2 Kings 19
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 the LORD. 2And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, 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 are left.
Isaiah's Counsel
5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from 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, 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 delivered into the hand of 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? 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 Thelasar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
14And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. 16LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. 17Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the 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. 19Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.
20Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21This is the word that 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. 22Whom 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. 23By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. 24I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.
25Hast 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 fenced cities into ruinous heaps. 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 corn blasted before it be grown up. 27But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 28Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will 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.
29And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, 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 fruits thereof. 30And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 31For 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. 32Therefore 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 shield, nor cast a bank against it. 33By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 34For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
Jerusalem Delivered
35And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 36So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 37And 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.
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2 Kings 19: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James Version2 Kings 19
19
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
1When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,#1Kg 21:27; 2Kg 18:37; Ps 69:11 and went into the Lord’s temple.#2Ch 32:20; Is 37:1 2He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,#2Kg 18:26,37 and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth,#2Sm 3:31 to the prophet Isaiah#Is 1:1; 2:1 son of Amoz. 3They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,#Hs 13:13 but there is no strength to deliver them. 4Perhaps the Lord your God#1Sm 17:26; 2Kg 18:35 will hear#Jos 14:12; 2Sm 16:12 all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke#Ps 50:21 him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”#2Kg 19:30; Is 1:9
5So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid#Is 37:6 because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants#2Kg 18:17 have blasphemed#2Kg 18:22–25,30,35 me. 7I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land,#2Kg 7:6 where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”#2Kg 19:35–37
Sennacherib’s Departing Threat
8When#Is 37:8–13 the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,#2Kg 18:14 he left and found him fighting against Libnah.#Jos 10:29 9The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely,#2Kg 18:5 deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.#2Kg 18:29–30 11Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12Did the gods of the nations#2Kg 18:33,35 that my predecessors destroyed rescue them — nations such as Gozan,#2Kg 17:6 Haran,#Gn 11:31 Rezeph, and the Edenites#Is 37:12 in Telassar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of#19:13 Or king of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’” #2Kg 18:34
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14Hezekiah took#Is 37:14–20 the letter#2Kg 5:7 from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.#Is 37:14 15Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:
Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,#Ex 25:22 you are God — you alone — of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.#Gn 1:1; 2Kg 5:15; Is 44:6 16Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see.#1Kg 8:28–29; Ps 115:4–6; Dn 9:18 Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.#2Kg 19:4; Ps 31:2; Is 37:17 17Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.#2Kg 18:34 18They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands — wood and stone.#Is 44:9–20; Jr 10:3–5; Ac 17:29 So they have destroyed them. 19Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God — you alone.#1Kg 8:42–43; Is 43:10–11
God’s Answer through Isaiah
20Then#Is 37:21–35 Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer#2Kg 20:5 to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’#Is 37:21 21This is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
Virgin Daughter Zion#Jr 14:17; Lm 2:13
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head behind your back.#Ps 22:7–8; 109:25; Mt 27:39
22Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?#2Kg 19:4,6
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!#Is 5:24; 30:11–15; Jr 51:5
23You have mocked the Lord#19:23 Many mss read Lord through#19:23 Lit by the hand of your messengers.#2Kg 18:17; 19:4
You have said, ‘With my many chariots#Ps 20:7; Jr 50:37
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its farthest outpost,
its densest forest.
24I dug wells
and drank water in foreign lands.
I dried up all the streams of Egypt#Is 19:6
with the soles of my feet.’
25Have you not heard?#Is 40:21; 45:7
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,#Is 10:5
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
26Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,#Ps 129:6
blasted by the east wind.#19:26 DSS; MT reads blasted before standing grain; Is 37:27
27But I know your sitting down,#Ps 139:1–2
your going out and your coming in,
and your raging against me.
28Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose#Ezk 19:9; 29:4; 38:4
and my bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.
29“This will be the sign#Ex 3:14; 2Kg 20:8–9; Is 7:14 for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30The surviving remnant#2Kg 19:4; 2Ch 32:22–23 of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion.#Is 10:20 The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.#Is 9:7
32Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
come before it with a shield,
or build up a siege ramp against it.#Is 8:7–10
33He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
34I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”#1Kg 11:12–13; 2Kg 20:6; Is 31:5
Defeat and Death of Sennacherib
35That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!#2Ch 32:21; Is 37:36 36So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.#Jnh 1:2
37One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech#2Kg 17:31 and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.#Gn 8:4; Jr 51:27 Then his son Esar-haddon#Gn 10:11; Ezr 4:2 became king in his place.
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