2 Kings 19

New American Standard Bible

Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah

19 ^(A)Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he ^(B)tore his clothes, ^(C)covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. ²Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^(D)covered with sackcloth, to ^(E)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. ³And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴^(F)Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^(G)to taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^(H)the remnant that is ^[a]left.’” ⁵So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘The Lord says this: “Do not be fearful because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^(I)servants of the king of Assyria ^(J)have blasphemed Me. ⁷Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that ^(K)he will hear news and return to his own land. And ^(L)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Sennacherib Defies God

⁸Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^(M)Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left ^(N)Lachish. ⁹When he heard them say about Tirhakah king of ^[b]Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰“This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of ^[c]Judah: ‘Do not ^(O)let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “^(P)Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ¹¹Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? ¹²^(Q)Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: ^(R)Gozan, ^(S)Haran, Rezeph, and ^(T)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ¹³^(U)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

¹⁴Then ^(V)Hezekiah took the ^[d]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and ^[e]spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^[f]^(W)enthroned above the cherubim, ^(X)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶^(Y)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; ^(Z)open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^(AA)to taunt the living God. ¹⁷It is true, Lord; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, ¹⁸and have ^[g]hurled their gods into the fire; ^(AB)for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. ¹⁹But now, Lord our God, please, save us from his hand, ^(AC)so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, ^(AD)Lord, are God.”

God’s Answer through Isaiah

²⁰Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^(AE)I have heard you.’ ²¹This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

‘She, ^(AF)the virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you;
She, the daughter of Jerusalem, ^(AG)has shaken her head behind you!
²²Whom have you ^(AH)taunted and ^(AI)blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice,
And ^[h]haughtily raised your eyes?
Against the ^(AJ)Holy One of Israel!
²³^(AK)Through your messengers you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, “With my many chariots
I went up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall cedars and its choicest junipers.
And I entered its farthest resting place, its ^(AL)thickest forest.
²⁴I dug wells and drank foreign waters,
And with the soles of my feet I ^(AM)dried up
All the streams of Egypt.”

²⁵‘^(AN)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it;
From ancient times I planned it.
^(AO)Now I have brought it about,
That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.
²⁶Therefore their inhabitants were ^[i]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame.
They were ^(AP)like the vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like grass on the housetops that is scorched before it has grown.
²⁷But ^(AQ)I know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
²⁸Because of your raging against Me,
And because your complacency has come up to My ears,
I ^(AR)will put My hook in your nose,
And My bridle in your lips,
And ^(AS)I will turn you back by the way by which you came.

²⁹‘Then this shall be ^(AT)the sign for you: ^[j]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ³⁰^(AU)The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. ³¹For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors ^(AV)out of Mount Zion. ^(AW)The zeal of ^[k]the Lord will perform this.

³²‘Therefore this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “^(AX)He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it. ³³^(AY)By the way that he came, by ^[l]the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord. ³⁴‘^(AZ)For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and ^(BA)for My servant David’s sake.’”

³⁵^(BB)Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of ^[m]the 185,000 were ^[n]dead. ³⁶So ^(BC)Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and ^[o]returned home, and lived at ^(BD)Nineveh. ³⁷Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that ^[p]^(BE)Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to ^(BF)the land of Ararat. And his son ^(BG)Esarhaddon became king in his place.

Footnotes

2 Kings 19:4 Lit found
2 Kings 19:9 Or Ethiopia
2 Kings 19:10 Lit Judah, saying,
2 Kings 19:14 Lit letters...read them
2 Kings 19:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
2 Kings 19:15 Lit sitting
2 Kings 19:18 Lit given
2 Kings 19:22 Lit on high
2 Kings 19:26 Lit short of hand
2 Kings 19:29 Lit to eat
2 Kings 19:31 Some ancient mss the Lord of armies
2 Kings 19:33 Lit it
2 Kings 19:35 Lit them
2 Kings 19:35 Lit dead bodies
2 Kings 19:36 Lit went and returned
2 Kings 19:37 Some ancient mss his sons Adrammelech

Psalm 46

New American Standard Bible

God, the Refuge of His People.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, ^[a]set to Alamoth. A Song.

