Isaiah 37-41
New American Standard Bible
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
37 Now (A)when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent (B)Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with (C)Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to (D)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a (E)day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for (F)children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to [a]deliver them. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to (G)taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (H)the remnant that is left.’”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says: “(I)Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that he will (J)hear news and (K)return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (L)Libnah, for he had heard that [b]the king had left (M)Lachish. 9 Now he (N)heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of [c](O)Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of [d]Judah: ‘(P)Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 (Q)Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: (R)Gozan, (S)Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple
14 Then Hezekiah took the [e]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [f]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, 16 “Lord of armies, God of Israel, (T)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the (U)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. (V)You made heaven and earth. 17 (W)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and (X)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to (Y)taunt the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the (Z)kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the (AA)work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have (AB)destroyed them. 20 But now Lord, our God, (AC)save us from his hand, so that (AD)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, [g]Lord, are God.”
God Answers through Isaiah
21 Then (AE)Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
“She has shown contempt for you and derided you,
The (AF)virgin (AG)daughter of Zion;
The daughter of Jerusalem has (AH)shaken her head behind you!
23 Whom have you (AI)taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And [h]haughtily (AJ)raised your eyes?
Against the (AK)Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of (AL)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (AM)cedars and its choice junipers.
And I will come to its [i]highest peak, its thickest (AN)forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
And (AO)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals of [j]Egypt.’
26 (AP)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times I (AQ)planned it.
Now (AR)I have brought it about
That (AS)you would turn fortified cities into (AT)ruined heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants were [k]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame;
They were like the (AU)vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like (AV)grass on the housetops [l]that is scorched before it has grown.
28 But I (AW)know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
29 Because of your raging against Me
And because your (AX)complacency has come up to My ears,
I will put My (AY)hook in your nose
And My (AZ)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (BA)by the way that you came.
30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [m]you will eat this year what (BB)grows of itself, in the second year what grows from the same, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 The (BC)survivors that are (BD)left of the house of Judah will again (BE)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a (BF)remnant will go, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The (BG)zeal of the Lord of armies will perform this.”’
33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an (BH)assault ramp against it. 34 (BI)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will (BJ)protect this city to save it (BK)for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’”
Assyrians Destroyed
36 Then the (BL)angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of [n]the 185,000 were [o]dead. 37 So Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and [p]returned home and lived in (BM)Nineveh. 38 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of (BN)Ararat. And his son (BO)Esarhaddon became king in his place.
Hezekiah Healed
38 (BP)In those days Hezekiah became [q]mortally ill. And (BQ)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘(BR)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “(BS)Please, Lord, just remember how I have (BT)walked before You (BU)wholeheartedly and in truth, and (BV)have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah (BW)wept [r]profusely.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add (BX)fifteen years to your [s]life. 6 And I will (BY)save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will protect this city.”’
7 “And this shall be the (BZ)sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform this word that He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will (CA)make the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, go back ten steps.” So the (CB)sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.
9 This is a writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and [t]recovery:
10 I said, “(CC)In the middle of my [u]life
I am to enter the (CD)gates of Sheol;
I have been (CE)deprived of the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will not see the Lord,
The Lord (CF)in the land of the living;
I will no longer look on mankind among the inhabitants of the world.
12 Like a shepherd’s (CG)tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;
As a (CH)weaver I (CI)rolled up my life.
He (CJ)cuts me off from the loom;
From (CK)day until night You make an end of me.
13 I composed my soul until morning.
(CL)Like a lion—so He (CM)breaks all my bones,
From (CN)day until night You make an end of me.
14 (CO)Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter;
I (CP)moan like a dove;
My (CQ)eyes look wistfully to the heights;
Lord, I am oppressed, be my (CR)security.
15 “(CS)What shall I say?
[v]For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will (CT)walk [w]quietly all my years because of the (CU)bitterness of my soul.
16 Lord, (CV)by these things people live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
[x](CW)Restore me to health and (CX)let me live!
17 Behold, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
But You have [y](CY)kept my soul from the pit of [z]nothingness,
For You have (CZ)hurled all my sins behind Your back.
