Sennacherib Invades Judah

32 After these ^[a]acts of faithfulness ^(A)Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and ^[b]intended to break into them for himself. ² Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that ^[c]he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, ³ he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴ So many people assembled ^(B)and stopped up all the springs and ^(C)the stream which flowed ^[d]through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” ⁵ And he resolutely set to work and ^(D)rebuilt all of the wall that had been broken down and ^[e]erected towers on it, and built ^(E)another outside wall and strengthened the ^[f](F)Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great numbers. ⁶ He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the public square at the city gate, and ^(G)spoke ^[g]encouragingly to them, saying, ⁷ “^(H)Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; ^(I)for the One with us is greater than the one with him. ⁸ With him is only ^(J)an arm of flesh, but ^(K)with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Undermines Hezekiah

⁹ After this ^(L)Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was ^[h]besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ¹⁰ “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: ‘On what are you trusting that you are staying in Jerusalem under siege? ¹¹ Is Hezekiah not misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will save us from the ^[i]hand of the king of Assyria”? ^12 (M)Is it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and ^[j]Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall ^[k]burn incense”? ¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? ^(N)Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand? ^14 (O)Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand? ¹⁵ Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for ^(P)no god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’”

¹⁶ His servants spoke further against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “^(Q)As the gods of the nations of the lands ^[l]have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.” ^18 (R)They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city. ¹⁹ They spoke ^[m]of the God of Jerusalem as they did against ^(S)the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

Hezekiah’s Prayer Is Answered

²⁰ But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and called out to heaven for help. ²¹ And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^[n]in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword. ²² So the Lord ^(T)saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and ^[o]guided them on every side. ²³ And ^(U)many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter ^(V)he rose in the sight of all nations.

^24 (W)In those days Hezekiah became ^[p]mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and ^[q]the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did nothing in return for the benefit ^[r]he received, ^(X)because his heart was ^[s]proud; ^(Y)therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ However, ^(Z)Hezekiah ^[t]humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles, ²⁸ also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and ^[u]sheepfolds for the flocks. ²⁹ He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, because ^(AA)God had given him very great ^[v]wealth. ³⁰ It was Hezekiah who ^(AB)stopped the upper outlet of the waters of ^(AC)Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did. ³¹ Even in the matter of ^(AD)the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about ^(AE)the wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only ^(AF)to test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ So Hezekiah ^[w]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the ^[x]upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(AG)honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(A)angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C)illuminated from his glory. ² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[b]prison of every ^(F)unclean spirit, and a ^[c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^[d]excessive wealth of her ^[e](J)luxury.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵ for her sins have ^[f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(M)remembered her offenses. ^6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ^7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸ For this reason ^(S)in one day her plagues will come, ^[h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(U)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹ “And ^(V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(W)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(X)weep and mourn over her when they ^(Y)see the smoke of her burning, ^10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(AA)Woe, woe, ^(AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(AC)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And the ^(AD)merchants of the earth ^(AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹² cargo of ^(AF)gold, silver, precious ^[i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^[j]bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, ^[k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^[l]slaves, and ^(AG)human lives. ¹⁴ The fruit ^[m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. ¹⁵ The ^(AH)merchants of ^(AI)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶ saying, ‘^(AK)Woe, woe, ^(AL)the great city, she who ^(AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[n]adorned with gold, precious ^[o]stones, and pearls; ¹⁷ for in ^(AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(AO)waste!’ And ^(AP)every shipmaster and every ^[p]passenger and sailor, and all who ^[q]make their living by the sea, ^(AQ)stood at a distance, ¹⁸ and were ^(AR)crying out as they ^(AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(AT)What city is like ^(AU)the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw ^(AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(AY)one hour she has been laid ^(AZ)waste!’ ^20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[r]saints and ^(BB)apostles and prophets, because ^(BC)God has ^[s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹ Then ^[t]a ^(BD)strong angel ^(BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(BG)will never be found again. ²² And ^(BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; ²³ and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(BL)by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in her was found the ^(BM)blood of prophets and of ^[u]saints, and of ^(BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”