¶ And it came¹ to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent² his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went³ into the house of the LORD.

⁴And 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.

And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy⁷: for the⁸ children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

It may⁹ be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach¹⁰ the living God, and will¹¹ reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up¹² thy prayer for the¹³ remnant that is left¹⁴.

So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall¹⁵ ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not¹⁶ afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

Behold, I will¹⁷ send a blast upon him,¹⁸ and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

¶ So Rabshakeh¹⁹ returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah²⁰: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish²¹.

And he heard²² say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia²³, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

¶ Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not²⁴ thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

²⁵Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

Have the gods²⁶ of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan²⁷, and Haran²⁸, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden²⁹ which were in Telassar³⁰?

Where is the king of Hamath³², and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena³³, and Ivah³⁴?

And Hezekiah received³⁶ the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went³⁷ up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

³⁸And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,

O LORD³⁹ of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest⁴⁰ between the cherubims, thou art⁴¹ the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast⁴² made heaven and earth.

Incline⁴³ thine ear, O LORD, and hear⁴⁴; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.

Of a truth, LORD, the kings⁴⁵ of Assyria have laid waste all the nations⁴⁶, and their countries,

And have⁴⁷ cast⁴⁸ 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.

¶ Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all⁴⁹ the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even⁵⁰ thou only.

¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas⁵¹ thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:

This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin⁵², the daughter⁵³ of Zion, hath despised⁵⁴ thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken⁵⁵ her head at thee.

Whom hast⁵⁶ thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom⁵⁷ hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One⁵⁸ of Israel.

By thy servants⁵⁹ hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the⁶⁰ multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof:⁶¹ and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel⁶².

I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole⁶³ of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged⁶⁴ places.

Hast thou not heard long ago⁶⁵, how I⁶⁶ 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 defenced cities into ruinous heaps.

Therefore their inhabitants⁶⁷ were of small power⁶⁸, 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 corn blasted before it be grown up.

But I know⁶⁹ thy abode⁷⁰, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

Because thy rage⁷¹ against me, and thy tumult⁷², is come up into mine ears, therefore will I⁷³ 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.

¶ And this shall⁷⁴ be a sign unto thee, Ye shall⁷⁵ eat this year such as groweth of itself; and 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.

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah⁷⁶ shall again take⁷⁷ root downward, and bear fruit upward:

For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape⁷⁸ out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He⁷⁹ shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields⁸⁰, nor cast a bank against it.

⁸¹By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

For I will⁸² defend this city to save it for mine⁸³ own sake, and for⁸⁴ my servant David's sake.

Then the angel⁸⁵ of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when⁸⁶ they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

So Sennacherib⁸⁷ king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh⁸⁸.

And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god⁸⁹, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia⁹⁰: and Esarhaddon⁹¹ his son reigned in his stead.