Isaiah 37-39
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.”)
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.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
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