1 When King Hezekiah heard their report he tore his clothes in grief. He dressed in sackcloth and went to the Temple of Jehovah.

2 He sent Eliakim the official in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the senior priests to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. They also were dressed in sackcloth.

3 They said to him: »This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but does not have the strength to do it.

4 »‘The Assyrian emperor sent his chief official to insult the living God. May Jehovah your God hear these insults and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive.’«

5 King Hezekiah's men went to Isaiah.

6 Isaiah responded to them: »Tell this to your master: ‘This is what Jehovah says: »Do not be afraid of the message you heard when the Assyrian king's assistants slandered me.

7 »I am going to put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own country. I will have him assassinated in his own country.« ’«

8 The field commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah. He had heard that the king left Lachish.

9 Sennacherib heard that King Tirhakah of Sudan was coming to fight him. Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying:

10 »Tell King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be put under the control of the king of Assyria.

11 »‘You heard what the kings of Assyria did to all countries. They totally destroyed them. Will you be rescued?

12 »‘Did the gods of the nations that my ancestors destroyed rescue Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

13 »‘Where is the king of Hamath? Where is the king of Arpad? And where is the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’«

14 Hezekiah read the letters from the messengers. Then he went to Jehovah’s Temple and shared them with Jehovah.

15 He prayed: »Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, you are enthroned above the angels. You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth.

16 »Turn your ear listenpay attention to me, O Jehovah, and listen. Open your eyes, Jehovah, and see. Listen to the message Sennacherib sent to defy the living God.

17 »It is true Jehovah. The kings of Assyria have devastated nations.

18 »They threw the gods from these countries into fires because these gods are not real gods. They are only wooden and stone statues made by human hands. So the Assyrians have destroyed them.

19 »Rescue us from Assyria's control, O Jehovah our God, so that all the kingdoms on earth will know that you alone are Jehovah God.«

20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: »This is what Jehovah the God of Israel says: ‘You prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.

21 »This is Jehovah’s message to Sennacherib: ‘My people, the virgin daughter of Zion, despise you and laugh at you. My people in Jerusalem shake their heads behind your back.

22 »‘Whom are you defying and slandering? Against whom are you shouting? Who are you looking at so arrogantly? It is the Holy One of Israel!

23 »‘You defy Jehovah and through your servants you say: ‘With my many chariots I ride up the high mountains, up the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypresses. I travel to its most distant borders and its most fertile forests.

24 »‘I will dig wells and drink foreign water. I will dry up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet.’«

25 »Have you not heard? I did this long ago. I planned it in the past. Now I make it happen so that you will turn fortified cities into piles of rubble.

26 »The inhabitants of these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed. They will be like plants in the field, like fresh green grass on the roofs, scorched before it grows up.

27 »I know when you get up and sit down. I know when you go out and come in. I know how you rage against me.

28 »Since you rage against me and you boast in my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your mouth. I will make you go back the way you came.

29 »This will be a sign for you, Hezekiah: You will eat what grows by itself this year and next year. But in the third year you will plant and harvest, plant vineyards, and eat what is produced.

30 »The remnant in Judah who survives will flourish like plants that send roots deep into the ground and produce fruit.

31 »There will be a remnant of people in Jerusalem and on Mount Zion who will survive. Jehovah is determined to make this happen.

32 »This is what Jehovah said about the Assyrian king: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot a single arrow against it. No soldiers with shields will come near the city. No siege mounds will be built around it.’

33 »He will go back by the same road he came. He will not enter the city. I, Jehovah, have spoken!«

34 I will defend this city and protect it. It is for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David.

35 It happened that night. Jehovah’s angel killed one hundred and eighty five thousand soldiers in the Assyrian camp. The next morning the Judeans saw all the corpses.

36 King Sennacherib of Assyria returned to his home at Nineveh and stayed there.

37 While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer assassinated him. They escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king.