Isaiah 37-41
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Hezekiah Consults Isaiah
37 When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord.(A) 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.(B) 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.(C) 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.”(D)
[[5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me.(E) 7 I myself will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”]][a](F)
8 The Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 Now the king[b] heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “He has set out to fight against you.” When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,(G) 10 “Thus shall you speak to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.(H) 11 See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered?(I) 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my predecessors destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?(J) 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of Laar, Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.(K) 17 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.(L) 18 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands(M) 19 and have hurled their gods into the fire, though they were no gods but the work of human hands—wood and stone—and so they were destroyed.(N) 20 So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”(O)
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,(P) 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:
She despises you; she scorns you—
virgin daughter Zion;
she tosses her head—behind your back,
daughter Jerusalem.(Q)
23 “Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and haughtily lifted your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!(R)
24 By your servants you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I came to its remotest height,
its densest forest.(S)
25 I dug wells
and drank waters;
I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams of Egypt.’
26 “Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins,(T)
27 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded;
they have become like plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops
that is scorched before the east wind.[c](U)
28 “I know your rising up[d] and your sitting down,
your going out and coming in
and your raging against me.(V)
29 Because you have raged against me
and your arrogance has come to my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth;
I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.(W)
30 “And this shall be the sign for you: This year eat what grows of itself and in the second year what springs from that; then in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward,(X) 32 for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.(Y)
33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, shoot an arrow there, come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege ramp against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return; he shall not come into this city, says the Lord. 35 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”(Z)
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
36 Then the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies.(AA) 37 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left, went home, and lived at Nineveh. 38 As he was worshiping in the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon succeeded him.(AB)
Hezekiah’s Illness
38 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.”(AC) 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord: 3 “Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.(AD)
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.(AE) 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria and defend this city.(AF)
7 “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised:(AG) 8 See, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.[e](AH)
9 A writing of King Hezekiah of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said: In the noontide of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.(AI)
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon mortals no more
among the inhabitants of the world.(AJ)
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;(AK)
13 I cry for help[f] until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.(AL)
14 Like a swallow or a crane[g] I clamor;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security!(AM)
15 But what can I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has fled[h]
because of the bitterness of my soul.(AN)
16 O Lord, by these things people live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.[i]
Oh, restore me to health and make me live!
17 Surely it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness,
but you have held back[j] my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.(AO)
18 For Sheol cannot thank you;
death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit cannot hope
for your faithfulness.(AP)
19 The living, the living, they thank you,
as I do this day;
fathers make known to children
your faithfulness.(AQ)
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing to stringed instruments[k]
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.(AR)
[[21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.”(AS) 22 Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”]][l]
Envoys from Babylon Welcomed
39 At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.(AT) 2 Hezekiah welcomed them; he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.(AU) 3 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah answered, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.”(AV) 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts:(AW) 6 Days are coming when all that is in your house and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord.(AX) 7 Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”(AY) 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”(AZ)
God’s People Are Comforted
40 Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.(BA)
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.(BB)
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.(BC)
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.(BD)
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said,[m] “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass;
their constancy is like the flower of the field.(BE)
7 The grass withers; the flower fades,
[[when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.(BF)
8 The grass withers; the flower fades,]][n]
but the word of our God will stand forever.(BG)
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;[o]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[p]
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(BH)
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him
and his recompense before him.(BI)
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms
and carry them in his bosom
and gently lead the mother sheep.(BJ)
12 Who has measured the waters of the sea[q] in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?(BK)
13 Who has directed the spirit of the Lord
or as his counselor has instructed him?(BL)
14 Whom did he consult for his enlightenment,
and who taught him the path of justice?
[[Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket
and are accounted as dust on the scales;
see, he takes up the isles like fine dust.(BM)
16 Lebanon would not provide fuel enough,
nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering.]][r]
17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.(BN)
18 To whom, then, will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?(BO)
19 An idol? A workman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.(BP)
20 As a gift one chooses mulberry wood[s]
—wood that will not rot—
then seeks out a skilled artisan
to set up an image that will not topple.(BQ)
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?(BR)
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
and spreads them like a tent to live in,(BS)
23 who brings princes to naught
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.(BT)
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.(BU)
25 To whom, then, will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.(BV)
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.(BW)
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?(BX)
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.(BY)
29 He gives power to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.(BZ)
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted,
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.(CA)
Israel Assured of God’s Help
41 Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.(CB)
2 Who has roused a victor from the east,
summoned him to his service?
He delivers up nations to him
and tramples kings under foot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
like driven stubble with his bow.(CC)
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
scarcely touching the path with his feet.
4 Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am first
and will be with the last.(CD)
5 The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.(CE)
6 Each one helps the other,
saying to one another, “Take courage!”(CF)
7 The artisan encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good,”
and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.(CG)
8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;(CH)
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant;
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;(CI)
10 do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.(CJ)
11 All who are incensed against you
shall be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.(CK)
12 You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.(CL)
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,
I will help you.”(CM)
14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you maggot[t] Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.(CN)
15 I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.(CO)
16 You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.(CP)
17 When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.(CQ)
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
and the dry land springs of water.(CR)
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.(CS)
The Futility of Idols
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.(CT)
22 Let them bring them and tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they were,
so that we may consider them
and that we may know their outcome
or declare to us the things to come.(CU)
23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
that we may be afraid and terrified.(CV)
24 You, indeed, are nothing,
and your work is nothing at all;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.(CW)
25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.[u]
He shall trample[v] on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.(CX)
26 Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,
and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”?
There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.(CY)
27 I first have declared it to Zion,[w]
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.(CZ)
28 But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.(DA)
29 No, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their images are empty wind.(DB)
Footnotes
- 37.5–7 Q ms lacks 37.5–7
- 37.9 Heb he
- 37.27 Q ms: MT and a field before standing grain
- 37.28 Q ms Gk: MT lacks your rising up
- 38.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 38.13 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 38.14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 38.15 Cn Compare Syr: Heb I will walk slowly all my years
- 38.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 38.17 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb loved
- 38.20 Heb my stringed instruments
- 38.21–22 Q ms lacks 38.21–22
- 40.6 Q ms Gk Vg: MT and he said
- 40.7–8 Q ms Gk lack when the breath . . . flower fades
- 40.9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
- 40.9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem
- 40.12 Q ms: MT lacks of the sea
- 40.14–16 Q ms lacks Who taught him . . . burnt offering
- 40.20 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 41.14 Cn: Heb men of
- 41.25 Compare Q ms Gk: MT he shall call on my name
- 41.25 Cn: Heb come
- 41.27 Cn Compare Q ms: Heb First to Zion—Behold, behold them
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.