Isaiah 37-41
Easy-to-Read Version
Hezekiah Asks God to Help
37 When King Hezekiah listened to their message, he tore his clothes to show he was upset. Then he put on sackcloth and went to the Lord’s Temple.
2 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. 3 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—as sad as when a baby should be born, but there is not enough strength for the birth. 4 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 it and prove the enemy is wrong. So pray for those who are still left alive.”
5 When King Hezekiah’s officers came to Isaiah, 6 he 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. 7 Look, I will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report that will make him return to his own country. And I will cut him down with a sword in his own country.’”
The Assyrian Army Leaves Jerusalem
8 The commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. He found him at Libnah, fighting against that city. 9 Then the king of Assyria got a report that said, “King Tirhakah[a] of Ethiopia is coming to fight 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 destroyed them completely. Will you be saved? No! 12 Did the gods of those people save them? No, my ancestors destroyed them all. They destroyed the cities of 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 He prayed to the Lord: 16 “Lord All-Powerful, 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. 17 Lord, please pay attention and hear this. Open your eyes, Lord, and see what is happening. Listen to all the insults against the living God in the message Sennacherib sent! 18 It is true, Lord. The kings of Assyria did destroy all those nations. 19 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. 20 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 are the Lord, the only God.”
God Answers Hezekiah
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘You prayed to me about the message that came from King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.[b]’
22 “So this is the Lord’s message against Sennacherib:
‘The virgin daughter Zion[c] does not think you are important.
She makes fun of you.
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you
and laughs behind your back.
23 But who was it that you insulted and made fun of?
Who was it that you spoke against?
You were speaking against the Holy One of Israel.
You acted like you were great and he was nothing.
24 You sent your officers to insult the Lord.
This is what you said:
“I took my many chariots up the high mountains
deep inside Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars
and its best fir trees.
I have been on its highest mountain
and deep inside its forests.
25 I dug wells and drank water from new places.
I dried up the rivers of Egypt
and walked where the water was.”
26 ‘How could you say this, Sennacherib?
Did no one ever tell you that I, the Lord, planned these things long ago?
From ancient times I decided what would happen.
And now I have made it happen.
I let you tear down strong cities
and change them into piles of rocks.
27 The people living there 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.
28 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.
29 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
30 Then the Lord said, “I will give you a sign to show you that these words are true. You will not be able to plant seeds this year, so next year you will eat grain that grew 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 you will have plenty to eat. You will plant vineyards and eat grapes from them.
31 “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. 32 That is because a few people will come out of Jerusalem alive. There will be survivors coming from Mount Zion.” The strong love[d] of the Lord All-Powerful will do this.
33 So the Lord says this about the king of Assyria:
“He will not come into this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not bring his shields up against this city
or build up a hill of dirt to attack its walls.
34 He will go back the way he came.
He will not come into this city.
The Lord says this!
35 I will protect this city and save it.
I will do this for myself and for my servant David.”
The Assyrian Army Is Destroyed
36 That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up in the morning, they saw all the dead bodies. 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria went back to Nineveh and stayed there.
38 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 Sennacherib’s son Esarhaddon became the new king of Assyria.
Hezekiah’s Illness
38 At that time Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “The Lord told me to tell you this: ‘You will die soon. So you should tell your family what they should do when you die. You will not get well.’”
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall that faced the Temple and began praying to the Lord. 3 “Lord, remember that I have faithfully served you with all my heart. I have done what you say is good.” Then Hezekiah cried very hard.
4 Then Isaiah received this message from the Lord: 5 “Go to Hezekiah and tell him that the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says, ‘I heard your prayer, and I saw your tears. I will add 15 years to your life. 6 I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will protect this city.’”
21 [e] Then Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Crush figs together and put them on your sore. Then you will get well.”
22 Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What is the sign that proves I will get well and go to the Lord’s Temple?”
7 This is the sign from the Lord to show you that he will do what he says: 8 “Look, I am causing the shadow that is on the steps of Ahaz[f] to move back ten steps. The sun’s shadow will go back up the ten steps that it has already been on.”