18 For (DA)Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down (DB)to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 It is the (DC)living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A (DD)father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20 The Lord is certain to save me;
So we will (DE)play my songs on stringed instruments
(DF)All the days of our life (DG)at the house of the Lord.”
21 Now (DH)Isaiah had said, “Have them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.” 22 Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the (DI)sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?”
Hezekiah Shows His Treasures
39 (DJ)At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah [aa]was (DK)pleased, and let them see all his treasure house, the (DL)silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the excellent olive oil, his entire armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his realm that Hezekiah did not let them see. 3 Then Isaiah the (DM)prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far (DN)country, from Babylon.” 4 Then he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah [ab]answered, “They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not let them see.”
5 Isaiah then said to Hezekiah, “Hear the (DO)word of the Lord of armies, 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when (DP)everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And some of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, (DQ)will be taken away, and (DR)they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8 (DS)Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he [ac]thought, “For there will be peace and truth (DT)in my days.”
The Greatness of God
40 “(DU)Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “(DV)Speak [ad]kindly to Jerusalem;
And call out to her, that her [ae](DW)warfare has ended,
That her [af](DX)guilt has been removed,
That she has received of the Lord’s hand
(DY)Double for all her sins.”
3 (DZ)The voice of one calling out,
“(EA)Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make [ag]straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the uneven ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 [ah]Then the (EB)glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And (EC)all flesh will see it together;
For the (ED)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then [ai]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
(EE)All flesh is grass, and all its [aj]loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The (EF)grass withers, the flower fades,
[ak]When the (EG)breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The people are indeed grass!
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But (EH)the word of our God stands forever.
9 Go up on a (EI)high mountain,
Zion, messenger of (EJ)good news,
Raise your voice forcefully,
Jerusalem, messenger of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the (EK)cities of Judah,
“(EL)Here is your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord [al]God will come (EM)with might,
With His (EN)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His (EO)compensation is with Him,
And His reward before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will (EP)tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in the fold of His robe;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Who has (EQ)measured the [am]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And measured the heavens with a [an]span,
And [ao]calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
13 (ER)Who has [ap]directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His (ES)counselor has informed Him?
14 (ET)With whom did He consult and who (EU)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the (EV)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of (EW)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the [aq]islands like fine dust.
16 Even Lebanon is not enough to [ar]burn,
Nor its (EX)animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 (EY)All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and [as]meaningless.
18 (EZ)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
19 As for the [at](FA)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith (FB)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a (FC)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [au]prepare [av]an idol that (FD)will not totter.
21 (FE)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood (FF)from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who [aw]sits above the [ax](FG)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like (FH)grasshoppers,
Who (FI)stretches out the heavens like a (FJ)curtain
And spreads them out like a (FK)tent to live in.
23 It is He who reduces (FL)rulers to nothing,
Who (FM)makes the judges of the earth [ay]meaningless.
24 [az]Scarcely have they been planted,
[ba]Scarcely have they been sown,
[bb]Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the (FN)storm carries them away like stubble.
25 “(FO)To whom then will you compare Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
26 (FP)Raise your eyes on high
And see (FQ)who has created these stars,
The (FR)One who brings out their [bc]multitude by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the (FS)greatness of His might and the [bd]strength of His power,
(FT)Not one of them is missing.
27 (FU)Why do you say, Jacob, and you assert, Israel,
“My way is (FV)hidden from the Lord,
And the (FW)justice due me [be]escapes the notice of (FX)my God”?
28 (FY)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The (FZ)Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is (GA)unsearchable.
29 He gives strength to the (GB)weary,
And to the one who lacks might He (GC)increases power.
30 Though (GD)youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous (GE)young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who [bf]wait for the Lord
Will (GF)gain new strength;
They will [bg](GG)mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Israel Encouraged
41 “(GH)Listen to Me (GI)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples (GJ)gain new strength;
(GK)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(GL)Let’s come together for judgment.
2 (GM)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He (GN)calls in righteousness to His [bh]feet?
