YouVersion Logo
Search Icon

2 Kings 19:5-20, 32-37

2 Kings 19:5-20 GNBDK

When Isaiah received King Hezekiah's message, he sent back this answer: “The LORD tells you not to let the Assyrians frighten you with their claims that he cannot save you. The LORD will cause the emperor to hear a rumour that will make him go back to his own country, and the LORD will have him killed there.” The Assyrian official learnt that the emperor had left Lachish and was fighting against the nearby city of Libnah; so he went there to consult him. Word reached the Assyrians that the Egyptian army, led by King Tirhakah of Ethiopia, was coming to attack them. When the emperor heard this, he sent a letter to King Hezekiah of Judah to say to him, “The god you are trusting in has told you that you will not fall into my hands, but don't let that deceive you. You have heard what an Assyrian emperor does to any country he decides to destroy. Do you think that you can escape? My ancestors destroyed the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and killed the people of Betheden who lived in Telassar, and none of their gods could save them. Where are the kings of the cities of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?” King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the LORD, and prayed, “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky. Now, LORD, look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God. We all know, LORD, that the emperors of Assyria have destroyed many nations, made their lands desolate, and burnt up their gods — which were no gods at all, only images of wood and stone made by human hands. Now, LORD our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that only you, O LORD, are God.” Then Isaiah sent a message telling King Hezekiah that in answer to the king's prayer

2 Kings 19:32-37 GNBDK

“This is what the LORD has said about the Assyrian emperor: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot a single arrow against it. No soldiers with shields will come near the city, and no siege mounds will be built round it. He will go back by the same road he came, without entering this city. I, the LORD, have spoken. I will defend this city and protect it, for the sake of my own honour and because of the promise I made to my servant David.’ ” That night an angel of the LORD went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers. At dawn the next day, there they lay, all dead! Then the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib withdrew and returned to Nineveh. One day, when he was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords, and then escaped to the land of Ararat. Another of his sons, Esarhaddon, succeeded him as emperor.

YouVersion uses cookies to personalize your experience. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy