The Byble in Englyshe that is to saye, the content of all the holye scrypture, bothe of the olde and newe Testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by the diligent studye of dyuers excellent lerned [men e]xperte in the fore[saide] tongues.

¶ Hezekias humbleth him selfe before the Lord The army of Sennaherib is slayne of the Aung••ll of the Lorde and be hym selfe so hylled of his owne sonnes

¶ CAPI. XXXVII.

WHen Hezekias herde that, he ren∣te [unspec A] his clothes and put on a sacke cloth, and wente in to the house of the Lorde / But he sent Eliakim the Pre∣sident / Sobna the Scrybe / with the eldest preastes clothed in sack / vnto the Prophet Esay the sonne of Amoz / and they sayd vnto hym Thus sayeth Hezekias: This is the daye of trouble, of plage, and of blasphemy for the chyldren are come to the place byrth / but ther is no power to brynge them forth, The Lorde thy God (no doute) hath well cō¦sydered the wordes of Rabsakeh, whom his Lorde the kynge of the Assyrians hath sent, to defye and blaspheme the lyuynge God: with suche wordes as the Lorde thy God hathe hearde ryght well. And therfore lyfte vp thy prayer for the remnaunt, that yet are lefte. So the serua••••tes of kynge Hezekias came to Esay. And Esay gaue them thys [unspec B] answere: Saye thus vnto youre lorde: thus sayeth the Lorde: Be nat afrayed of the wor¦des that thou haste hearde / wher with the kynge of the Assyrians seruauntes haue blasphemed me: Beholde, I wyll cause a wynde to go ouer him, as sone as he heareth the rumoure, he shal go agayne into his coū¦tre / there wyll I destroye him with y^• swerde Nowe when Rabsaketh returned, he foūde the kynge of Assyria layenge sege to Lib∣nas / for he had vnderstande, that he was de¦parted frō Lachis. For there came a rumore that Tharhakas kynge of Ethiopia was come forth to warre agaynste hym.

And when the kynge of Assyria hearde [unspec C] that, he sent other messaungers to king He∣zekias with this cōmaundemēt: Saye thus

to Hezekias kynge of Iuda: Let nat thy God disceaue the, in whom thou hopest, and sayest: Ierusalem shall nat be geuen into the handes of the kynge of Assyria. For, lo thou knowest well howe the Kynges of As∣syria haue handeled all the landes that they haue subuerted, and hopest thou to escape? Were the people of the Gentiles (whom my progenitors conquered) delyuered at any tyme thorowe theyr goddes? As namely, Gozā, Haram, Rezeph, and the chyldren of Eden, whiche were at Thalassar. Where is the kyng of Hemah, & the kynge of Arphad, and the Kynge of the cytie Sepharnaim / Ena and Aua? Nowe when Ezekia had re∣ceaued the letter of the messaungers / and reade it, he wente vp into the house of the Lorde, & opened the letter before the Lorde. And Ezekia prayed before the Lorde on this maner. O Lorde of Hostes / thou God of Israel, which syttest vpō Cherubin. Thou arte the God, that onely is God of all the Kyngdomes of the worlde / for thou onely haste created heauen and earth. ‡ Enclyne thyne eare Lorde and consyder, open thyne eyes / O Lorde, and se, and pondre all the wordes vpon Sennaherib / whiche hathe sent his embassage to blaspheme the liuyng God. It is true, O Lorde, that the kynges of Assirya haue conquered all Kyngdomes and landes / and caste theyr goddes in the [unspec D] fyre. Natwithstandynge those were no goddes, but the workes of mens handes, of wood or stone, therfore haue they destroyed them. Delyuer vs then, O Lorde our God, from the handes of Sennaherib, that all Kyngdomes of the earth maye knowe, that thou onely art the Lorde. Then Esay the sonne of Amoz sent vnto Hezekia, sayeng: Thus sayeth the Lorde God of Israell. Where as thou haste made thy prayer vnto me, as touchynge Sennaherib the kyng of Assyria, this is the answere, that the Lorde hathe geuen consernyng hym. Despised art thou, and mocked (O daughter of Sion) he hath shaken his heade at the, O daughter of Ierusalē. But thou Sennaherib. whō hast thou defyed and blasphemed? Agaynst whom haste thou lyfted vp thy voyce, & ex∣alted thy proude lookes? euē agaynst y^• holy one of Israel. Thou with thy seruauntes haste blasphemed the Lorde / & thus holdest thou of thy selfe. I wyl couer the hye moun∣taynes, & sydes of Libanus with my hors∣men. [unspec E] And there wyll I cut downe the hye Eedre trees and the fayrest Fyrre trees. I wyll vp into the heyght of it, and into the chefest of his tymbre woddes. If there be no water, I wyll graue and drynke. And as for waters of defence, I shall drye them vp with the fete of myne hoost. Yee, haste thou nat hearde, what I haue taken in hande / & brought to passe of olde tyme? That same wyl I do nowe also: wast, destroye, & bryng stronge cyties vnto heapes of stones. For theyr inhabytours shalbe lyke lame men / brought in feare and confounded. They shalbe lyke the grasse and grene herbes in the felde / lyke the heye vpon house toppes / that withereth afore it be growne vp. I knowe thy wayes, thy goynge forth and thy commynge home, yee, and thy madnesse a∣gainst me. Therfore thy furiousnes against me, and thy pryde is come before me. I wyll [unspec F] put a rynge in thy nose, and a brydle byt in the chawes of the, and turne the aboute, euē the same waye thou camest. I wyll geue the also this token (O Hezekia) this yeare shalt thou eate that is kept in stoare, and the next yeare suche as groweth of hym selfe / and in the thyrde yeare, ye shal sow and reape, yee, ye shall plante vyneyardes, and enioye the frutes therof. [unspec G]

And suche of the house of Iuda as are es∣caped, shal come together, and the remnaūt shal take rote beneth, and bryng forth frute aboue. For the escaped shal go out of Ieru∣salem, and the remnaunt from the mounte Syon.

And this shall the gelousy of the Lorde of Hostes brynge to passe. Therfore thus sayeth the Lorde, concernynge the kynge of the Assiryans. He shall not come into this cytie, and shall shote no arowe into it / there shal no shilde hurte it nether shal they make any bulwarke agaynst it. The same waye that he came shall he retourne, & nat come at thys cytie, sayeth the Lorde. And I wyll kepe and saue the cytie (sayeth he) for myne owne, and for my seruaunt Dauids sake. Thus the angell of the Lorde went forth, & slewe of the Assirians hoost, an hun¦dred fourescore and fyue thousande. And when men arose vp early (at Ierusalem:) Beholde all laye full of deed bodyes. So Sennaherib the kynge of the Assireans brake vp, and dwelt at Niniue. Afterwarde it chaunsed, as he prayed in the temple of Nesrah his god, that Adramalech and Sarazer hys owne sonnes slewe hym with the swearde, and fled into the lande of Ar∣me••••a. And Asar Hadon his sonne rayg∣ned in hys steade.

Notes

• 4. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 19. ••
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉.
• Esay. 31. ••.
• 1. Reg. 23. ••.
• 2. Reg. 17. a
• Exod. 25. c
• Gene. 1. a.▪
• ‡

  Baruc. 2. c.
• zacha. 2. b. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 25. •• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••. c.
• 4. Re. 16••. Eccle. 4•••• Esay. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 2. Ma. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••