37 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah. ² And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. ³ And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. ⁴ It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, ^[a]whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

⁵ So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return unto his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

⁸ So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. ⁹ And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. ¹¹ Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by ^[b]destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? ¹² Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and ^[c]Ivvah?

¹⁴ And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah, saying, ¹⁶ O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that ^[d]sittest above the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to defy the living God. ¹⁸ Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries, and their land, ¹⁹ and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. ²⁰ Now therefore, O Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Jehovah, even thou only.

²¹ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, ²² this is the word which Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head ^[e]at thee. ²³ Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. ²⁴ By thy servants hast thou defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice ^[f]fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field; ²⁵ I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of ^[g]Egypt.

²⁶ Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps. ²⁷ Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as ^[h]a field of grain before it is grown up. ²⁸ But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me. ²⁹ Because of thy raging against me, and because ^[i]thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

³⁰ And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. ³¹ And ^[j]the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. ³² For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.

³³ Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. ³⁴ By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith Jehovah. ³⁵ For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. ³⁶ And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. ³⁷ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. ³⁸ And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

38 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, ³ and said, Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. ⁴ Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah, saying, ⁵ Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. ⁶ And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city. ⁷ And this shall be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do this thing that he hath spoken: ⁸ behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the ^[k]dial of Ahaz ^[l]with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps ^[m]on the dial whereon it was gone down.

⁹ The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.

²¹ Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. ²² Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?

39 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. ² And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his ^[x]precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his ^[y]armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. ³ Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. ⁴ Then said he, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. ⁵ Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts: ⁶ Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah. ⁷ And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. ⁸ Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.

40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ² Speak ye ^[z]comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her ^[aa]warfare is accomplished, that her ^[ab]iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah’s hand double for all her sins.

³ The voice of one ^[ac]that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: ⁵ and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

⁶ The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. ⁷ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. ⁸ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.

^9 [ad]O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; ^[ae]O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! ¹⁰ Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. ¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.

¹² Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who hath ^[af]directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him? ¹⁴ With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? ¹⁵ Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, ^[ag]he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. ¹⁶ And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. ¹⁷ All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as ^[ah]less than nothing, and ^[ai]vanity.

¹⁸ To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? ¹⁹ The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. ²⁰ He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to ^[aj]set up a graven image, that shall not be moved. ²¹ Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not ^[ak]understood from the foundations of the earth? ²² It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as ^[al]a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; ²³ that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as ^[am]vanity. ^24 [an]Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. ²⁵ To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high, ^[ao]and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.

²⁷ Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God? ²⁸ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? ^[ap]The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. ²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: ³¹ but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

41 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. ² Who hath raised up one from the east, ^[aq]whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; ^[ar]he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. ³ He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. ⁴ Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he. ⁵ The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come. ⁶ They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage. ⁷ So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved.

⁸ But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, ⁹ thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away; ¹⁰ fear thou not, for I am with thee; ^[as]be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ¹¹ Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish. ¹² Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. ¹³ For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ¹⁴ Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and ^[at]thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ Behold, I have made thee to be a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. ¹⁶ Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷ The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 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. ¹⁹ I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the ^[au]oil-tree; I will set in the desert the ^[av]fir-tree, the ^[aw]pine, and the box-tree together: ²⁰ that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

²¹ Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. ²² Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come. ²³ Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may ^[ax]be dismayed, and behold it together. ²⁴ Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.

²⁵ I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon ^[ay]rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. ²⁶ Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. ²⁷ I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. ²⁸ And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. ^29 [az]Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.