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Hezekiah Talks With Isaiah the Prophet

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes to show he was upset. Then he put on sackcloth and went to the Lord’s Temple.

Hezekiah sent Eliakim the palace manager, Shebna the royal secretary, and the elders of the priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They wore the special clothes that showed they were sad and upset. They said to Isaiah, “King Hezekiah has commanded that today will be a special day for sorrow and sadness. It will be a very sad day, like the time a child should be born, but is not strong enough to come from its mother’s womb. The commander’s master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to say bad things about the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear all those things and answer them. Maybe the Lord your God will show how wrong the enemy is! So pray for the people who are still left alive.”

King Hezekiah’s officers went to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them, “Give this message to your master, Hezekiah: The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you heard from the commanders. Don’t believe what those “boys” from the king of Assyria said to make fun of me. Look, I will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report warning him about a danger, so he will return to his own country. And I will cut him down with a sword in his own country.’”

The Assyrian Army Leaves Jerusalem

The commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. He found him at Libnah, fighting against that city. Then the king of Assyria heard a report that said, “Tirhakah,[a] the king of Ethiopia, has come to fight against you.”

So the king of Assyria sent messengers to Hezekiah again. 10 He told them, “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah these things:

‘Don’t be fooled by the god you trust when he says Jerusalem will not be defeated by the king of Assyria. 11 You have heard what the kings of Assyria did to all the other countries. We completely destroyed them! Will you be saved? No! 12 Did the gods of those nations save their people? No, my ancestors destroyed them all. They destroyed Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. 13 Where is the king of Hamath? The king of Arpad? The king of the city of Sepharvaim? The kings of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah Prays to the Lord

14 Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the Lord’s Temple and laid the letters out in front of the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, you sit as King above the Cherub angels. You alone are the God who rules all the kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth. 16 Lord, please listen to me. Lord, open your eyes and look at this message. Hear the words that Sennacherib sent to insult the living God. 17 It is true, Lord. The kings of Assyria did destroy all those nations. 18 They did throw the gods of those nations into the fire. But they were not real gods. They were only wood and stone—statues that people made. That is why the kings of Assyria could destroy them. 19 But you are the Lord our God, so please save us from the king of Assyria. Then all the other nations will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”

God Answers Hezekiah

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah. Isaiah said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: You prayed to me about the message that came from King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.

21 “This is the Lord’s message against Sennacherib:

‘The virgin daughter Zion[b] does not think you are important.
    She makes fun of you.
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you
    and laughs behind your back.
22 But who did you insult and make fun of?
    Who did you speak against?
You were against the Holy One of Israel.
    You acted like you were better than he was!
23 You sent your messengers to insult the Lord.
    You said, “I came with my many chariots to the high mountains deep inside Lebanon.
I cut down the tallest cedar trees and the best fir trees of Lebanon.
    I went to its highest mountains, its thickest forests.
24 I dug wells, and drank water from new places.
    I dried up the rivers of Egypt
    and walked on the land there.”

25 That is what you said, but haven’t you heard what I said?
    I planned it long ago;
from ancient times I planned it.
    And now I have made it happen.
I let you tear down the strong cities
    and change them into piles of rocks.
26 The people in the cities had no power.
    They were afraid and confused.
They were about to be cut down
    like grass and plants in the field.
They were like grass growing on the housetops,
    dying before it grows tall.
27 I know all about your battles;
I know when you rested,
    when you went out to war,
    and when you came home.
I also know when you got upset at me.
28 Yes, you were upset at me.
    I heard your proud insults.
So I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will turn you around
    and lead you back the way you came.’”

The Lord’s Message for Hezekiah

29 Then the Lord said, “I will give you a sign to show that these words are true. You were not able to plant seeds this year, so next year you will eat grain that grows wild from the previous year’s crop. But in the third year, you will eat grain from seeds that you planted. You will harvest your crops and have plenty to eat. You will plant grapevines and eat their fruit. You will plant vineyards and eat the grapes from them. 30 The people from the family of Judah who have escaped and are left alive will be like plants that send their roots deep into the ground and produce fruit above the ground. 31 That is because a few people will come out of Jerusalem alive. There will be survivors coming from Mount Zion. The strong love[c] of the Lord All-Powerful will do this.

32 “So the Lord says this about the king of Assyria:

‘He will not come into this city
    or shoot an arrow at this city.
He will not bring his shields up against this city
    or build up a hill of dirt to attack its walls.
33 He will go back the way he came,
    and he will not come into this city.
The Lord says this.
34 I will protect this city and save it.
    I will do this for myself and for my servant David.’”

The Assyrian Army Is Destroyed

35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 people in the Assyrian camp. When the others got up in the morning, they saw all the dead bodies.

36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria left and went back to Nineveh where he stayed. 37 One day Sennacherib was in the temple of his god Nisroch, worshiping him. His sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword and ran away to Ararat. So his son Esarhaddon became the new king of Assyria.

Hezekiah’s Illness

20 At that time Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “The Lord says, ‘You will die soon, so you should tell your family what they should do when you die. You will not get well.’”

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall that faced the Temple and began praying to the Lord. Lord, remember that I have sincerely served you with all my heart. I have done what you say is good.” Then Hezekiah cried very hard.

Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, he received this message from the Lord, “Go back and speak to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I heard your prayer and I saw your tears, so I will heal you. On the third day you will go up to the Temple of the Lord. I will add 15 years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will protect this city. I will do this for myself and because of the promise I made to my servant David.’”

Then Isaiah said, “Crush figs together and put them on your sore; you will get well.”

So they took the mixture of figs and put it on Hezekiah’s sore place, and he got well.

Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?”

Isaiah said, “Which do you want? Should the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?[d] This is the sign for you from the Lord to show that the Lord will do what he said he would do.”

10 Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten steps. No, make the shadow go back ten steps.”

11 Then Isaiah prayed, and the Lord made the shadow move back ten steps. It went back up the steps that it had already been on.

Messengers From Babylon

12 At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan was king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah when he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 Hezekiah listened to the messengers and then showed them all the valuable things he owned. He showed them the silver, the gold, the spices, the expensive perfume, and the building where he stored the weapons. He showed them everything in his treasuries, in his palace, and in his kingdom.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”

Hezekiah said, “These men came from a faraway country, from Babylon.”

15 Isaiah said, “What did they see in your palace?”

Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything I own. I showed them all my wealth.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord. 17 The time is coming when everything in your palace and everything your ancestors have saved until today will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing will be left! The Lord said this. 18 The Babylonians will take your sons, and your sons will become officers[e] in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

19 Then Hezekiah told Isaiah, “This message from the Lord is good.” (Hezekiah said this because he thought, “There will be real peace and security during my lifetime.”)

20 All the great things that Hezekiah did, including his work on the pool and the aqueduct to bring water into the city, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah. 21 Hezekiah died and was buried with his ancestors. And his son Manasseh became the new king after him.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 19:9 Tirhakah This is probably Taharqa, the Pharaoh of Egypt about 690–664 B.C.
  2. 2 Kings 19:21 The virgin daughter Zion The city of Jerusalem. See “Zion” in the Word List.
  3. 2 Kings 19:31 strong love The Hebrew word can mean strong feelings such as zeal, jealousy, or love.
  4. 2 Kings 20:9 the shadow … steps This may mean the steps of a special building that Hezekiah used like a clock. When the sun shone on the steps, the shadows showed what time of the day it was.
  5. 2 Kings 20:18 officers Or “eunuchs.” See “eunuch” in the Word List.

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