2 Kings 19:1-19

English Standard Version

Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah

19 ^(A)As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, ^(B)he tore his clothes and ^(C)covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. ² And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, ^(D)covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. ³ They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. ^4 (E)It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^(F)to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^(G)the remnant that is left.” ⁵ When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which ^(H)the servants of the king of Assyria have ^(I)reviled me. ⁷ Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that ^(J)he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him ^(K)fall by the sword in his own land.’”

Sennacherib Defies the Lord

⁸ The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^(L)Libnah, for he heard that the king had left ^(M)Lachish. ^9 (N)Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God ^(O)in whom you trust deceive you by promising that ^(P)Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. ¹¹ Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? ^12 (Q)Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^(R)Gozan, ^(S)Haran, Rezeph, and the people of ^(T)Eden who were in Telassar? ^13 (U)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah's Prayer

¹⁴ Hezekiah received ^(V)the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, ^(W)enthroned above the cherubim, ^(X)you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. ^16 (Y)Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; ^(Z)open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^(AA)to mock the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands ¹⁸ and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, ^(AB)but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. ¹⁹ So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, ^(AC)that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ^(AD)you, O Lord, are God alone.”