Hezekiah’s Song
9 This is the letter from Hezekiah when he became well:
10 I thought I would live a full life.
But now, in the middle of my life, the time has come for me to die.
11 So I said, “I will not see the Lord Yah[g] in the land of the living again.
I will not see the people living on earth.
12 My home, my shepherd’s tent, is being pulled down and taken from me.
I am finished like the cloth someone rolls up and cuts from the loom.
You ended my life in such a short time.
13 All night I cried as loud as a lion,
but my hopes were crushed like a lion eating bones.
You finished my life in such a short time.
14 I cried like a bird
and moaned like a dove.
My eyes became tired,
but I continued looking to the heavens.
Lord, I am so depressed.
Promise to help me.”
15 What can I say?
He told me what would happen,
and he will make it happen.
I have had these troubles in my soul,
so now I will be humble all my life.
16 Lord, use this hard time to make my spirit live again.
Help my spirit become strong and healthy.
Help me become well!
Help me live again!
17 Look, my troubles are gone!
I now have peace.
You love me very much.
You did not let me rot in the grave.
You took my sins
and threw them away.
18 The dead cannot praise you.
People in Sheol cannot sing praises to you.
Those who have died and gone below
are not trusting in your faithfulness.
19 People who are alive, people like me,
are the ones who will praise you.
Fathers should tell their children about how faithful you are.
20 So I say, “The Lord saved me.
So we will sing and play songs in the Lord’s Temple all our lives.”
Messengers From Babylon
39 At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan was king of Babylon. He sent some men with letters and a gift to Hezekiah when he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 2 This made Hezekiah very happy, so he showed them all the valuable things in his storehouses. He showed them the silver, the gold, the spices, and the expensive perfumes. He showed them the building where he stored the weapons. He showed them everything in his treasuries and everything in his house and throughout his kingdom.
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”
Hezekiah said, “These men came all the way from Babylon just to see me.”
4 So Isaiah asked him, “What did they see in your house?”
Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my palace. I showed them all my wealth.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord All-Powerful: 6 ‘The time is coming when everything in your house and everything your ancestors have saved until today will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing will be left!’ The Lord All-Powerful said this. 7 The Babylonians will take your own sons, and your sons will become officers[h] in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
8 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.”)
Israel’s Punishment Will End
40 Your God says,
“Comfort, comfort my people.
2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her,
‘Your time of service is finished.
You have paid the price for your sins.’
I, the Lord, have punished you twice
for every sin you committed.”
3 Listen, there is someone shouting:
“Prepare a way in the desert for the Lord.
Make a straight road there for our God.
4 Every valley must be filled.
Every mountain and hill should be made flat.
The crooked roads should be made straight,
and the rough ground made smooth.
5 Then the Glory of the Lord will be shown to everyone.
Together, all people will see it.
Yes, this is what the Lord himself said!”
6 A voice said, “Speak!”
So the man said, “What should I say?”
The voice said, “People are like grass.
Any glory they enjoy is like a wildflower.
7 When a wind from the Lord blows on them,
the grass dies and the flower falls.
Yes, all people are like grass.
8 Grass dies and flowers fall,
but the word of our God lasts forever.”
Salvation: God’s Good News
9 Zion, you have good news to tell.
Go up on a high mountain and shout the good news.
Jerusalem, you have good news to tell.
Don’t be afraid; speak loudly.
Tell this news to all the cities of Judah:
“Look, here is your God!”
10 The Lord God is coming with power.
He will use his power to rule all the people.
He will bring rewards for his people.
He will have their payment with him.
11 Like a good shepherd, he takes care of his people.
He gathers them like lambs in his arms.
He holds them close, while their mothers walk beside him.
God Made the World; He Rules It
12 Who measured the oceans in the palm of his hand?
Who used his hand to measure the sky?
Who used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth?
Who used scales to measure the mountains and hills?
