Isaiah 37:1-20

When Hezekiah heard what the commander had said, he tore his robe, put on sackcloth, and went to the temple of YAHWEH. And he sent Eliakim, the palace administrator; Shebna, the royal scribe; and the leading priests—all clothed in sackcloth—to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. They told him, “Here is Hezekiah’s message: ‘This is a day of great anguish, rebuke, and humiliation. We are desperate, as in the day a woman is in heavy labor but has no strength left to give birth. Perhaps Lord YAHWEH, your God, will take note of all the blasphemous words of the Assyrian commander who was sent by his master, the king of Assyria, to ridicule the living God. And may Lord YAHWEH, your God, rebuke him for the words he heard him speak. So therefore, we come to ask you to pray for us, the remnant that still survives.’ ” Isaiah answered the king’s delegation, saying, “Tell your master these words: ‘Here is what Lord YAHWEH says about this matter: “Don’t fear or be frightened by the blasphemous words of the servants of the king of Assyria. I will put in him a mindset that will cause him, when he hears a certain rumor, to flee back to his own country. And when he returns I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ” Meanwhile, the Assyrian commander returned to the king, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish to lay siege against the city of Libnah. Now, King Sennacherib had heard a report that the king of Ethiopia, Tirhakah, had allied with Hezekiah and was coming to fight against him. So when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this message: “Don’t let this God in whom you trust mislead you into thinking that Jerusalem will not fall and be delivered into the hand of the mighty king of Assyria. Certainly you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them all. Do you really think you’ll be delivered? Did any of their gods come to their rescue? Where were the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden, who were in Tel Azzar when my predecessors destroyed their lands? Tell me, where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arphad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivva?” When the messengers delivered Sennacherib’s message to Hezekiah, he read it and immediately went into the temple of YAHWEH and spread it out before the Lord. And he prayed: “O  YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, the God of Israel, you are enthroned between the wings of the cherubim and you reign supreme as God over all the kingdoms of the world, for you alone are Creator of heaven and earth. Please lean down to hear my prayer. YAHWEH, open your eyes and see me here calling out to you. Listen carefully to every blasphemous word Sennacherib has sent to ridicule and insult you, the living God. “Lord YAHWEH, truly the Assyrian kings have annihilated all these nations and conquered their lands. They smashed and burned their gods, for they’re not truly gods but mere idols made by human hands shaped from wood and stone. That’s why they could be destroyed. So now, our loving God, YAHWEH, save us from the Assyrians so that the whole world will know that you alone are YAHWEH, Lord God Almighty.”