1 And aso it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with bsackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but thereis no strength to1 bring them forth.
4aIt may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to breproach the living God, and will crebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6aAnd Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be bafraid of the words which you have heard, with which the cservants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
7 Surely I will send aa spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer
8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed afrom Lachish.
9 And athe king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God ain whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?
12aHave the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of bEden who were in Telassar?
13aWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”
14aAnd Hezekiah received 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 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, theOneawho dwells between the cherubim, bYou are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
16aIncline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; bopen Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, cwhich he has sent to reproach the living God.
17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they wereanot gods, but bthe work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, athat all the kingdoms of the earth may bknow that You are the Lord God, You alone.”
The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: a‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, bI have heard.’
21 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, athe daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem bHas shaken her head behind your back!
22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against athe Holy One of Israel.
23aBy your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: b“By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, To its fruitful forest.
24 I have dug and drunk strange water, And with the soles of my feet I have adried up All the brooks of defense.”
25 ‘Did you not hear long ago HowaI made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That byou should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.
26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, Asathe grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown.
27 ‘But aI know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me.
28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore aI will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back bBy the way which you came.
29 ‘This shallbe a asign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows1 of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.
30aAnd the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward.
31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. aThe zeal of the Lord1 of hosts will do this.’
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall anot come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it.
33 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the Lord.
34 ‘For aI will bdefend this city, to save it For My own sake and cfor My servant David’s sake.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
35 And ait came to pass on a certain night that the1 angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.
36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at aNineveh.
37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons aAdrammelech and Sharezer bstruck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then cEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Hezekiah receives an answer of peace. (1-7) Sennacherib's letter. (8-19) His fall is prophesied. (20-34) The Assyrian army destroyed, Sennacherib slain. (35-37)
Verses 1-7 Hezekiah discovered deep concern at the dishonour done to God by Rabshakeh's blasphemy. Those who speak from God to us, we should in a particular manner desire to speak to God for us. The great Prophet is the great Intercessor. Those are likely to prevail with God, who lift up their hearts in prayer. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. While his servants can speak nothing but terror to the profane, the proud, and the hypocritical, they have comfortable words for the discouraged believer.
Verses 8-19 Prayer is the never-failing resource of the tempted Christian, whether struggling with outward difficulties or inward foes. At the mercy-seat of his almighty Friend he opens his heart, spreads his case, like Hezekiah, and makes his appeal. When he can discern that the glory of God is engaged on his side, faith gains the victory, and he rejoices that he shall never be moved. The best pleas in prayer are taken from God's honour.
Verses 20-34 All Sennacherib's motions were under the Divine cognizance. God himself undertakes to defend the city; and that person, that place, cannot but be safe, which he undertakes to protect. The invasion of the Assyrians probably had prevented the land from being sown that year. The next is supposed to have been the sabbatical year, but the Lord engaged that the produce of the land should be sufficient for their support during those two years. As the performance of this promise was to be after the destruction of Sennacherib's army, it was a sign to Hezekiah's faith, assuring him of that present deliverance, as an earnest of the Lord's future care of the kingdom of Judah. This the Lord would perform, not for their righteousness, but his own glory. May our hearts be as good ground, that his word may strike root therein, and bring forth fruit in our lives.
Verses 35-37 That night which followed the sending of this message to Hezekiah, the main body of their army was slain. See how weak the mightiest men are before Almighty God. Who ever hardened himself against Him and prospered? The king of Assyria's own sons became his murderers. Those whose children are undutiful, ought to consider whether they have not been so to their Father in heaven? This history exhibits a strong proof of the good of firm trust and confidence in God. He will afflict, but not forsake his people. It is well when our troubles drive us to our knees. But does it not reprove our unbelief? How unwilling are we to rest on the declaration of Jehovah! How desirous to know in what way he will save us! How impatient when relief is delayed! But we must wait for the fulfilling of his word. Lord, help our unbelief.
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