13 Who could know the Lord’s mind?
Who could be his teacher or give him advice?
14 Did the Lord ask for anyone’s help?
Did anyone teach him to be fair?
Did anyone teach him knowledge?
Did anyone teach him to be wise?
15 Look, all the nations in the world are like one small drop in the bucket.
If the Lord took all the faraway nations and put them on his scales,
they would be like small pieces of dust.
16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough
to burn on the altar for the Lord.
And all the animals in Lebanon
are not enough to kill for a sacrifice.
17 Compared to God, all the nations of the world are nothing.
Compared to him, they are worth nothing at all.
People Cannot Imagine What God Is Like
18 Can you compare God to anything?
Can you make a picture of God?
19 No, but some people make statues from rock or wood,
and they call them gods.
One worker makes a statue.
Then another worker covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.
20 For the base he chooses special wood,
a kind of wood that will not rot.
Then he finds a good wood worker,
and the worker makes a “god” that will not fall over.
21 Surely you know the truth, don’t you?
Surely you have heard.
Surely someone told you long ago.
Surely you understand who made the earth.
22 It is the Lord who sits above the circle of the earth.
And compared to him, people are like grasshoppers.
He rolled open the skies like a piece of cloth.
He stretched out the skies like a tent to sit under.
23 He takes away the power of rulers.
He makes the world’s leaders completely worthless.
24 They are like plants that are planted in the ground.
But before they can send their roots into the ground,
God blows on the “plants”;
they become dead and dry,
and the wind blows them away like straw.
25 The Holy One says, “Can you compare me to anyone?
No one is equal to me.”
26 Look up to the skies.
Who created all those stars?
Who created all those “armies” in the sky?
Who knows every star by name?
He is very strong and powerful,
so not one of these stars is lost.
27 People of Jacob, this is true.
Israel, you should believe it.
So why do you say, “The Lord cannot see the way I live;
he will not find me and punish me”[i]?
28 Surely you know the truth.
Surely you have heard.
The Lord is the God who lives forever!
He created all the faraway places on earth.
He does not get tired and weary.
You cannot learn all he knows.
29 He helps tired people be strong.
He gives power to those without it.
30 Young men get tired and need to rest.
Even young boys stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again.
They will be like eagles that grow new feathers.[j]
They will run and not get weak.
They will walk and not get tired.
The Lord Is the Eternal Creator
41 The Lord says,
“Faraway countries, be quiet and listen to me!
Nations be brave.[k]
Come to me and speak.
We will meet together
and decide who is right.
2 Who woke up the man who is coming from the east?
He called Justice to march with him.
He uses his sword to crush nations.
He uses his bow and conquers kings—
they run away like straw blown by the wind.
3 He chases armies and is never hurt.
He goes places he has never been before.
4 Who was able to make all this happen?
Who controlled the lives of everyone from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one.
I was here at the beginning,
and I will be here when all things are finished.
5 People along the coast saw this,
and they were frightened.
Nations at the ends of the earth
shook with fear.
They have come near.
They have arrived.
6 “Workers help each other. They encourage each other to be strong. 7 One worker cuts wood to make a statue. He encourages the man who works with gold. Another worker uses a hammer and makes the metal smooth. Then he encourages the man at the anvil.[l] This last worker says, ‘This work is good; the metal will not come off.’ Then he nails the statue to a base so that it will not fall over. And it never moves!”
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8 The Lord says, “You, Israel, are my servant.
Jacob, I chose you.
You are from the family of my friend, Abraham.
9 You were in a faraway country,
but I reached out to you.
I called you from that faraway place.
I said, ‘You are my servant.’
I chose you,
and I have not rejected you.
10 Don’t worry—I am with you.
Don’t be afraid—I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
I will support you with my right hand that brings victory.
11 Look, some people are angry with you,
but they will be ashamed and disgraced.
Your enemies will be lost and disappear.
12 You will look for the people who were against you,
but you will not be able to find them.
Those who fought against you
will disappear completely.
