Isaiah 37:22-29

22This 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.

23Who 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!

24You 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.

25I dug wells and they gave me water to drink. My army marched through all the rivers in Egypt, and the rivers became dry.’

26You 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.

27The 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.

28I 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.

29Yes, 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.”