Add parallel Print Page Options

Hezekiah Asks Isaiah the Prophet for Advice

(Isaiah 37.1-13)

19 As soon as Hezekiah heard the news, he tore off his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. Then he went into the temple of the Lord. He told Prime Minister Eliakim, Assistant Prime Minister Shebna, and the senior priests to dress in sackcloth and tell the prophet Isaiah:

These are difficult and disgraceful times. Our nation is like a woman too weak to give birth, when it's time for her baby to be born. Please pray for those of us who are left alive. The king of Assyria sent his army commander to insult the living God. Perhaps the Lord heard what he said and will do something, if you will pray.

When these leaders went to Isaiah, he told them that the Lord had this message for Hezekiah:

I am the Lord. Don't worry about the insulting things that have been said about me by these messengers from the king of Assyria. I will upset him with rumors about what's happening in his own country. He will go back, and there I will make him die a violent death.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Assyrian forces heard that his king had left the town of Lachish and was now attacking Libnah. So he went there.

About this same time the king of Assyria learned that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[a] was on his way to attack him. Then the king of Assyria sent some messengers with this note for Hezekiah:

10 Don't trust your God or be fooled by his promise to defend Jerusalem against me. 11 You have heard how we Assyrian kings have completely wiped out other nations. What makes you feel so safe? 12 The Assyrian kings before me destroyed the towns of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and everyone from Eden who lived in Telassar. What good did their gods do them? 13 The kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah have all disappeared.

Hezekiah Prays

(Isaiah 37.14-20)

14 After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the Lord to see. 15 (A) He prayed:

Lord God of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures.[b] You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world. 16 But just look how Sennacherib has insulted you, the living God.

17 It is true, our Lord, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. 18 They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. 19 But you are our Lord and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God.

The Lord's Answer to Hezekiah

(Isaiah 37.21-35)

20 Isaiah went to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord God of Israel had said:

Hezekiah, I heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria. 21 Now this is what I say to that king:

The people of Jerusalem
hate and make fun of you;
    they laugh
    behind your back.

22 Sennacherib, you cursed,
shouted, and sneered at me,
    the holy God of Israel.
23 You let your officials
    insult me, the Lord.
And this is how you
    bragged about yourself:
“I led my chariots
to the highest heights
    of Lebanon's mountains.
I went deep into its forest,
cutting down the best cedar
    and cypress trees.
24 I dried up every stream
    in the land of Egypt,
and I drank water
    from wells I had dug.”

25 Sennacherib, now listen
    to me, the Lord.
I planned all this long ago.
And you don't even realize
    that I alone am the one
who decided that you
    would do these things.
I let you make ruins
    of fortified cities.
26 Their people became weak,
    terribly confused.
They were like wild flowers
or tender young grass
    growing on a flat roof,
scorched before it matures.[c]

27 I know all about you,
even how fiercely angry
    you are with me.
28 I have seen your pride
and the tremendous hatred
    you have for me.
Now I will put a hook
in your nose,
    a bit in your mouth,[d]
then I will send you back
    to where you came from.

29 Hezekiah, I will tell you what's going to happen. This year you will eat crops that grow on their own, and the next year you will eat whatever springs up where those crops grew. But the third year you will plant grain and vineyards, and you will eat what you harvest. 30 Those who survive in Judah will be like a vine that puts down deep roots and bears fruit. 31 I, the Lord All-Powerful, will see to it that some who live in Jerusalem will survive.

32 I promise that the king of Assyria won't get into Jerusalem, or shoot an arrow into the city, or even surround it and prepare to attack. 33 As surely as I am the Lord, he will return by the way he came and will never enter Jerusalem. 34 I will protect it for myself and for my servant David.

The Death of King Sennacherib

(Isaiah 37.36-38)

35 (B) That same night the Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed 185,000 of them. And so the next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies. 36 After this King Sennacherib went back to Assyria and lived in the city of Nineveh. 37 One day he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, when his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. They escaped to the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon became king.[e]

Hezekiah Gets Sick and Almost Dies

(2 Chronicles 32.24-26; Isaiah 38.1-8,21,22)

20 About this time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. Isaiah the prophet went in and told him, “The Lord says you won't ever get well. You are going to die, so you had better start doing what needs to be done.”

Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed, “Don't forget that I have been faithful to you, Lord. I have obeyed you with all my heart, and I do whatever you say is right.” After this, he cried bitterly.

Before Isaiah got to the middle court of the palace, the Lord sent him back to Hezekiah with this message:

Hezekiah, you are the ruler of my people, and I am the Lord God, who was worshiped by your ancestor David. I heard you pray, and I saw you cry. I will heal you, so that three days from now you will be able to worship in my temple. I will let you live 15 years more, while I protect you and your city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city as an honor to me and to my servant David.

