2 Kings 19:14-28

14When Hezekiah received the letter with this message, he read it. Then he went up to the Lord's temple. He put the letter there, in front of the Lord.

15Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. He said, ‘Lord, you are Israel's God. You sit on your throne between the cherubs. Only you are the God who rules all the kingdoms in the world. You have made the heavens and the earth.

16Lord, please listen carefully to me. Lord, look carefully at this letter. Listen to Sennacherib's message. He is insulting you, the God who lives for ever.

17It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed these nations and their lands.

18They have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire. Those idols are not really gods. People used wood and stone to make them. So the Assyrians could destroy them.

19So now, our Lord and our God, please save us from the power of Sennacherib! Then all the kingdoms in the world will know that you Lord are the only God.’

20Then Amoz's son Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: ‘The Lord, Israel's God, says, “I heard your prayer to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.”

21This is the Lord's reply. The Lord says this about King Sennacherib: “The holy people of Zion laugh at you! They think that you are useless. Yes, the people of Jerusalem shake their heads as you run away.

22Who do you think it is that you have insulted? Who have you shouted at? Who have you looked at so proudly? The answer is the Holy God of Israel!

23You have sent your servants to insult the Lord God. You have said, ‘I have taken all my chariots and I have gone up high mountains, the highest mountains in Lebanon. I have cut down its tall cedar trees, and I have cut down its best pine trees. I went up to its highest places, and I went far into its forests.

24I dug wells in other countries, and they gave me water to drink. My army marched through all the rivers in Egypt, and the rivers became dry.’

25You said that, but now listen to this! You must surely have heard it already. I decided what to do a long time ago! Now I am causing it to happen. I decided that you would destroy strong cities so that they became heaps of stones.

26The people of those cities have no power. They are afraid and they are confused. They are like plants in a field, that cannot live for a long time. They are like fresh green grass, or grass that grows on the roof of a house. When a hot wind blows on them, it burns them and they die.

27I know everything about you. I know where you live. I know when you go out. And I know when you return home. I know how much you shout against me, when you are angry.

28Yes, you do shout at me! And I have heard all your proud noise. So I will put my hook in your nose. I will tie a rope to your mouth. Then I will pull you back home by the same way that you came.”