2 Kings 19:16-34

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.”

29King Hezekiah, this is how you will know that I have spoken a true message from the Lord. This year, you will eat crops that grow by themselves. And next year you will eat what grows from the same seeds. But in the third year you will plant seeds for yourselves, and they will give you a harvest of crops. You will plant vines again and you will eat grapes from them.

30The people who remain in Judah will be like strong plants that put their roots down into the ground. Their branches will give lots of fruit.

31A small number of people will still be alive in Jerusalem. They will leave Mount Zion and they will go to other places. The great love that the Lord Almighty has for his people will cause that to happen!

32This is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “His army will not come into this city. His soldiers will not shoot any arrows here. They will not attack the city as they hold their shields. They will not build heaps of earth against the city's walls.

33No! The king will return home by the way that he came. He will not come into this city.” That is what the Lord says.

34“I will make this city safe and I will rescue it. I will do that to show that I am great. I promised my servant David that I would do it. So I will do it.” ’