Study Desk

You nations, come here and listen; you peoples, pay attention!^(a) Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that comes from it.^(b)

The Lord is angry with all the nations— furious with all their armies.^(c) He will set them apart for destruction,^(d) giving them over to slaughter.

Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their corpses will rise;^(e) the mountains will flow^[a] with their blood.^(f)

All^[b] the heavenly bodies^(g) will dissolve. The skies will roll up like a scroll,^(h) and their stars will all wither as leaves wither on the vine, and foliage on the fig tree.⁽ⁱ⁾

When My sword has drunk its fill^[c](j) in the heavens, it will then come down on Edom^(k) and on the people I have set apart for destruction.

The Lord 's sword is covered with blood. It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams.^(l) For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,^(m) a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

The wild oxen will be struck^[d] down with them, and young bulls with the mighty bulls. Their land will be soaked with^[e] blood, and their soil will be saturated with fat.

For the Lord has a day of vengeance,⁽ⁿ⁾ a time of paying back Edom for its hostility against Zion.

Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her soil into sulfur;^(o) her land will become burning pitch.

It will never go out—day or night. Its smoke will go up forever.^(p) It will be desolate, from generation to generation; no one will pass through it forever and ever.^(q)

The desert owl^[f] and the screech owl^[g] will possess it, and the great owl and the raven will dwell there.^(r) The Lord will stretch out a measuring line and a plumb line over her for her destruction and chaos.^(s)

No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.

Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns; her fortified cities, with thistles and briers.^(t) She will become a dwelling for jackals, an abode^[h] for ostriches.^(u)

The desert creatures will meet hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. Indeed, the screech owl will stay there and will find a resting place for herself.

The sand partridge^[i] will make her nest there; she will lay and hatch her eggs and will gather her brood under her shadow. Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there, each with its mate.^(v)

Search and read the scroll of the Lord :^(w) Not one of them will be missing, none will be lacking its mate, because He has ordered it by my^[j] mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.

He has ordained a lot for them; His hand allotted their portion with a measuring line. They will possess it forever;^(x) they will dwell in it from generation to generation.

The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.^[a][b](a)

It will blossom abundantly and will also rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.^(b) They will see the glory of the Lord ,^(c) the splendor of our God.^(d)

Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees!^(e)

Say to the cowardly: "Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming.^(f) God's retribution is coming; He will save you."^(g)

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.^(h)

Then the lame will leap like a deer,⁽ⁱ⁾ and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy,^(j) for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;^(k)

the parched ground will become a pool of water, and the thirsty land springs of water.^(l) In the haunt of jackals,^(m) in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus.

A road will be there and a way;⁽ⁿ⁾ it will be called the Holy Way.^(o) The unclean will not travel on it,^(p) but it will be for the one who walks the path.^(q) Even the fool will not go astray.

There will be no lion there, and no vicious beast will go up on it; they will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk on it,

and the redeemed of the Lord will return^(r) and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.^(s)

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,^(a) Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish^(b) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller's Field.^(c)

Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,^(d) and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him.

The Rabshakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on?^[a]

I^[b] say that your strategy and military preparedness are mere words. What are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?^(e)

Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff^(f) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him.^(g)

Suppose you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God.' Isn't He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar'?^(h)

Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I'll give you 2,000 horses if you're able to supply riders for them!

How then can you drive back a single officer among the weakest of my master's officers and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?⁽ⁱ⁾

Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the Lord 's approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.'"

Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(j) since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew^[c] within earshot of the people who are on the wall."

But the Rabshakeh replied, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?"

Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew:^[d] Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

This is what the king says: "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you,^(k) for he cannot deliver you.

Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord , saying, ‘The Lord will certainly deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.'"

Don't listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make peace^[e] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree^(l) and drink water from his own cistern

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.'^(m) Has any one of the gods of the nations⁽ⁿ⁾ delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?^(o) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my power?^(p)

Who among all the gods of these lands ever delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem."

But they kept silent; they didn't say anything, for the king's command was, "Don't answer him."^(q)

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

When King Hezekiah heard their report,^(a) he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,^(b) and went to the Lord 's temple.

Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

They said to him, "This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace,^(c) for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.^(d)

Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God,^(e) and will rebuke him for the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.'"^(f)

So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,

who said to them, "Tell your master this, ‘The Lord says: Don't be afraid^(g) because of the words you have heard, which the king of Assyria's attendants have blasphemed Me with.^(h)

I am about to put a spirit⁽ⁱ⁾ in him and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.'"^(j)

When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,^(k) he returned and found him fighting against Libnah.^(l)

The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush:^(m) "He has set out to fight against you." So when he heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

"Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don't let your God, whom you trust, deceive you⁽ⁿ⁾ by promising that Jerusalem won't be handed over to the king of Assyria.

Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued?

Did the gods of the nations^(o) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—Gozan,^(p) Haran,^(q) Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?

Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?'"

Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord 's temple and spread it out before the Lord .^(r)

Then Hezekiah prayed^(s) to the Lord :

Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim,^(t) You are God^(u)—You alone^(v)—of all the kingdoms of the earth.^(w) You made the heavens and the earth.^(x)

Listen closely, Lord , and hear;^(y) open Your eyes, Lord , and see.^(z) Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.^(aa)

Lord , it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands.

They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods^(ab) but made by human hands^(ac)—wood and stone.^(ad) So they have destroyed them.

Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord ^(ae)—You alone.^(af)

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "The Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,

this is the word the Lord has spoken against him: Virgin Daughter Zion^(ag) despises you and scorns you: Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head^(ah) behind your back.^[a]

Who is it you have mocked^(ai) and blasphemed? Who have you raised your voice against and lifted your eyes in pride?^(aj) Against the Holy One of Israel!^(ak)

You have mocked the Lord through^[b] your servants. You have said, "With my many chariots^(al) I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its distant heights, its densest forest.

I dug wells^[c] and drank water. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet."^(am)

Have you not heard?^(an) I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by.^(ao) I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities^(ap) into piles of rubble.

Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind.^[d]

But I know^[e] your sitting down, your going out and your coming in,^(aq) and your raging against Me.

Because your raging against Me and your arrogance have reached My ears,^(ar) I will put My hook in your nose^(as) and My bit in your mouth;^(at) I will make you go back the way you came.

"‘This will be the sign for you:^(au) This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root^(av) downward and bear fruit upward.

For a remnant^(aw) will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.'^(ax)

"Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or build up an assault ramp against it.

He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is the Lord 's declaration.

I will defend this city and rescue it because of Me^(ay) and because of My servant David."^(az)

Then^(ba) the angel of the Lord ^(bb) went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!

So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.^(bc)

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.^(bd) Then his son Esar-haddon^(be) became king in his place.

In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill.^(a) The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your affairs in order,^[a](b) for you are about to die; you will not recover.'"^[b]

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord .

He said, "Please, Lord , remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly,^(c) and have done what pleases You."^[c](d) And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah:

"Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add 15 years to your life.^[d](e)

And I will deliver you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city.^(f)

This is the sign to you^(g) from the Lord that He will do what^[e] He has promised:^[f]

I am going to make the sun's shadow that goes down on Ahaz's stairway go back by 10 steps."^(h) So the sun's shadow^[g] went back the 10 steps it had descended.

A poem by Hezekiah king of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:

I said: In the prime^[h] of my life^[i](i) I must go to the gates of Sheol;^(j) I am deprived of the rest of my years.

I said: I will never see the Lord , the Lord in the land of the living;^(k) I will not look on humanity any longer with the inhabitants of what is passing away.^[j]

My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent.^(l) I have rolled up my life like a weaver;^(m) He cuts me off from the loom.^[k](n) You make an end of me from day until night.^(o)

I thought until the morning: He will break all my bones like a lion; You make an end of me day and night.

I chirp like a swallow or a crane; I moan like a dove.^(p) My eyes grow weak looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed; support me.^(q)

What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it. I walk along slowly all my years^(r) because of the bitterness of my soul,^(s)

Lord, because of these promises people live,^(t) and in all of them is the life of my spirit as well; You have restored me to health^(u) and let me live.^(v)

Indeed, it was for my own welfare that I had such great bitterness;^(w) but Your love has delivered me from the Pit of destruction,^(x) for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back.^(y)

For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You.^(z) Those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

The living, only the living can thank You, as I do today; a father will make Your faithfulness known to children.^(aa)

The Lord will^[l] save me; we will play stringed instruments all the days of our lives at the house of the Lord .^(ab)

Now Isaiah^(ac) had said, "Let them take a lump of pressed figs and apply it to his infected skin, so that he may recover."

And Hezekiah had asked, "What is the sign that I will go up to the Lord 's temple?"

At that time^(a) Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.

Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and all his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries.^(b) There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.^(c)

Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?" Hezekiah replied, "They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon."

Isaiah asked, "What have they seen in your palace?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything in my palace. There isn't anything in my treasuries that I didn't show them."

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts:^(d)

‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the Lord .^(e)

‘Some of your descendants who come from you will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good," for he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.^(f)