2 Kings 19:5-20, 32-37

When Hezekiah’s officers came to Isaiah, he said to them, “Tell your master this: The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you have heard. Don’t be frightened by the words the servants of the king of Assyria said against me. Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a report that will make him return to his own country. And I will cause him to die by the sword there.’” The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. So the commander left and found the king fighting against the city of Libnah. The king received a report that Tirhakah was coming to attack him. Tirhakah was the Cushite king of Egypt. When the king of Assyria heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah. The king said: “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t be fooled by the god you trust. Don’t believe him when he says Jerusalem will not be defeated by the king of Assyria. You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done. They have completely defeated every country. Do not think you will be saved. The gods of those people did not save them. My ancestors destroyed them. My ancestors defeated the cities of Gozan, Haran and Rezeph. They defeated the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where is the king of the city of Sepharvaim? Where are the kings of Hena and Ivvah?” Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the Temple of the Lord. Hezekiah spread the letter out before the Lord. And he prayed to the Lord: “Lord, God of Israel, your throne is between the gold creatures with wings! Only you are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Hear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to the word Sennacherib has said to insult the living God. It is true, Lord. The kings of Assyria have destroyed these countries and their lands. These kings have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire. But they were only wood and rock statues that men made. So the kings have destroyed them. Now, Lord our God, save us from the king’s power. Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.” Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah. Isaiah said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: I have heard your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria.

“So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city. He will not even shoot an arrow here. He will not fight against it with shields. He will not build a ramp to attack the city walls. He will return to his country the same way he came. He will not enter this city,’ says the Lord. The Lord says, ‘I will defend and save this city. I will do this for myself and for David, my servant.’” That night the angel of the Lord went out. He killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. The people got up early the next morning. And they saw all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria left. He went back to Nineveh and stayed there. One day Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch. While he was there, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. So Sennacherib’s son Esarhaddon became king of Assyria.