II Kings 19

¹And whanne kyng Ezechie hadde herd these thingis, he to-rente his clothis, and was hilid with a sak; and he entride in to the hous of the Lord.

²And he sente Eliachym, souereyn of the hous, and Sobna, scryueyn, and elde men of the preestis, hilid with sackis, to Ysaie, the prophete, sone of Amos.

³Whiche seiden, Ezechie seith these thingis, This dai is a dai of tribulacioun, and of blamyng, and of blasfemye; sones camen `til to the childberyng, and the `traueler of childe hath not strengthis.

⁴If perauenture thi Lord God here alle the wordis of Rabsaces, whom the kyng of Assiryens, his lord sente, that he schulde dispise the Lord lyuynge, and repreue bi wordis, whiche thi Lord God herde; and make thou preier for these relikis, that ben foundun.

⁵Therfor the seruauntis of kyng Ezechie camen to Isaie;

⁶and Isaie seide to hem, Seie ye these thingis to youre lord, The Lord seith these thingis, Nyle thou drede of the face of wordis whiche thou herdist, bi whiche the children of the kyng of Assiriens blasfemeden me.

⁷Lo! Y schal sende to hym a spirit, and he schal here a messanger, and he schal turne ayen in to his lond; and Y schal caste hym doun bi swerd in his owne lond.

⁸Therfor Rabsaces turnede ayen, and foond the kyng of Assiriens fiytynge ayens Lobna; for he hadde herd, that the kyng hadde go awei fro Lachis.

⁹And whanne he hadde herd of Theracha, kyng of Ethiope, `men seyynge, Lo! he yede out, that he fiyte ayens thee; that he schulde go ayens `that kyng, he sente messangeris to Ezechie,

¹⁰and seide, Seie ye these thingis to Ezechie, kyng of Juda, Thi Lord God, in whom thou hast trist, disseyue not thee, nether seie thou, Jerusalem schal not be `bitakun in to the hondis of the kyng of Assiriens;

¹¹for thou thi silf herdist what thingis the kyngis of Assiriens diden in alle londis, hou thei wastiden tho; whether therfor thou aloone maist be delyuered?

¹²Whether the goddis of hethene men delyueriden alle men whiche my fadris distrieden, that is, Gozam, and Aran, and Reseph, and the sones of Eden, that weren in Thelassar?

¹³Where is the kyng of Emath, and the kyng of Arphat? and the kyng of the cytee of Sepharuaym, of Ana, and of Aua?

¹⁴Therfor whanne Ezechie hadde take the lettris fro the hond of messangeris, and hadde red tho, he stiede in to the hows of the Lord, and spredde abrood tho bifor the Lord;

¹⁵and preiede in his siyt, and seide, Lord God of Israel, that sittist on cherubym, thou art God aloone of alle kyngis of erthe; thou madist heuene and erthe.

¹⁶Bowe thin eere, and here; opyn thin iyen, Lord, and se; and here alle the wordis of Senacherib, which sente, that he schulde dispise `to vs `God lyuynge.

¹⁷Verili, Lord, the kynges of Assiriens distrieden hethene men, and the londis of alle men,

¹⁸and senten the goddis of hem in to fier; for thei weren not goddis, but werkis of `hondis of men, of tre and stoon; and thei losten `tho goddis.

¹⁹Now therfor, oure Lord God, make vs saaf fro the hond of hem, that alle rewmes of erthe wite that thou art the Lord God aloone.

²⁰Forsothe Isaie, sone of Amos, sente to Ezechie, and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y haue herd tho thingis, whiche thou preidist me on Sennacherib, king of Assiriens.

²¹This is the word, which the Lord spak of hym, Thou virgyn douytir of Syon, he dispiside thee, and scornyde thee; thou douyter of Jerusalem, he mouyde his heed aftir thi bak.

²²Sennacherib, whom `dispisidist thou, and whom `blasfemedist thou? Ayens whom hast thou reisid thi vois, and hast reisid thin iyen an hiye? Ayens the hooli of Israel.

²³Bi the hond of thi seruauntis thou dispisidist the Lord, and seidist, In the multitude of my charys Y stiede in to the hiye thingis of hillis, in the hiynesse of Liban, and kittide doun the hiye cedris therof, and the chosyn beechis therof; and Y entride `til to the termes therof,

²⁴and Y kittide doun the forest of Carmele therof; and Y drank alien watris, and Y made drie with the steppis of `the feet of myn `alle watris closid.

²⁵Whether thou herdist not, what Y made at the bigynnyng? Fro elde daies Y made it, and now Y haue brouyt forth; and strengthid citees of fiyteris schulen be in to fallyng of hillis.

²⁶And thei that sitten meke of hond in tho, trembliden togidere, and ben schent; thei ben maad as the hei of the feeld, and as grene eerbe of roouys, which is dried, bifor that it cam to ripenesse.

²⁷And Y bifor knew thi dwellyng, and thi goyng out, and thin entryng, and thi weie, and thi woodnesse ayens me.

²⁸Thou were wood ayens me, and thi pride stide in to myn eeris; therfor Y schal putte a cercle in thi nosethirlis, and a bernacle in thi lippis, and Y schal lede thee ayen in to the weie bi which thou camest.

²⁹Forsothe, Ezechie, this schal be a signe `to thee; ete thou in this yeer that, that thou fyndist; forsothe in the secounde yeer tho thingis, that growen bi her owne wille; sotheli in the thridde yeer sowe ye, and repe ye, plaunte ye vyneris, and ete the fruytis of tho.

³⁰And what euer thing schal be residue of the hows of Juda, it schal sende root dounward, and schal make fruyt vpward.

³¹For relikis schulen go out of Jerusalem, and that, that schal be sauyd, `schal go out of the hil of Syon; the feruent loue of the Lord of oostis schal do this.

³²Wherfor the Lord seith these thingis of the kyng of Assiriens, He schal not entre in to this citee, nethir he schal sende an arowe in to it, nether scheeld shal occupie it, nether strengthing, ethir bisegyng, schal cumpasse it.

³³He schal turne ayen bi the weie `bi which he cam, and he schal not entre in to this citee, seith the Lord;

³⁴and Y schal defende this citee, and Y schal saue it for me, and for Dauid, my seruaunt.

³⁵Therfor it was don, in that niyt the aungel of the Lord cam, and smoot in the castels of Assiryens an hundrid foure score and fyue thousynde. And whanne Sennacherib hadde rise eerli, he siy alle bodies of deed men; and he departide, and yede awei.

³⁶And Sennacherib, the kyng of Assiriens, turnede ayen, and dwellide in Nynyue.

³⁷And whanne he worschipide in the temple Nestrach his god, Adramelech and Sirasar, his sones, killide hym with swerd; and thei fledden in to the lond of Armenyes; and Asaradon, his sone, regnyde for hym.

II Kings 19

¹And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

²And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

³And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

⁴It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rab–shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

⁵So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

⁶And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

⁷Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

⁸So Rab–shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

⁹And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

¹⁰Thus 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.

¹¹Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

¹²Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?

¹³Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

¹⁴And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

¹⁶Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

¹⁷Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

¹⁸And have cast 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.

¹⁹Now therefore, O Lord 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.

²⁰Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

²¹This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

²²Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

²³By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude 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, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

²⁴I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

²⁵Hast thou not 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.

²⁶Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, 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.

²⁷But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

²⁸Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will 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.

²⁹And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat 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.

³⁰And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

³¹For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.

³²Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

³³By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

³⁴For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

³⁵And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

³⁶So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

³⁷And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.