Then Isaiah said to the king's servants, “Bring some mashed figs and place them on the king's open sore. He will then get well.”

Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “Can you prove that the Lord will heal me, so that I can worship in his temple in three days?”

Isaiah replied, “The Lord will prove to you that he will keep his promise. Will the shadow made by the setting sun on the stairway go forward ten steps or back ten steps?”[f]

10 “It's normal for the sun to go forward,” Hezekiah answered. “But how can it go back?”

11 Isaiah prayed, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairway built for King Ahaz.[g]

The Lord Is Still with Hezekiah

(Isaiah 39.1-8)

12 Merodach[h] Baladan, the son of Baladan, was now king of Babylonia.[i] And when he learned that Hezekiah had been sick, he sent messengers with letters and a gift for him. 13 Hezekiah welcomed[j] the messengers and showed them all the silver, the gold, the spices, and the fine oils that were in his storehouse. He even showed them where he kept his weapons. Nothing in his palace or in his entire kingdom was kept hidden from them.

14 Isaiah asked Hezekiah, “Where did these men come from? What did they want?”

“They came all the way from Babylonia,” Hezekiah answered.

15 “What did you show them?” Isaiah asked.

Hezekiah answered, “I showed them everything in my kingdom.”

16 Then Isaiah told Hezekiah:

I have a message for you from the Lord. 17 (C) One day everything you and your ancestors have stored up will be taken to Babylonia. The Lord has promised that nothing will be left. 18 (D) Some of your own sons will be taken to Babylonia, where they will be disgraced and made to serve in the king's palace.

19 Hezekiah thought, “At least our nation will be at peace for a while.” So he told Isaiah, “The message you brought me from the Lord is good.”

Hezekiah Dies

(2 Chronicles 32.32,33)

20 Everything else Hezekiah did while he was king, including his brave deeds and how he made the upper pool and tunnel bring water into Jerusalem, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 21 Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became king.

King Manasseh of Judah

(2 Chronicles 33.1-20)

21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 55 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah. (E) Manasseh disobeyed the Lord by following the disgusting customs of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. He rebuilt the local shrines that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He built altars for the god Baal and set up a sacred pole for worshiping the goddess Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. And he faithfully worshiped the stars in heaven.

(F) In the temple, where only the Lord was supposed to be worshiped, Manasseh built altars for the worship of pagan gods and the stars. He placed these altars in both courts of the temple, 6-7 (G) and even set up the pole for Asherah there. Manasseh practiced magic and witchcraft; he asked fortunetellers for advice and sacrificed his own son. He did many sinful things and made the Lord very angry.

Years ago the Lord had told David and his son Solomon:

Jerusalem is the place I prefer above all others in Israel. It belongs to me, and there I will be worshiped forever. If my people will faithfully obey all the commands in the Law of my servant Moses, I will never make them leave the land I gave to their ancestors.

But the people of Judah disobeyed the Lord. They listened to Manasseh and did even more sinful things than the nations the Lord had wiped out.

10 One day the Lord said to some of his prophets:

11 King Manasseh has done more disgusting things than the Amorites,[k] and he has led my people to sin by forcing them to worship his idols. 12 Now I, the Lord God of Israel, will destroy both Jerusalem and Judah! People will hear about it but won't believe it. 13 Jerusalem is as sinful as Ahab and the people of Samaria were. So I will wipe out Jerusalem and be done with it, just as someone wipes water off a plate and turns it over to dry.

14 I will even get rid of my people who survive. They will be defeated and robbed by their enemies. 15 My people have done what I hate and have not stopped making me angry since their ancestors left Egypt.

16 Manasseh was guilty of causing the people of Judah to sin and disobey the Lord. He also refused to protect innocent people—he even let so many of them be killed[l] that their blood filled the streets of Jerusalem.

17 Everything else Manasseh did while he was king, including his terrible sins, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 18 He died and was buried in Uzza Garden near his palace, and his son Amon became king.

King Amon of Judah

(2 Chronicles 33.21-25)

19 Amon was 22 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 2 years. His mother Meshullemeth was the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. 20 Amon disobeyed the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. 21 Amon worshiped the idols Manasseh had made and 22 refused to be faithful to the Lord, the God his ancestors had worshiped.

23 Some of Amon's officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. 24-26 He was buried in Uzza Garden. Soon after that, the people of Judah killed the murderers of Amon, then they made his son Josiah king.

Everything else Amon did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.

