Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib's Fall

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria (A)I have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“She despises you, she scorns you—
    (B)the virgin daughter of Zion;
she (C)wags her head behind you—
    the daughter of Jerusalem.

22 “Whom have you (D)mocked and (E)reviled?
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
    Against (F)the Holy One of Israel!
23 (G)By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
    and you have said, (H)‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
    to the far recesses of (I)Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
    its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest lodging place,
    its most (J)fruitful forest.
24 I dug wells
    and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
    all the streams (K)of Egypt.’

25 “Have you not heard
    that (L)I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
    what (M)now I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
    into heaps of ruins,
26 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
    are dismayed and confounded,
and have become (N)like plants of the field
    and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
    blighted before it is grown.

27 “But I know your sitting down
    (O)and your going out and coming in,
    and your raging against me.
28 Because you have raged against me
    and your complacency has come into my ears,
I will (P)put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth,
and (Q)I will turn you back on the way
    by which you came.

29 “And this shall be (R)the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 (S)And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion (T)a band of survivors. (U)The zeal of the Lord will do this.

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or (V)cast up a siege mound against it. 33 (W)By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 (X)For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake (Y)and for the sake of my servant David.”

35 And that night (Z)the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at (AA)Nineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, (AB)Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

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Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall(A)(B)

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

“‘Virgin Daughter(E) Zion
    despises(F) you and mocks(G) you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(H) as you flee.
22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(I)
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
    Against the Holy One(J) of Israel!
23 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,(K)
    “With my many chariots(L)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down(M) 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?(N)
    Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned(O) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(P)
26 Their people, drained of power,(Q)
    are dismayed(R) and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,(S)
like grass sprouting on the roof,
    scorched(T) before it grows up.

27 “‘But I know(U) 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(V) in your nose
    and my bit(W) in your mouth,
and I will make you return(X)
    by the way you came.’

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

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

“The zeal(AF) 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;(AG)
    he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend(AH) this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David(AI) my servant.’”

35 That night the angel of the Lord(AJ) 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!(AK) 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.(AL) He returned to Nineveh(AM) and stayed there.

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

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