Hezekiah sent Eliakim the palace manager, Shebna the royal secretary, and the elders of the priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They wore the special clothes that showed they were sad and upset.
They said to Isaiah, "King Hezekiah has commanded that today will be a special day for sorrow and sadness. It will be a very sad day, like the time a child should be born, but is not strong enough to come from its mother's womb.
The commander's master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to say bad things about the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear all those things. Maybe he will prove the enemy is wrong! So pray for the people who are still left alive."
Isaiah said to them, "Give this message to your master, Hezekiah: The Lord says, 'Don't be afraid of what you heard from the commanders. Don't believe what those "boys" from the king of Assyria said to make fun of me.
Look, I will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report warning him about a danger, so he will return to his own country. And I will cut him down with a sword in his own country.'"
Then the king of Assyria heard a report that said, "Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia, has come to fight against you." So the king of Assyria sent messengers to Hezekiah again.
He told them, "Tell King Hezekiah of Judah these things: 'Don't be fooled by the god you trust when he says Jerusalem will not be defeated by the king of Assyria.
Did the gods of those nations save their people? No, my ancestors destroyed them all. They destroyed Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar.
Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, "Lord, God of Israel, you sit as King above the Cherub angels. You alone are the God who rules all the kingdoms on earth. You are the creator of heaven and earth.
They did throw the gods of those nations into the fire. But they were not real gods. They were only wood and stone—statues that people made. That is why the kings of Assyria could destroy them.
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah. Isaiah said, "The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: You prayed to me about the message that came from King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.
"This is the Lord's message about Sennacherib: 'The Virgin Daughter Zion does not think you are important. She laughs at you. She shakes her head at you and laughs behind your back.
But who did you insult and make fun of? Who did you speak against? You were against the Holy One of Israel. You acted like you were better than he was!
You sent your messengers to insult the Lord. You said, "I came with my many chariots to the high mountains deep inside Lebanon. I cut down the tallest cedar trees and the best fir trees of Lebanon. I went to its highest mountains, its thickest forests.
That is what you said, but haven't you heard what I the Lord said? I planned it long ago; from ancient times I planned it. And now I have made it happen. I let you tear down the strong cities and change them into piles of rocks.
The people in the cities had no power. They were scared and confused. They were about to be cut down like grass and plants in the field. They were like grass growing on the housetops, dying before it grows tall.
Yes, you were upset at me. I heard your proud insults. So I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. Then I will turn you around and lead you back the way you came.'"
Then the Lord said, "I will give you a sign to show that these words are true. You were not able to plant seeds this year, so next year you will eat grain that grows wild from the previous year's crop. But in the third year, you will eat grain from seeds that you planted. You will harvest your crops and have plenty to eat. You will plant grapevines and eat their fruit. You will plant vineyards and eat the grapes from them.
The people from the family of Judah who have escaped and are left alive will be like plants that send their roots deep into the ground and produce fruit above the ground.
That is because a few people will come out of Jerusalem alive. There will be survivors coming from Mount Zion. The strong love of the Lord God will do this.
"So the Lord says this about the king of Assyria: 'He will not come into this city or shoot an arrow at this city. He will not bring his shields up against this city or build up a hill of dirt to attack the walls of this city.
That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 people in the Assyrian camp. When the others got up in the morning, they saw all the dead bodies.
One day Sennacherib was in the temple of his god Nisroch, worshiping him. His sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword and ran away to Ararat. So his son Esarhaddon became the new king of Assyria.