2 Kings 19:1-13

19:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,¹ clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 19:3 “This is what Hezekiah says:² ‘This is a day of distress, insults,³ and humiliation,⁴ as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.⁵ 19:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.⁶ When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.⁷ So pray for this remnant that remains.’”⁸

19:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 19:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.⁹ 19:7 Look, I will take control of his mind;¹⁰ he will receive¹¹ a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down¹² with a sword in his own land.”’”

19:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.¹³ 19:9 The king¹⁴ heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him.¹⁵ He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 19:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over¹⁶ to the king of Assyria.” 19:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.¹⁷ Do you really think you will be rescued?¹⁸ 19:12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods?¹⁹ 19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair,²⁰ Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

¹tn Heb “elders of the priests.”

²tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”

³tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”

⁴tn Or “contempt.”

⁵tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”

⁶tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”

⁷tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”

⁸tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”

⁹tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”

¹⁰tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.

¹¹tn Heb “hear.”

¹²tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”

¹³tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”

¹⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”

¹⁶tn Heb “will not be given.”

¹⁷tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”

¹⁸tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”

¹⁹tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”

²⁰sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.