341 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples': let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all things that come (2) forth of it. For the LORD hath indignation against all the nations, and fury against all their 'host': he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. (3) Their slain also shall be cast out,

and 'the' stink of their carcases shall come up, and the mountains shall be 4) melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall 'fade away', as the leaf 'fadeth from off the vine, and as a 'fading 5 leaf from the fig tree. "For my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom', and upon the people of my (6 curse, to judgement. °The sword

of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom'. 7 And the wild-oxen shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be drunken with blood, and their dust *(8 made fat with fatness. For it is the

day of the LORD's vengeance, the year of recompence in the contro9 versy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burn10 ing pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 11 But the "pelican' and the 'porcupine shall possess it; 'and' the owl and the raven shall dwell therein': and he shall stretch lover it the line of confusion, and the plummet! 12 of emptiness. They shall call the

nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all her prin13 ces shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and 'thistles' in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be 'an' habitation of 1jack*14 als', a court for ostriches'. And1 the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the siwolves', and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; 'yea', 10the "Inight-monster' shall settle there, and 'shall find 'her' a place of rest. 15 There shall the arrowsnake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: 'yea', there shall the 'kitesi be gathered, every 16 one with her mate. Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall be missing', none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it 17 hath gathered them. And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

35(1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the (2 12rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God.

9 Or, the-goat 10 Heb. Lilith. 11 Or, parched land

12 Or, lautumn crocus! See Cant. ii. 1.

..

3

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and (4) confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompence of God; he will come 5 and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of 6 the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as 'an' hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in 7 the desert. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals', where they lay, shall be grass with 8 reeds and rushes. And an high way shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; "but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, yeal fools, shall not err 9) therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 10) and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come with Isinging untol Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

361 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fenced cities of 2 Judah, and took them. And 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 high way of the fuller's 3 field. "Then came forth unto him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah', which was over the household', and Shebna the 10scribe, and Joah 'the son of 4 Asaph the "recorder. °And Rab

shakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What con fidence is this wherein thou trustest? (5) I say, 'thy counsel and strength for the war are but vain words: now on

whom dost thou trust, that thou hast 6 rebelled against me? Behold', thou trustest upon the staff of this 'bruised reed, leven upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that 7 trust 'on' him. But if thou say 'unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall wor8) ship before this altar? Now therefore, I pray thee, 12give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set 9 riders upon them. How then 'canst thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for char10 iots and for horsemen? And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said unto me, Go up against 11 this land, and destroy it. Then

said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the 18Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on 12 the wall. But 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, 'to' eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with

13 you? "Then 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. 14 Thus saith the king, Let not Heze

kiah deceive you; for he shall not be 15 able to deliver you: neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. (16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, 14Make your peace with me, 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

Be

17 of his own cistern: until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, 18 a land of bread and vineyards. ware 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 19 the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and 'Arpad1? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out 20 of my hand? Who are they 'among' all the gods of these 'countries', that have delivered their country' out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? 21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer 22 him not. Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

371 1And it came to pass, when king

Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house 2 of the LORD. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the 3 son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely: for the children are come to the birth, and there is * 4 not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that 5 is left. So the servants of king 6 Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And

Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have 7 blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return 'unto his

8

own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was 9 departed from Lachish. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come 'out' to 'fight against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, 10 saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king 11 of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: (12 and shalt thou be delivered?

Have

the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in 13 Telassar? Where is the king of

Hamath, and the king of 'Arpad', and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, 14 of Hena, and Ivvah? And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the 15 LORD. And Hezekiah prayed unto 16 the LORD, saying, °O LORD of hosts,

the God of Israel, that sittest upon the 'cherubim', thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and *17 earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD,

and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to re18 proach the living God. Of a truth,

LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries', and their 19 'land', and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed 20 them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.

21

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sen(22 nacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter

3 Heb. devoting them.

4 In 2 Kings xvii. 24, Avva.

5 Or, dwellest between

XXXVII. 3 blasphemy;

of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head 1at thee. 23 °Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the *24) Holy One of Israel. By thy servants

hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, 'With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof and I will enter into his farthest height, 25 the forest of his fruitful field'. °I

have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet 'will' I 'dry' (26) up all the rivers of Egypt. Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste Ifenced cities into ruinous heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as la field of corn before it be grown up. 28 But I know thy sitting down', and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy 29 raging against me. Because of thy raging against me, and 'for that thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way 30 by which thou camest. And this shall be 'the' sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit 31 thereof. "And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear 32) fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall 33 perform this. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, 'neither

shall he come before it with 'shield', 34 nor cast a 'mount' against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come 35 unto this city, saith the LORD. °For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

*36

And the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when 'men' arose early in the morning, behold, 37 they were all dead corpses. °So Sen

nacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at 38 Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword and they escaped into the land of Ararat". And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead. 381 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou 2 shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, and said, 3 °Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

4 Then came the word of the LORD to 5 Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 °And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: 7 and I will defend this city. And this shall be the sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing 8) that he hath spoken: behold, I will Icause the shadow on the 'steps', which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial whereon' it was gone down.

9

The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.

I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward;

O LORD, I am oppressed, 'be thou my surety!.

What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it :

I shall go softly all my years 'because of the bitterness of my soul. 16) O Lord, by these things men live, And wholly therein is the life of my spirit:

17

18

19

20

"Wherefore recover thou me, and make me to live.

Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness : But 10thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of 11corruption;

For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

For the grave cannot praise thee,

death cannot celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: The father to the children shall make known thy truth.

The LORD is ready to save me :

39 (1

18 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he heard that he had been 2 sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his 14precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his 15armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them 3 not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Baby4 lon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen there is nothing among my treasures that I have not 5 shewed them. Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD 6 of hosts. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, 7 saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace 8 of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah Junto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.

401 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, 2 saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her 17warfare is accomplished,