Rabshakeh's blasphemy.

BEFORE CHRIST 710.

are on the wall.

12 ¶ 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, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

13 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 Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.

15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, 23 Make an agreement with me by a present, 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 of his own cistern;

17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

18 Beware 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 the king of Assyria?

19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land 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 him not.

22 ¶ 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.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

1 Hezekiah mourning, sendeth to Isaiah to pray

for them. 6 Isaiah comforteth them. 8 Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sendeth a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah. 14 Hezekiah's prayer. 21 Isaiah's prophecy of the pride and destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion. 36 An angel slayeth

the Assyrians. 37 Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons.

Hezekiah heard it, that he rent

BEFORE CHRIST

710. a 2 Kings

his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house 13.1, 6. of the LORD.

2 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 son of Amoz.

3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of 2 blas-2 Or, prophemy for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

4 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 reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is 3 left.

5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 ¶ And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto 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 blasphemed me.

7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8 ¶ So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah_king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah,saying, Letnot thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?

b

vocation.

8 Heb. found.

Or,

put a spirit

into him.

13 Where is the king of Hamath, b Jer. 49. 23. and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?

Isaiah's prophecy

BEFORE CHRIST 710.

Dan. 9. 18.

2 Heb.

lands.

3 Heb. given.

4 Heb. By the hand of thy servants.

5 Heb. the tallness of the cedars thereof, and

the fir trees thereof.

6 Or, the forest and his fruitful field. 7 Or, fenced

14 ¶ 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 LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,

16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

17 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 reproach the living God.

2

18 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,

19 And have 3 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 them.

20 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 God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:

22 This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at 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 Holy One of Israel.

24 By thy servants hast thou rethe choice of proached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

and closed.

8 Or, Hast thou not heard

how I have made it long Cgo, and formed it of an

cient times! should I now bring

5

6

25 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the 'be

it to be laid sieged places.

waste, and defenced cities to be ruinous heaps? as 2 Kings 19. 25.

26 Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou

against Sennacherib. shouldest be to lay waste defenced BEFORE cities into ruinous heaps.

CHRIST 710.

of hand.

27 Therefore their inhabitants were 2 of small power, they were dismayed 3 Heb. short and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

28 But I know thy 3 abode, and thy sor,sitting. going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

29 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook ch. 30.28. in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and 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 thereof.

Ezek. 38. 4.

4 Heb. the escaping of

the house of Judah that

remaineth.

6 Heb. the

32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of escaping. the LORD of hosts shall do this.

• 2 Kings 19. 31. ch. 9.7.

33 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with 'shields, nor cast a bank against it. Heb.

34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

37 ¶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

Hezekiah's song

BEFORE CHRIST 713.

a 2 Kings

20. 1, &c.

2 Chr. 32.24. b 2 Sam. 17. 23.

2 Heb. Give charge concerning thy house.

• Neh.13.14.

8 Heb. with great weeping.

a those days was Hezekiah sick I unto death. wd Isaiah the pro

phet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, b2 Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,

3 And said, 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 3 sore.

4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

5 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 4 ch. 37. 35. Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;

e 2 Kings 20. 8, &c. ch. 7. 11.

8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees by, degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees

4 Heb.

or, with the sun.

f Ps. 27. 13. & 116.9.

8 Job 7.6.

6 Or, from the thrum.

it was gone

down.

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

10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.

11 I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more

with the inhabitants of the world.

12 * Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

of thanksgiving.

live, and in all these things is the 16 O Lord, by these things men life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

17 Behold, 2 for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: 'the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

the son of Baladan, king of Ba-20. 11, &c. Ta that time Merodach-baladan, bylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.

2bAnd Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his 56. "armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.

3 ¶ 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 Babylon.

4 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 shewed them.

5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:

6 Behold, the days come, that all Jer. 20. 5. that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until

time.

a See Job

42. 10.

ch. 61. 7.

b Matt. 3.3. Mark 1. 3. Luke 3. 4. John 1. 23. o Mal. 3. 1. d Ps. 68.'4. ch. 49. 11.

e ch. 45. 2.

5 Or, a straight place. 6 Or, a plain place.

f Job 14. 2. Ps. 90. 5. & 102. 11. & 103. 15. Jam. 1.10. 1 Pet. 1. 24.

Ps. 103.16. 1 Pet. 1. 25. 7 Or, O thou

John12.34.

that tellest good tidings to Zion.

ch. 41. 27. & 52.7.

8 Or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem. 9 Or,against the strong. 1 ch. 59. 16.

k ch. 62. 11.

Rev. 22. 12. 2 Or, recom

pence for his work. ch. 49. 4.

1 ch. 49. 10. Ezek. 34.

23. & 37.24.1

CHAPTER XL.

1 The promulgation of the gospel. 3 The preaching of John Baptist. The preach

ing of the apostles. 12 The prophet by the omnipotency of God, 18 and his incompurableness, 26 comforteth the people.

C people, saith your fou
Co
OMFORT ye, comfort ye my
God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: a for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

C

3¶ The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made 'straight, and the rough places 'plain:

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

9 TO Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

9

10 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and 'his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is John 10. 11. with him, and his work before him. 11 He shall 'feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs

Heb. 13. 20. 1 Pet. 2. 25.

& 5. 4.

Rev. 7. 17.

The people comforted.

with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those 2 that are with young.

BEFORE CHRIST cir. 712.

2 Or, that

give suck.

12 ¶m Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and Prov.30.4. meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in 3 a measure, and weighed the moun- 3 Heb. tains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

13 "Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him ?

a tierce.

n Job 21. 22. & 36. 22, 23.

Rom. 11.34.

1 Cor. 2. 16. 4 Heb.

man of Heb.made him under

his counsel.

stand.

• Heb. under

14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a standings! drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

• Dan. 4. 35. P Ps. 62.9.

17 All nations before him are as nothing; and Pthey are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 18 To whom then will ye aliken a ver. 25. God? or what likeness will comye pare unto him?

19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver

chains.

ch. 46. 5. Acts 17.29.

rch. 41.6.7. Jer.10.3,&c.

& 44. 12, &c.

Heb. is poor of oblation.

20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare Jer. 10. 4. a graven image, that shall not be moved.

21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that "stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25 To whom then will

God expostulateth

BEFORE CHRIST cir. 712.

me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by numz Ps. 147. 4. ber: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28 ¶ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neiPs. 147.5. ther is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

Rom. 11.33.

2 Heb. change.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the b Ps. 103. 5. LORD shall 2 renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

a Zech. 2.13.

3 Heb.righteousness.

b ch. 46. 11. c See Gen. 14. 14, &c. ver. 25. ch. 45. 1.

4 Heb.

in peace.

d ver. 26. ch. 44. 7. & 46. 10.

CHAPTER XLI.

with his people.

12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that Heb. the contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, • Fear not; I will help thee.

men of thy contention. 4 Heb. the men of thy war.

• ver. 10.

mercies to the church, 10 about his promises, 21 and about the vanity of idols.

"KEEP silence before me, o islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.

b

3

2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the 81.45.10. beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

& 6. & 48. 12. Rev. 1. 17. & 22. 13.

fch. 40. 19. & 44. 12.

5 Heb.

Be strong.

8 ch. 40. 19.

6 Or, founder.

7 Or, the smiting.

8 Or, saying of the soder, is good. uch. 40. 20.

5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.

6 f They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.

в

78 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer 'him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

h

8

17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the twilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: