Isaiah 31-36
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 31
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! 2Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of the workers of injustice.
6Return to Him against whom you have been profoundly obstinate, you sons of Israel.
7For on that day every person will reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as a sin.
8And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man, And a sword not of man will devour him. So he will not escape the sword, And his young men will become forced laborers.
9'His rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the flag,' Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Chapter 32
1Behold, a king will reign righteously, And officials will rule justly. 2Each will be like a refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in an exhausted land. 3Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen. 4The mind of the rash will discern the truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly. 5No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous. 6For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty. 7As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He devises wicked schemes To destroy the poor with slander, Even though the needy one speaks what is right. 8But the noble person devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands. 9Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Listen to my word, You complacent daughters. 10Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, you complacent daughters; For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come. 11Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist, 12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, 13For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up; Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city. 14For the palace has been neglected, the populated city abandoned. Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever, A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks, 15Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest. 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness will remain in the fertile field. 17And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. 18Then my people will live in a peaceful settlement, In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places; 19And it will hail when the forest comes down, And the city will be utterly laid low. 20How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who let the ox and the donkey out freely.Chapter 33
1Woe to you, destroyer, While you were not destroyed; And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you. 2Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress. 3At the sound of a roar, peoples flee; At the lifting up of Yourself, nations disperse. 4Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it. 5The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. 6And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; The fear of the Lord is his treasure. 7Behold, their brave men cry out in the streets, The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. 8The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased, He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, He has no regard for mankind. 9The land mourns and wastes away, Lebanon is shamed and withers; Sharon is like a desert plain, And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage. 10'Now I will arise,' says the Lord, 'Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. 11You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire. 12The peoples will be burned to lime, Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire. 13'You who are far away, hear what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.' 14Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. 'Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?' 15One who walks righteously and speaks with integrity, One who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; One who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking at evil; 16He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure. 17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see a distant land. 18Your heart will meditate on terror: 'Where is one who counts? Where is one who weighs? Where is one who counts the towers?' 19You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands. 20Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed settlement, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its ropes be torn apart. 21But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass— 22For the Lord is our judge, The Lord is our lawgiver, The Lord is our king; He will save us— 23Your ship’s tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; Those who limp will take the plunder. 24And no resident will say, 'I am sick'; The people who live there will be forgiven their wrongdoing.Chapter 34
1Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, you peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. 2For the Lord’S anger is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them, He has turned them over to slaughter. 3So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood. 4And all the heavenly lights will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All its lights will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree. 5For My sword has drunk its fill in heaven; Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom, And upon the people whom I have designated for destruction. 6The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7Wild oxen will also fall with them And young bulls with strong ones; So their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat. 8For the Lord has a day of vengeance, A year of retribution for the cause of Zion. 9 Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch. 10It will not be extinguished night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be desolate; None will pass through it forever and ever. 11But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness. 12Its nobles—there is no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its officials will be nothing. 13Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of jackals And a habitat of ostriches. 14The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, The goat also will cry to its kind. Yes, the night-bird will settle there And will find herself a resting place.Chapter 35
1The wilderness and the desert will rejoice, And the desert will shout for joy and blossom; Like the crocus 2It will blossom profusely And rejoice with joy and jubilation. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God. 3Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong. 4Say to those with anxious heart, 'Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.' 5Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. 6Then those who limp will leap like a deer, And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for the one who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. 9No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious animal go up on it; They will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10And the redeemed of the Lord will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.Chapter 36
1Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 2And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the road to the fuller’s field. 3Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to him.
4And Rabshakeh said to them, 'Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: 'What is this confidence that you have?
5I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom have you relied, that you have revolted against me?
6Behold, you have relied on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
7But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?
8Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
9How then can you drive back even one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
10And have I now come up without the Lord’S approval against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’?'?’?'
11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, 'Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Judean so that the people who are on the wall hear you.'
12But Rabshakeh said, 'Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?'
13Then Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, 'Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you;
15and do not let Hezekiah lead you to rely on the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will certainly save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!'
16Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘ Surrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of the waters of his own cistern,
17until 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.
18Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, 'The Lord will save us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they saved Samaria from my hand?
20Who among all the gods of these lands have saved their land from my hand, that the Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’?'
21But they were silent and did not answer him so much as a word; for the king’s command was, 'Do not answer him.'
22Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.
King James Version
3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
4For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
5As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
6Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
8Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
8But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
9Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
20Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
8For it is the day of the Lord'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Chapter 36
1Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. 2And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. 3Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.
4And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
5I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
6Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
7But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
8Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
10And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? the Lord said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
11Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
12But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
13Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
14Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
16Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
17Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 31
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel and they do not seek the Lord. 2But he also is wise and brings disaster. He does not go back on what he says; he will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. 3Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the Lord raises his hand to strike, the helper will stumble and the one who is helped will fall; both will perish together.
4For this is what the Lord said to me: As a lion or young lion growls over its prey when a band of shepherds is called out against it, and is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their noise, so the Lord of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5Like hovering birds, so the Lord of Armies will protect Jerusalem — by protecting it, he will rescue it, by sparing it, he will deliver it.
6Return to the one the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.
7For on that day, every one of you will reject the silver and gold idols that your own hands have sinfully made.
Chapter 32
1Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly. 2Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the rain, like flowing streams in a dry land and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land. 3Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. 4The reckless mind will gain knowledge, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently. 5A fool will no longer be called a noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important.
6For a fool speaks foolishness and his mind plots iniquity. He lives in a godless way and speaks falsely about the Lord. He leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.
7The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies, even when the poor person says what is right.
8But a noble person plans noble things; he stands up for noble causes.
9Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Pay attention to what I say, you overconfident daughters.
10In a little more than a year you overconfident ones will shudder, for the grapes will fail and the harvest will not come.
11Shudder, you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.
12Beat your breasts in mourning for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,
13for the ground of my people growing thorns and briers, indeed, for every joyous house in the jubilant city.
14For the palace will be deserted, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become barren places forever, the joy of wild donkeys, and a pasture for flocks,
15until the Spirit from on high is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
16Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.
17The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.
18Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings.
19But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink into the depths.
20You will be happy as you sow seed beside abundant water, and as you let oxen and donkeys range freely.
Chapter 33
1Woe, you destroyer never destroyed, you traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, they will betray you. 2 Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for you. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble. 3The peoples flee at the thunderous noise; the nations scatter when you rise in your majesty. 4Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered; people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts. 5The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. 6There will be times of security for you— a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.
7Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets; the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
8The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. An agreement has been broken, cities despised, and human life disregarded.
9The land mourns and withers; Lebanon is ashamed and wilted. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10"Now I will rise up," says the Lord. "Now I will lift myself up. Now I will be exalted.
11You will conceive chaff; you will give birth to stubble. Your breath is fire that will consume you.
12The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.
13You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, know my strength."
14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling seizes the ungodly: "Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?"
15The one who lives righteously and speaks rightly, who refuses profit from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots and shuts his eyes against evil schemes —
16he will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the rocky fortresses, his food provided, his water assured.
17Your eyes will see the King in his beauty; you will see a vast land.
18Your mind will meditate on the past terror: "Where is the accountant? Where is the tribute collector? Where is the one who spied out our defenses?"
19You will no longer see the barbarians, a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend— who stammer in a language that is not understood.
20Look at Zion, the city of our festival times. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up nor will any of its cords be loosened.
21For the majestic one, our Lord, will be there, a place of rivers and broad streams where ships that are rowed will not go, and majestic vessels will not pass.
22For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King. He will save us.
23Your ropes are slack; they cannot hold the base of the mast or spread out the flag. Then abundant spoil will be divided, the lame will plunder it,
24and none there will say, "I am sick." The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Chapter 34
1You nations, come here and listen; you peoples, pay attention! Let the earth and all that fills it hear, the world and all that comes from it. 2The Lord is angry with all the nations, furious with all their armies. He will set them apart for destruction, giving them over to slaughter. 3Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood. 4All the stars in the sky will dissolve. The sky will roll up like a scroll, and its stars will all wither as leaves wither on the vine, and foliage on the fig tree. 5When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, it will then come down on Edom and on the people I have set apart for destruction. 6The 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. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7The wild oxen will be struck down with them, and young bulls with the mighty bulls. Their land will be soaked with blood, and their soil will be saturated with fat. 8For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a time of paying back Edom for its hostility against Zion. 9Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her soil into sulfur; her land will become burning pitch. 10It will never go out—day or night. Its smoke will go up forever. It will be desolate, from generation to generation; no one will pass through it forever and ever. 11Eagle owls and herons will possess it, and long-eared owls and ravens will dwell there. The Lord will stretch out a measuring line and a plumb line over her for her destruction and chaos. 12No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing. 13Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns; her fortified cities, with thistles and briers. She will become a dwelling for jackals, an abode for ostriches. 14The desert creatures will meet hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. Indeed, the night birds will stay there and will find a resting place. 15Sand partridges will make their nests there; they will lay and hatch their eggs and will gather their broods under their shadows. Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there, each with its mate. 16Search and read the scroll of the Lord: Not one of them will be missing, none will be lacking its mate, because he has ordered it by my mouth, and he will gather them by his Spirit. 17He has cast the lot for them; his hand allotted their portion with a measuring line. They will possess it forever; they will dwell in it from generation to generation.Chapter 35
1The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a wildflower. 2It 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. They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. 3Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees! 4Say to the cowardly: "Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; he will save you." 5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7the parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs. In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus. 8A road will be there and a way; it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks the path. Fools will not wander on it. 9There 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, 10and the redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.Chapter 36
1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2Then the king of Assyria sent his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field. 3Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him.
4The royal spokesman said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on?
5You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?
6Look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him.
7Suppose you say to me, ‘We rely on 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’?
8"Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them!
9How then can you drive back a single officer among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
10Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’"
13Then the royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14This is what the king says: "Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot rescue you.
15Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will certainly rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’"
16Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern
17until 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.
18Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my power?
20Who among all the gods of these lands ever rescued his land from my power? So will the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?"
21But they kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, "Don’t answer him."
22Then 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 royal spokesman.
New Living Translation
Chapter 31
1What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 2In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers. 3For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the Lord raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble, and those being helped will fall. They will all fall down and die together.
4But this is what the Lord has told me: 'When a strong young lion stands growling over a sheep it has killed, it is not frightened by the shouts and noise of a whole crowd of shepherds. In the same way, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will come down and fight on Mount Zion.
5The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it.'
6Though you are such wicked rebels, my people, come and return to the Lord.
7I know the glorious day will come when each of you will throw away the gold idols and silver images your sinful hands have made.
8'The Assyrians will be destroyed, but not by the swords of men. The sword of God will strike them, and they will panic and flee. The strong young Assyrians will be taken away as captives.
9Even the strongest will quake with terror, and princes will flee when they see your battle flags,' says the Lord, whose fire burns in Zion, whose flame blazes from Jerusalem.
Chapter 32
1Look, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. 2Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a parched land.
3Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.
4Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly.
5In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Scoundrels will not be respected.
6For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the Lord. They deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty.
7The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil. They plot crooked schemes. They lie to convict the poor, even when the cause of the poor is just.
8But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.
9Listen, you women who lie around in ease. Listen to me, you who are so smug.
10In a short time — just a little more than a year — you careless ones will suddenly begin to care. For your fruit crops will fail, and the harvest will never take place.
11Tremble, you women of ease; throw off your complacency. Strip off your pretty clothes, and put on burlap to show your grief.
12Beat your breasts in sorrow for your bountiful farms and your fruitful grapevines.
13For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.
14The palace and the city will be deserted, and busy towns will be empty. Wild donkeys will frolic and flocks will graze in the empty forts and watchtowers
15until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.
16Justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field.
17And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.
18My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest.
19Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down,
20the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.
Chapter 33
1What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others but have never been destroyed yourselves. You betray others, but you have never been betrayed. When you are done destroying, you will be destroyed. When you are done betraying, you will be betrayed. 2But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble. 3The enemy runs at the sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee! 4Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines, so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!
5Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness.
6In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.
7But now your brave warriors weep in public. Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
8Your roads are deserted; no one travels them anymore. The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses. They have no respect for anyone.
9The land of Israel wilts in mourning. Lebanon withers with shame. The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness. Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.
10But the Lord says: 'Now I will stand up. Now I will show my power and might.
11You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble. Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
12Your people will be burned up completely, like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
13Listen to what I have done, you nations far away! And you that are near, acknowledge my might!'
14The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. 'Who can live with this devouring fire?' they cry. 'Who can survive this all-consuming fire?'
15Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong —
16these are the ones who will dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress. Food will be supplied to them, and they will have water in abundance.
17Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18You will think back to this time of terror, asking, 'Where are the Assyrian officers who counted our towers? Where are the bookkeepers who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?'
19You will no longer see these fierce, violent people with their strange, unknown language.
20Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals. You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure. It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
21The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no enemy ship can sail upon.
22For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.
23The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God. Even the lame will take their share!
24The people of Israel will no longer say, 'We are sick and helpless,' for the Lord will forgive their sins.
Chapter 34
1Come here and listen, O nations of the earth. Let the world and everything in it hear my words. 2For the Lord is enraged against the nations. His fury is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, dooming them to slaughter. 3Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land. The mountains will flow with their blood. 4The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree.
5And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, it will fall upon Edom, the nation I have marked for destruction.
6The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood and covered with fat — with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of rams prepared for sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom.
7Even men as strong as wild oxen will die — the young men alongside the veterans. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched with fat.
8For it is the day of the Lord’s revenge, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel.
9The streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be covered with fire.
10This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore.
11It will be haunted by the desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven. For God will measure that land carefully; he will measure it for chaos and destruction.
12It will be called the Land of Nothing, and all its nobles will soon be gone.
13Thorns will overrun its palaces; nettles and thistles will grow in its forts. The ruins will become a haunt for jackals and a home for owls.
14Desert animals will mingle there with hyenas, their howls filling the night. Wild goats will bleat at one another among the ruins, and night creatures will come there to rest.
15There the owl will make her nest and lay her eggs. She will hatch her young and cover them with her wings. And the buzzards will come, each one with its mate.
16Search the book of the Lord, and see what he will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the Lord has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true.
17He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to those creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation.
Chapter 35
1Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 2Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God. 3With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. 4Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.'
5And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.
7The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.
8And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.
9Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it.
10Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
Chapter 36
1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. 2Then the king of Assyria sent his chief of staff from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.
4Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?
5Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me?
6On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!
8'I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!
9With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers?
10What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord’s direction? The Lord himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’'
13Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, 'Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria!
14This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you.
15Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’
16Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me — open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.
17Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one — a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards.
18Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria?
19What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power?
20What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?'
English Standard Version
Chapter 31
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord! 2And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. 3The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together. 4For thus the Lord said to me, "As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill. 5 Like birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it." 6Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8 "And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor.
9 His rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic," declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Chapter 32
1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. 2 Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. 3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. 4The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. 5 The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable. 6For the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity, to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink. 7As for the scoundrel — his devices are evil; he plans wicked schemes to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right. 8But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands. 9 Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech. 10In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come. 11Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist. 12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, 13 for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city. 14For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; 15until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. 17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. 18My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. 19 And it will hail when the forest falls down, and the city will be utterly laid low. 20 Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.Chapter 33
1 Ah, you destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed, you traitor, whom none has betrayed! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you. 2O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. 3 At the tumultuous noise peoples flee; when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered, 4and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon. 5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, 6 and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion 's treasure. 7Behold, their heroes cry in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly. 8 The highways lie waste; the traveler ceases. Covenants are broken; cities are despised; there is no regard for man. 9 The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is confounded and withers away; Sharon is like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves. 10 "Now I will arise," says the Lord, "now I will lift myself up; now I will be exalted. 11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you. 12And the peoples will be as if burned to lime, like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire." 13Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge my might. 14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?" 15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, 16he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. 17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar. 18 Your heart will muse on the terror: "Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute? Where is he who counted the towers?" 19 You will see no more the insolent people, the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand. 20Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken. 21But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor majestic ship can pass. 22For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us. 23Your cords hang loose; they cannot hold the mast firm in its place or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided; even the lame will take the prey. 24And no inhabitant will say, "I am sick"; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.Chapter 34
1Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. 2For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. 3Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. 4 All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. 5For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. 6The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall drink its fill of blood, and their soil shall be gorged with fat. 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur; her land shall become burning pitch. 10Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness. 12Its nobles — there is no one there to call it a kingdom, and all its princes shall be nothing. 13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches. 14 And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place. 15There the owl nests and lays and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow; indeed, there the hawks are gathered, each one with her mate. 16Seek and read from the book of the Lord: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the Lord has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. 17 He has cast the lot for them; his hand has portioned it out to them with the line; they shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.Chapter 35
1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.Chapter 36
1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer 's Field. 3And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
4And the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?
5Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?
6Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
7But if you say to me, "We trust in the Lord our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar"?
8Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
9How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master 's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
10Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, "Go up against this land and destroy it."’"
11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall."
12But the Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?"
13Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you.
15Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, "The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."
16Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern,
17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, "The Lord will deliver us." Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’"
21But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king 's command was, "Do not answer him."
22Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
New International Version
Chapter 31
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. 2Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. 3But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.
4This is what the Lord says to me: "As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey— and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor— so the Lord Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
5Like birds hovering overhead, the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it."
6Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against.
7For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.
8"Assyria will fall by no human sword; a sword, not of mortals, will devour them. They will flee before the sword and their young men will be put to forced labor.
9Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic," declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
2Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
5No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6For fools speak folly, their hearts are bent on evil: They practice ungodliness and spread error concerning the Lord; the hungry they leave empty and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7Scoundrels use wicked methods, they make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.
8But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.
9You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say!
10In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags.
12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines
13and for the land of my people, a land overgrown with thorns and briers— yes, mourn for all houses of merriment and for this city of revelry.
14The fortress will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever, the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.
17The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
18My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
19Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely,
20how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
Chapter 33
1Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed. 2 Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. 3At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.
4Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
6He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
7Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected.
9The land dries up and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
10"Now will I arise," says the Lord. "Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.
11You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
12The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze."
13You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"
15Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
16they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.
17Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
18In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: "Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?"
19You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible.
20Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
21There the Lord will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them.
22For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.
23Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24No one living in Zion will say, "I am ill"; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
Chapter 34
1Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! 2The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. 3Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will stink; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
4All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed.
6The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
9Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!
10It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.
11The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.
12Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away.
13Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls.
14Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest.
15The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.
16Look in the scroll of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together.
17He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.
2it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
3Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
4say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."
5Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
9No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,
10and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Chapter 36
1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field, 3Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.
4The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: " ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?
5You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?
6Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him.
7But if you say to me, "We are depending on the Lord our God"—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar"?
8" ‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
9How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen ?
10Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’ "
13Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you!
15Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
16"Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern,
17until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18"Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand?
20Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"
New King James Version
Chapter 31
1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the Lord! 2Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity. 3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish together.
4For thus the Lord has spoken to me: “As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the Lord of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”
6Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
7For in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold— sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8“Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him. But he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become forced labor.
9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Chapter 32
1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice. 2A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And a cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 The eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen. 4Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge, And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly. 5The foolish person will no longer be called generous, Nor the miser said to be bountiful; 6For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the Lord, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the needy speaks justice. 8But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand. 9Rise up, you women who are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. 10In a year and some days You will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, The gathering will not come. 11Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent ones; Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, And gird sackcloth on your waists. 12People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city; 14 Because the palaces will be forsaken, The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks— 15Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest. 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. 18My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, 19 Though hail comes down on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation. 20Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.Chapter 33
1Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered; And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you! When you cease plundering, You will be plundered; When you make an end of dealing treacherously, They will deal treacherously with you. 2O Lord, be gracious to us; We have waited for You. Be their arm every morning, Our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee; When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered; 4And Your plunder shall be gathered Like the gathering of the caterpillar; As the running to and fro of locusts, He shall run upon them. 5 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. 6Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure. 7Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside, The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. 8 The highways lie waste, The traveling man ceases. He has broken the covenant, He has despised the cities, He regards no man. 9 The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. 10“Now I will rise,” says the Lord; “Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up. 11 You shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, shall devour you. 12And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire. 13Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” 14The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” 15He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil: 16He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure. 17Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see the land that is very far off. 18Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?” 19 You will not see a fierce people, A people of obscure speech, beyond perception, Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand. 20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; Not one of its stakes will ever be removed, Nor will any of its cords be broken. 21But there the majestic Lord will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams, In which no galley with oars will sail, Nor majestic ships pass by 22(For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us); 23Your tackle is loosed, They could not strengthen their mast, They could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; The lame take the prey. 24And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.Chapter 34
1Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it. 2For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. 3Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree. 5“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment. 6The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It is made overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7The wild oxen shall come down with them, And the young bulls with the mighty bulls; Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust saturated with fatness.” 8For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch. 10It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. 12They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing. 13And thorns shall come up in its palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortresses; It shall be a habitation of jackals, A courtyard for ostriches. 14The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals, And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; Also the night creature shall rest there, And find for herself a place of rest. 15There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate. 16“Search from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. 17He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”Chapter 35
1The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.Chapter 36
1Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.
4Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust?
5I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?
6Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
7“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’
8Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
9How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
10Have I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”
13Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
14Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you;
15nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’
16Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;
17until 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.
18Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
20Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
21But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
22Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
