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Isaiah 37:21-38
English Standard Version
Isaiah 37:21-38
English Standard Version
Sennacherib's Fall
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:
“‘She despises you, she scorns you—
(A)the virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you—
the daughter of Jerusalem.
23 “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against (B)the Holy One of Israel!
24 By your servants you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, (C)With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon,
(D)to cut down its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses,
to come to its remotest height,
its most fruitful forest.
25 I dug wells
and drank waters,
to dry up with the sole of my foot
all (E)the streams (F)of Egypt.
26 (G)“‘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,
27 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become like plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted[a] before it is grown.
28 “‘I know your sitting down
and your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
29 (H)Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come to my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and (I)I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.’
30 “And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah (J)shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 (K)For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. (L)The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
33 “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 (M)cast up a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 35 (N)For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for (O)the sake of my servant David.”
36 (P)And 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. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at (Q)Nineveh. 38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of (R)Ararat, (S)Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 37:27 Some Hebrew manuscripts and 2 Kings 19:26; most Hebrew manuscripts a field
Isaiah 37:21-38
New International Version
Isaiah 37:21-38
New International Version
Sennacherib’s Fall(A)
21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz(B) sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
“Virgin Daughter(C) Zion(D)
despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head(E) as you flee.
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(F)
Against whom have you raised your voice(G)
and lifted your eyes in pride?(H)
Against the Holy One(I) of Israel!
24 By your messengers
you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
‘With my many chariots(J)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights(K) of Lebanon.(L)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its junipers.(M)
I have reached its remotest heights,
the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands[a]
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up(N) all the streams of Egypt.(O)’
26 “Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained(P) it.
In days of old I planned(Q) it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.(R)
27 Their people, drained of power,
are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,
like grass(S) sprouting on the roof,(T)
scorched[b] before it grows up.
28 “But I know where you are
and when you come and go(U)
and how you rage(V) against me.
29 Because you rage against me
and because your insolence(W) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(X) in your nose(Y)
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
by the way you came.(Z)
30 “This will be the sign(AA) for you, Hezekiah:
“This year(AB) you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year(AC) sow and reap,
plant vineyards(AD) and eat their fruit.(AE)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root(AF) below and bear fruit(AG) above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(AH)
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(AI)
The zeal(AJ) of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city(AK)
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp(AL) against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;(AM)
he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend(AN) this city and save it,
for my sake(AO) and for the sake of David(AP) my servant!”
36 Then the angel(AQ) of the Lord went out and put to death(AR) a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian(AS) camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib(AT) king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh(AU) and stayed there.
38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple(AV) of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(AW) And Esarhaddon(AX) his son succeeded him as king.(AY)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
- Isaiah 37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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