Isaiah 37:1-20

When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show how sad he was. Then he went into the Temple of the LORD. Hezekiah sent Eliakim, the palace manager, and Shebna, the royal secretary, and the older priests to Isaiah. They were all wearing rough cloth when they came to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. They told Isaiah, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of sorrow and punishment and disgrace, as when a child should be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it. The king of Assyria sent his field commander to make fun of the living God. Maybe the LORD your God will hear what the commander said and will punish him for it. So pray for the few of us who are left alive.” When Hezekiah’s officers came to Isaiah, he said to them, “Tell your master this: The LORD says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you have heard. Don’t be frightened by the words the servants of the king of Assyria have spoken against me. Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a report that will make him return to his own country, and I will cause him to die by the sword there.’ ” The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. When he went back, he found the king fighting against the city of Libnah. The king received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was coming to attack him. When the king of Assyria heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Tell Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t be fooled by the god you trust. Don’t believe him when he says Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done. They have completely defeated every country, so do not think you will be saved. Did the gods of those people save them? My ancestors destroyed them, defeating the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?” When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Temple of the LORD. He spread the letter out before the LORD and prayed to the LORD: “LORD All-Powerful, you are the God of Israel, whose throne is between the gold creatures with wings, only you are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Hear, LORD, and listen. Open your eyes, LORD, and see. Listen to all the words Sennacherib has said to insult the living God. “It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these countries and their lands. They have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire, but they were only wood and rock statues that people made. So the kings have destroyed them. Now, LORD our God, save us from the king’s power so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, LORD, are the only God.”