The .xix. Chapter.
6 God promiseth Isai victorie to Hezekia. 35 The angel of the Lord killeth an hundreth and fourescore and fiue thousand men of the Assyrians. 37 Sennacherib is killed of his owne sonnes.
[unspec A] 1 SO it came to passe, that when king Hezekia hearde it, he rent his clothes, & put on sacke, & came into the * 1.1 house of the Lorde,
2 And sent Eliakim which was the steward of the houshold, and Sobna the scribe, and the elders of the priestes clothed in sacke, to Isai the prophete, the sonne of Amoz.
3 And they sayd vnto him, thus sayth He∣zekia: This day is a day of tribulation, & of rebuke and blasphemie: For the chil∣dren are come to the byrth, and there is no strength to be deliuered.
4 Peraduenture the Lorde thy God will heare al the wordes of Rabsakeh, whō the king of Assyria his maister hath sent to rayle on the lyuing God, & to rebuke him with wordes which the Lorde thy God hath hearde: And lift thou vp thy prayer for the remnaunt that are left.
5 So the seruauntes of king Hezekia came to Isai.
6 And Isai sayde vnto them, So shall ye say to your maister: Thus sayth the Lorde, Be not afrayde of the wordes which thou hast heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria haue rayled on me.
[unspec B] 7 Beholde, I will put hym in another mynde, and he shall heare tydinges, and so returne to his owne land, * 1.2 and I will bring to passe, that he shall fall vpon the sworde * 1.3 euen in his owne land.
8 And Rabsakeh went backe againe, and founde the king of Assyria fighting a∣gainst Libna: for he had hearde howe that he was departed from Lachis.
9 And when he hearde men say of Thir∣haka king of the blacke Mores, Behold he is come out to fight against thee: he departed, and sent messengers vnto He∣zekia, saying.
10 Thus speake to Hezekia king of Iuda, saying: Let not thy God deceaue thee in whom thou trustest, saying: Hierusa∣lem shall not be deliuered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11 Beholde, thou hast hearde what the kinges of Assyria haue done to all landes, how they haue vtterly destroy∣ed them: And shalt thou escape?
12 Haue the gods of the heathen deliuered them, whiche myne auncestours haue destroyed? As Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelassar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, the king of the citie of Sepharuaim, and of Hena and Iua? [unspec C]
14 And Hezekia receaued the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: And Hezekia went vp into the house of the Lorde, and layde it abrode before the Lorde.
15 And Hezekia (a) 1.4 prayed before the Lord, and sayd: O Lord God of Israel which dwellest betweene ye Cherubs, thou art God alone ouer al the kingdomes of the earth, thou hast made heauen & earth.
16 Lorde bowe downe thyne eare, and heare: Open Lorde thyne eyes, [I be∣sech thee,] and see: and heare the wordes of Sennacherib whiche hath sent [this man] to rayle on the lyuing God.
17 Of a trueth Lorde, the kinges of Assy∣ria haue destroyed nations and their landes,
18 And haue set fire on their gods: For they were no gods, but the worke of the handes of man, euen of wood and stone: and they destroyed them.
19 Nowe therfore O Lord our God I be∣sech thee, saue thou vs out of his hande, that all the kingdomes of the earth may knowe that thou onely art the Lorde God.
20 And Isai the sonne of Amoz sent to Hezekia, saying, Thus sayth the Lorde God of Israel: That whiche thou hast prayed me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, I haue hearde it.