46 God is our ^(A)refuge and strength,
A ^[b]very ^(B)ready help ^(C)in ^[c]trouble.
²Therefore we will ^(D)not fear, though ^(E)the earth shakes
And ^(F)the mountains slip into the heart of the ^[d]sea;
³Though its ^(G)waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah

⁴There is a ^(H)river whose streams make the ^(I)city of God happy,
The holy ^(J)dwelling places of the Most High.
⁵God is ^(K)in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will ^(L)help her ^[e]when morning dawns.
⁶The ^[f]nations ^(M)made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He ^[g]^(N)raised His voice, the earth ^(O)quaked.
⁷The Lord of armies ^(P)is with us;
The God of Jacob is ^(Q)our stronghold. Selah

⁸Come, ^(R)behold the works of the Lord,
^[h]Who has inflicted ^(S)horrific events on the earth.
⁹He ^(T)makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He ^(U)breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He ^(V)burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰“^[i]Stop striving and ^(W)know that I am God;
I will be ^(X)exalted among the ^[j]nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
¹¹The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

Footnotes

Psalm 46 Title Possibly for soprano voices
Psalm 46:1 Lit help easily found
Psalm 46:1 Or needs
Psalm 46:2 Lit seas
Psalm 46:5 Lit at the turning of the morning
Psalm 46:6 Or Gentiles
Psalm 46:6 Lit gave forth
Psalm 46:8 Or Which He has inflicted as desolations
Psalm 46:10 Or Let go, relax
Psalm 46:10 Or Gentiles

Psalm 80

New American Standard Bible

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the music director; set to ^[a]El Shoshannim; ^[b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.

80 Listen, ^(A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads ^(B)Joseph like a flock;
You who ^(C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
²Before ^(D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, ^(E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
³God, ^(F)restore us
And ^(G)make Your face shine upon us, ^[c]and we will be saved.

⁴^(H)Lord God of armies,
^(I)How long will You ^[d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
⁵You have fed them with the ^(J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in ^[e]large measure.
⁶You make us ^[f]an object of contention ^(K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
⁷God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, ^[g]and we will be saved.

⁸You removed a ^(L)vine from Egypt;
You ^(M)drove out the ^[h]nations and ^(N)planted it.
⁹You ^(O)cleared the ground before it,
And it ^(P)took deep root and filled the land.
¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And ^[i]the cedars of God with its ^(Q)branches.
¹¹It was sending out its branches ^(R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
¹²Why have You ^(S)broken down its ^[j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
¹³A boar from the forest ^(T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

¹⁴God of armies, do ^(U)turn back;
^(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
¹⁵The ^[k]^(W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the ^[l]son whom You have ^[m]strengthened for Yourself.
¹⁶It is ^(X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the ^(Y)rebuke of Your face.
¹⁷Let ^(Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You ^(AA)made strong for Yourself.
¹⁸Then we will not ^(AB)turn back from You;
^(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
¹⁹Lord God of armies, ^(AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, ^[n]and we will be saved.

Footnotes

Psalm 80 Title Possibly, to the Lilies
Psalm 80 Title Lit A testimony
Psalm 80:3 Or that we may
Psalm 80:4 Lit smoke against
Psalm 80:5 Lit a third part of a
Psalm 80:6 Lit strife to
Psalm 80:7 Or that we may
Psalm 80:8 Or Gentiles
Psalm 80:10 Or its boughs are like the cedars of God
Psalm 80:12 Or walls, fences
Psalm 80:15 Or root
Psalm 80:15 Or figuratively: branch
Psalm 80:15 Or secured
Psalm 80:19 Or that we may

Psalm 135

New American Standard Bible

Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Futility of Idols.

135 ^[a]^(A)Praise ^[b]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, you ^(B)servants of the Lord,
²You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the ^(C)courtyards of the house of our God!
³^[c]Praise ^[d]the Lord, for ^(D)the Lord is good;
^(E)Sing praises to His name, ^(F)for it is lovely.
⁴For ^[e]the Lord has ^(G)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His ^(H)own possession.

⁵For I know that ^(I)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is ^(J)above all gods.
⁶^(K)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the ocean depths.
⁷^[f]He ^(L)causes the ^[g]mist to ascend from the ends of the earth,
^[h]He ^(M)makes lightning for the rain;
^[i]He ^(N)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

⁸^[j]He ^(O)struck the firstborn of Egypt,
^[k]Both human firstborn and animal.
⁹^[l]He sent ^(P)signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
Upon ^(Q)Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰^[m]^(R)He ^(S)struck many nations
And brought death to mighty kings,
¹¹^(T)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
^(U)Og, king of Bashan,
And ^(V)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
¹²And He ^(W)gave their land as an inheritance,
An inheritance to His people Israel.
¹³Your ^(X)name, Lord, is everlasting,
The mention of You, Lord, is ^[n]throughout all generations.
¹⁴For the Lord will ^(Y)judge His people
And ^(Z)will have compassion on His servants.
¹⁵The ^(AA)idols of the nations are nothing but silver and gold,
The work of human hands.
¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
¹⁷They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
¹⁸Those who make them will become like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹House of ^(AB)Israel, bless the Lord;
House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
²⁰House of Levi, bless the Lord;
You ^(AC)who ^[o]revere the Lord, bless the Lord.
²¹Blessed be the Lord ^(AD)from Zion,
Who ^(AE)dwells in Jerusalem.
^[p]Praise ^[q]the Lord!