Isaiah 37:21-36

37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 37:22 this is what the Lord says about him:

“The virgin daughter Zion

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you.

37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted

and looked so arrogantly?

At the Holy One of Israel!

37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master,

‘With my many chariots I climbed up

the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions,

its thickest woods.

37:25 I dug wells

and drank water.

With the soles of my feet I dried up

all the rivers of Egypt.’

37:26 Certainly you must have heard!

Long ago I worked it out,

in ancient times I planned it,

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins.

37:27 Their residents are powerless;

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field

or green vegetation.

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops

when it is scorched by the east wind.

37:28 I know where you live

and everything you do

and how you rage against me.

37:29 Because you rage against me

and the uproar you create has reached my ears,

I will put my hook in your nose,

and my bridle between your lips,

and I will lead you back

the way you came.”

37:30 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies will accomplish this.

37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

‘He will not enter this city,

nor will he shoot an arrow here.

He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,

nor will he build siege works against it.

37:34 He will go back the way he came –

he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.

37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’”

37:36 The Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!