13 I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand.
And I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid!
I will help you.’
14 People of Israel, descendants of Jacob, you may be weak and worthless,[m]
but do not be afraid.
I myself will help you.”
This is what the Lord himself says.
“I am the Holy One of Israel,
the one who saves you.
15 Look, I have made you like a new threshing board with many sharp teeth.
You will trample mountains and crush them.
You will make the hills[n] like chaff.
16 You will throw them into the air,
and the wind will blow them away and scatter them.
Then you will be happy in the Lord.
You will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy look for water,
but they cannot find any.
Their tongues are dry with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer their prayers.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
18 I will make rivers flow on dry hills.
I will make springs of water flow through the valleys.
I will change the desert into a lake filled with water.
There will be springs of water in that dry land.
19 I will make trees grow in the desert.
There will be cedar, acacias, olive trees, cypress, fir trees, and pines.
20 I will do this so that people will see it and know who did it.
They will notice what happened.
Then they will understand that the Lord’s hand made it happen,
that the Holy One of Israel created it all.”
The Lord Challenges the False Gods
21 The Lord, the king of Jacob, says, “Come, present your arguments. Show me your proof. 22 Let your idols come in and tell us what will happen. Idols, tell us what happened in the beginning. We will listen closely so that we can make a decision. Tell us what will happen in the future. 23 What signs did you give in the past to prove that you really are gods? Do something! Do anything, good or bad, so that we can see that you are alive. Then we might fear and respect you.
24 “Look, you false gods are worthless. You cannot do anything. Only some horrible fool[o] would want to worship you.”
The Lord Proves He Is the Only God
25 “I called someone in the north[p] to come.
He is coming from the east where the sun rises,
and he honors my name.
He tramples kings
the way a potter softens clay with his feet.
26 “Who told us about this before it happened
so that we could say he was right?
None of your idols told us anything.
They didn’t say a word,
and they cannot hear anything you say.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Zion about these things.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,
‘Look, your people are coming back!’”
28 I looked at those false gods.
Not one of them said anything.
They had no advice to offer.
I asked them questions,
but they didn’t say a word.
29 Those gods are all less than nothing.
They cannot do anything.
They are worthless.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:9 Tirhakah This is probably Taharqa, the Pharaoh of Egypt about 690–664 B.C.
- Isaiah 37:21 I have heard you This is from the ancient Greek version and 2 Kings 19:20.
- Isaiah 37:22 The virgin daughter Zion The city of Jerusalem, which is in danger of attack by the Assyrians. See “Zion” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 37:32 strong love The Hebrew word can mean strong feelings such as zeal, jealousy, or love.
- Isaiah 38:21 These verses fit better here than at the end of the chapter, where they appear in the standard Hebrew text. See 2 Kings 20:6-9.
- Isaiah 38:8 steps of Ahaz 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.
- Isaiah 38:11 the Lord Yah Or “Yahweh,” a Hebrew name for God. See “Yahweh” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 39:7 officers Or “eunuchs.” See “eunuch” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 40:27 The Lord … punish me Or “My way is hidden from the Lord; he ignores my case.”
- Isaiah 40:31 like … feathers This probably refers to the ancient belief that eagles regain their youth when they molt (lose and grow back their feathers). See Ps. 103:5. This line could also be translated, “They will rise up like eagles on their wings.”
- Isaiah 41:1 be brave Or “be strong again,” as in Isa. 40:31.
- Isaiah 41:7 anvil A heavy metal block. A worker puts hot metal on an anvil and beats the hot metal to change its shape.
- Isaiah 41:14 Jacob … worthless Literally, “Worm of Jacob, men of Israel.”
- Isaiah 41:15 mountains … hills Symbols of the power of Israel’s enemies.
- Isaiah 41:24 fool Literally, “horrible thing.” The Hebrew word usually describes idols and other wicked things that God hates.
- Isaiah 41:25 someone in the north This probably means Cyrus, a king of Persia. He ruled about 550–530 B.C.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