Footnotes

  1. 19.9 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
  2. 19.15 winged creatures: Two winged creatures made of gold were on the top of the sacred chest and were symbols of the Lord's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18; 2 Samuel 6.2).
  3. 19.26 tender young grass … matures: Many of the houses had roofs made of packed earth. Grass would sometimes grow out of the roof, but would die quickly because of the sun and hot winds.
  4. 19.28 I will put … your mouth: This is how the Assyrians treated their prisoners, and now the Lord will treat Sennacherib the same way.
  5. 19.37 Esarhaddon became king: Ruled Assyria 681–669 b.c.
  6. 20.9 Will … steps: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 20.11 the shadow … Ahaz: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 20.12 Merodach: The Hebrew text has “Berodach,” another spelling of the name.
  9. 20.12 Merodach Baladan … Babylonia: Ruled Babylonia 722–710 and 704–703 b.c.
  10. 20.13 welcomed: Or “listened to.”
  11. 21.11 Amorites: Here used in the general sense of nations that lived in Canaan before the Israelites.
  12. 21.16 He also refused … killed: Or “He killed so many innocent people.”

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(A)

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore(B) his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim(C) the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,(D) all wearing sackcloth,(E) to the prophet Isaiah(F) son of Amoz. They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment(G) of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(H) the living God, and that he will rebuke(I) him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant(J) that still survives.”

When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(K) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(L) me. Listen! When he hears a certain report,(M) I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.(N)’”

When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(O) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.(P)

Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[a] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend(Q) on deceive(R) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver(S) them—the gods of Gozan,(T) Harran,(U) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”(V)

Hezekiah’s Prayer(W)

14 Hezekiah received the letter(X) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(Y) you alone(Z) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear,(AA) Lord, and hear;(AB) open your eyes,(AC) Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods(AD) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(AE) 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver(AF) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms(AG) of the earth may know(AH) that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall(AI)(AJ)

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard(AK) your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against(AL) him:

“‘Virgin Daughter(AM) Zion
    despises(AN) you and mocks(AO) you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(AP) as you flee.
22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(AQ)
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
    Against the Holy One(AR) of Israel!
23 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,(AS)
    “With my many chariots(AT)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down(AU) its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest parts,
    the finest of its forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign lands
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

25 “‘Have you not heard?(AV)
    Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned(AW) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(AX)
26 Their people, drained of power,(AY)
    are dismayed(AZ) and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,(BA)
like grass sprouting on the roof,
    scorched(BB) before it grows up.

27 “‘But I know(BC) where you are
    and when you come and go
    and how you rage against me.
28 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(BD) in your nose
    and my bit(BE) in your mouth,
and I will make you return(BF)
    by the way you came.’

29 “This will be the sign(BG) for you, Hezekiah:

“This year you will eat what grows by itself,(BH)
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
    plant vineyards(BI) and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant(BJ) of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root(BK) below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(BL)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(BM)

“The zeal(BN) of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“‘He will not enter this city
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return;(BO)
    he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend(BP) this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David(BQ) my servant.’”

35 That night the angel of the Lord(BR) went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(BS) 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.(BT) He returned to Nineveh(BU) and stayed there.

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek(BV) and Sharezer killed him with the sword,(BW) and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(BX) And Esarhaddon(BY) his son succeeded him as king.

Hezekiah’s Illness(BZ)

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember,(CA) Lord, how I have walked(CB) before you faithfully(CC) and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard(CD) your prayer and seen your tears;(CE) I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend(CF) this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,(CG) and he recovered.

Hezekiah had 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 from now?”

Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign(CH) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

10 “It is a simple(CI) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back(CJ) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Envoys From Babylon(CK)(CL)

12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”

15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(CM) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants,(CN) your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”(CO)

19 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

20 As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool(CP) and the tunnel(CQ) by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

Manasseh King of Judah(CR)(CS)

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.(CT) He did evil(CU) in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices(CV) of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places(CW) his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal(CX) and made an Asherah pole,(CY) as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts(CZ) and worshiped them. He built altars(DA) in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.”(DB) In the two courts(DC) of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son(DD) in the fire, practiced divination,(DE) sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists.(DF) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing(DG) his anger.

He took the carved Asherah pole(DH) he had made and put it in the temple,(DI) of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name(DJ) forever. I will not again(DK) make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses(DL) gave them.” But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil(DM) than the nations(DN) the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets: 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil(DO) than the Amorites(DP) who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols.(DQ) 12 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster(DR) on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.(DS) 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line(DT) used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe(DU) out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 I will forsake(DV) the remnant(DW) of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; 15 they have done evil(DX) in my eyes and have aroused(DY) my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.”

16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood(DZ) that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah(EA) to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

17 As for the other events of Manasseh’s reign, and all he did, including the sin he committed, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 18 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace garden,(EB) the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah(EC)

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did evil(ED) in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them. 22 He forsook(EE) the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk(EF) in obedience to him.

23 Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated(EG) the king in his palace. 24 Then the people of the land killed(EH) all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah(EI) his son king in his place.

25 As for the other events of Amon’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden(EJ) of Uzza. And Josiah his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 19:9 That is, the upper Nile region