¶ And it came to pass, when king¹ Hezekiah heard it, that he rent² his clothes, and covered³ himself with sackcloth, and went into⁴ the house of the LORD.

And he sent Eliakim⁵, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah⁶ the prophet the son of Amoz.

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day⁸ is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy⁹: for the children¹⁰ are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

It may be the LORD¹¹ thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king¹² of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove¹³ the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up¹⁴ thy prayer for the remnant¹⁵ that are left¹⁶.

So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

And Isaiah¹⁷ said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid¹⁸ of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants¹⁹ of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

Behold, I will send a blast²⁰ upon him, and he shall hear a rumour²¹, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause²² him to fall by the sword in his own land.

¶ So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah²³: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish²⁴.

And when he heard²⁵ say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent²⁶ messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

¶²⁷Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

²⁸Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

Have the gods²⁹ of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan³⁰, and Haran³¹, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden³³ which were in Thelasar?

Where is the king³⁵ of Hamath, and the king of Arpad³⁶, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

And Hezekiah³⁸ received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it³⁹ before the LORD.

And Hezekiah prayed⁴⁰ before the LORD, and said, O LORD God⁴¹ of Israel, which dwellest⁴² between the cherubims, thou art the God⁴³, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made⁴⁴ heaven and earth.

LORD, bow down⁴⁵ thine ear, and hear: open⁴⁶, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent⁴⁷ him to reproach the living God.

Of a truth⁴⁸, LORD, the kings⁴⁹ of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

And have cast⁵⁰ their gods into the fire: for they were⁵¹ no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

Now therefore, O LORD⁵² our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.

¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast⁵³ prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard⁵⁴.

This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin⁵⁵ the daughter⁵⁶ of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head⁵⁷ at thee.

Whom⁵⁸ hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice⁵⁹, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One⁶⁰ of Israel.

By⁶¹ thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude⁶² of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof,⁶³ and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

I have digged⁶⁴ and drunk strange waters, and with the sole⁶⁵ of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places⁶⁶.

Hast thou not⁶⁷ heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

Therefore their inhabitants were of small power⁶⁸, they were⁶⁹ dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass⁷⁰ of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

But I know⁷¹ thy abode⁷², and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

Because thy rage⁷³ against me and thy tumult⁷⁴ is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put⁷⁵ my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way⁷⁶ by which thou camest.

And this shall be a sign⁷⁷ unto thee, Ye shall eat⁷⁸ this year such things as grow of themselves, 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 fruits thereof.

¶ And the remnant that⁷⁹ is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again⁸⁰ take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

For⁸¹ out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape⁸² out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts] shall do this.

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come⁸³ into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank⁸⁴ against it.

By the way⁸⁵ that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

For I will defend⁸⁶ this city, to save it, for mine⁸⁷ own sake, and for my servant⁸⁸ David's sake.

¶ And it came to pass that night⁸⁹, that the angel⁹⁰ of the LORD went out, and smote⁹¹ in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose⁹² early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

So Sennacherib⁹³ king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh⁹⁴.

And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch⁹⁵ his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote⁹⁶ him with the sword: and they escaped into the land⁹⁷ of Armenia⁹⁸. And Esarhaddon⁹⁹ his son reigned in his stead.