat what comes up by itself. But in the third year you will plant and harvest, plant vineyards, and eat what is produced. 31 Those few people from the nation of Judah who escape will again take root and produce crops. 32 Those few people will go out from Jerusalem, and those who escape will go out from Mount Zion. The Lord of Armies is determined to do this.’
33 “This is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will never come into this city,
shoot an arrow here,
hold a shield in front of it,
or put up dirt ramps to attack it.
34 He will go back the way he came,
and he won’t come into this city,”
declares the Lord of Armies.
35 “I will shield this city to rescue it for my sake
and for the sake of my servant David.”
36 The Lord’s angel went out and killed 185,000 ⌞soldiers⌟ in the Assyrian camp. When the Judeans got up early in the morning, they saw all the corpses.
37 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left. He went home to Nineveh and stayed there. 38 While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, assassinated him and escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king.
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Isaiah 37:21-38
New International Version
Isaiah 37:21-38
New International Version
Sennacherib’s Fall(A)
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz(B) sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
“Virgin Daughter(C) Zion(D)
despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head(E) as you flee.
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(F)
Against whom have you raised your voice(G)
and lifted your eyes in pride?(H)
Against the Holy One(I) of Israel!
24 By your messengers
you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
‘With my many chariots(J)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights(K) of Lebanon.(L)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its junipers.(M)
I have reached its remotest heights,
the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands[a]
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up(N) all the streams of Egypt.(O)’
26 “Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained(P) it.
In days of old I planned(Q) it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.(R)
27 Their people, drained of power,
are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,
like grass(S) sprouting on the roof,(T)
scorched[b] before it grows up.
28 “But I know where you are
and when you come and go(U)
and how you rage(V) against me.
29 Because you rage against me
and because your insolence(W) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(X) in your nose(Y)
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
by the way you came.(Z)
30 “This will be the sign(AA) for you, Hezekiah:
“This year(AB) you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year(AC) sow and reap,
plant vineyards(AD) and eat their fruit.(AE)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root(AF) below and bear fruit(AG) above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(AH)
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(AI)
The zeal(AJ) of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city(AK)
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp(AL) against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;(AM)
he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend(AN) this city and save it,
for my sake(AO) and for the sake of David(AP) my servant!”
36 Then the angel(AQ) of the Lord went out and put to death(AR) a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian(AS) camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib(AT) king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh(AU) and stayed there.
38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple(AV) of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(AW) And Esarhaddon(AX) his son succeeded him as king.(AY)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
- Isaiah 37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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