He (GO)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (GP)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven (GQ)chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been [bi]traversing with his feet.
4 (GR)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘(GS)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. (GT)I am He.’”
5 The (GU)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (GV)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the (GW)craftsman encourages the (GX)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(GY)So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, (GZ)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (HA)Abraham My (HB)friend,
9 You whom I have [bj](HC)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its (HD)remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are (HE)My servant,
I have (HF)chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 Do not (HG)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, (HH)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous (HI)right hand.’
11 Behold, (HJ)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(HK)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 (HL)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 For I am the Lord your God (HM)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘(HN)Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 Do not fear, you (HO)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and (HP)your [bk]Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(HQ)You will thresh the (HR)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You will (HS)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (HT)rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy are seeking (HU)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, (HV)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I (HW)will not abandon them.
18 I will open (HX)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make (HY)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the (HZ)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the (IA)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
20 So that (IB)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the (IC)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “[bl]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The (ID)King of Jacob says.
22 (IE)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (IF)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 (IG)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, (IH)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
24 Behold, (II)you are less than nothing,
And (IJ)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an (IK)abomination.
25 “I have put (IL)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon [bm](IM)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
26 Who has (IN)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was (IO)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27 “(IP)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a (IQ)messenger of good news.’
28 But (IR)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (IS)counselor [bn]among them
Who, if I ask, can (IT)give an answer.
29 Behold, all of them are [bo]false;
Their (IU)works are (IV)nothing,
Their cast metal images are (IW)wind and emptiness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:3 Lit give birth
- Isaiah 37:8 Lit he
- Isaiah 37:9 Or Ethiopia
- Isaiah 37:10 Lit Judah, saying
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit letters
- Isaiah 37:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
- Isaiah 37:20 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:19; MT are the Lord
- Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
- Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
- Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
- Isaiah 37:27 Lit short of hand
- Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; MT and as a terraced field
- Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit them
- Isaiah 37:36 Lit dead bodies
- Isaiah 37:37 Lit went and returned
- Isaiah 38:1 Lit sick to death
- Isaiah 38:3 Lit great weeping
- Isaiah 38:5 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:9 Lit he lived after his illness
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:15 Targum and DSS And what shall I say for He
- Isaiah 38:15 Or slowly
- Isaiah 38:16 Lit You will
- Isaiah 38:17 As in some ancient versions; MT loved
- Isaiah 38:17 Or destruction
- Isaiah 39:2 Lit rejoiced over them
- Isaiah 39:4 Lit said
- Isaiah 39:8 Lit said
- Isaiah 40:2 Lit to the heart of
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hard service
- Isaiah 40:2 Or penalty of guilt accepted as paid off
- Isaiah 40:3 Or smooth
- Isaiah 40:5 Or In order that the
- Isaiah 40:6 Another reading is I said
- Isaiah 40:6 Or constancy
- Isaiah 40:7 Or Because
- Isaiah 40:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 40:12 DSS reads waters of the sea
- Isaiah 40:12 Or half cubit (9 in. or 22.8 cm)
- Isaiah 40:12 Lit contained; or comprehended
- Isaiah 40:13 Or measured, marked off
- Isaiah 40:15 Or coastlands
- Isaiah 40:16 I.e., for fire on an altar
- Isaiah 40:17 Or void
- Isaiah 40:19 Or carved image
- Isaiah 40:20 Or set up
- Isaiah 40:20 Or a carved image
- Isaiah 40:22 Or is enthroned
- Isaiah 40:22 Or vault
- Isaiah 40:23 Or void
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:24 Or Not even
- Isaiah 40:26 Lit host
- Isaiah 40:26 As in DSS and ancient versions; MT strong
- Isaiah 40:27 Lit passes by my God
- Isaiah 40:31 Or hope in
- Isaiah 40:31 Or sprout wings
- Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
- Isaiah 41:3 Lit going
- Isaiah 41:9 Lit seized
- Isaiah 41:14 Or Redeemer, the Holy One
- Isaiah 41:21 Lit Bring near
- Isaiah 41:25 I.e., the building material
- Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
- Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing
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