New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Isaiah 37
1
When King Hezekiah heard what the field commander had said, he tore his clothes. He put on black clothes. Then he went into the Lord's temple.
2
Hezekiah sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, to me. He also sent the leading priests and the secretary Shebna to me. All of them were wearing black clothes.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 1:1
3
They told me, "Hezekiah says, 'Today we're in great trouble. The Lord is warning us. He's bringing shame on us. Sometimes babies come to the moment when they should be born. But their mothers aren't strong enough to allow them to be born. Today we are like those mothers. We aren't strong enough to save ourselves.
Reference
4
" 'Perhaps the Lord your God will hear everything the field commander has said. His master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to make fun of the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will punish him for what he has heard him say. So pray for the remaining people who are still alive here.' "
Reference
5
King Hezekiah's officials came to me.
6
Then I said to them, "Tell your master, 'The Lord says, "Do not be afraid of what you have heard. The officers who are under the king of Assyria have spoken evil things against me.
Reference
7
Listen! I will send him news from his own country. It will upset him so much that he will return home. There I will have him cut down with a sword." ' "
Reference
8
The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. So the commander pulled his troops back from Jerusalem. He went to join the king. He found out that the king was fighting against Libnah.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joshua 10:29
9
During that time Sennacherib received a report. He was told that Tirhakah was marching out to fight against him. Tirhakah was king of Egypt. He was from the land of Cush. When Sennacherib heard the report, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah with a letter. It said,
10
"Tell Hezekiah, the king of Judah, 'Don't let the god you depend on trick you. He says, "Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria." But don't believe him.
Reference
Faith
Isaiah 36:15
11
I'm sure you have heard about what the kings of Assyria have done to all of the other countries. They have destroyed them completely. So do you think you will be saved?
12
" 'The kings who ruled before me destroyed many nations. Did the gods of those nations save them? Did the gods of Gozan, Haran or Rezeph save them? What about the gods of the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar?
Reference
13
Where is the king of Hamath? Where is the king of Arpad? Where is the king of the city of Sepharvaim? Where are the kings of Hena or Ivvah?' "
14
When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, he read it. Then he went up to the Lord's temple. There he spread the letter out in front of the Lord.
Reference
References Lord
2 Kings 19:14
15
Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. He said,
16
"Lord who rules over all, you are the God of Israel. You sit on your throne between the cherubim. You alone are God over all of the kingdoms on earth. You have made heaven and earth.
Reference
Creation
Colossians 1:16
John 1:3
Kingdom
Psalm 99:1
Parallel theme
Hebrews 4:16
References God
Psalm 86:10
1 Samuel 4:4
References Israel
Exodus 25:22
Psalm 80:1
References Lord
Isaiah 44:24
17
Listen, Lord. Hear us. Open your eyes, Lord. Look at the trouble we're in. Listen to what Sennacherib is saying. You are the living God. And he dares to make fun of you!
Reference
References God
2 Chronicles 6:40
Psalm 17:6
Psalm 74:22
References Lord
1 Peter 3:12
Word
Isaiah 37:4
18
"Lord, it's true that the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations and their lands.
Reference
19
They have thrown the statues of the gods of those nations into the fire. And they have destroyed them. That's because they weren't really gods at all. They were nothing but statues that were made out of wood and stone. They were made by human hands.
20
"Lord our God, save us from the powerful hand of Sennacherib. Then all of the kingdoms on earth will know that you alone are God."
Reference
21
I sent a message to Hezekiah. I said, "The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, 'You have prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
22
So here is the message I have spoken against him. I am telling him, " ' "You will not win the battle over Zion. Its people hate you and make fun of you. The people of Jerusalem lift up their heads proudly as you run away.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 1:8
Psalm 9:14
References Jerusalem
Lamentations 2:13
Zephaniah 3:14
References Lord
Zechariah 2:10
Word
Job 16:4
Jeremiah 14:17
23
Who have you laughed at? Who have you spoken evil things against? Who have you raised your voice against? Who have you looked at so proudly? You have done it against me. I am the Holy One of Israel!
Reference
Holy
Ezekiel 39:7
Isaiah 17:7
Isaiah 41:16
Daniel 7:25
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 28:9
2 Thessalonians 2:4
24
Through your messengers you have laughed at me again and again. And you have said, 'I have many chariots. With them I have climbed to the tops of the mountains. I've climbed the highest mountains in Lebanon. I've cut down its tallest cedar trees. I've cut down the best of its pine trees. I've reached its farthest mountains. I've reached its finest forests.
Reference
25
I've dug wells in strange lands. I've drunk the water from them. I've walked through all of Egypt's streams. I've dried up every one of them.'
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Kings 20:10
26
" ' "But I, the Lord, say, 'Haven't you heard what I have done? Long ago I arranged for you to do all of that. In days of old I planned it. Now I have made it happen. You have turned cities with high walls into piles of stone.
Reference
27
Their people do not have any power left. They are troubled and put to shame. They are like plants in the field. They are like new green plants. They are like grass that grows on a roof. It dries up before it is completely grown.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 129:6
28
" ' " 'But I know where you live. I know when you come and go. I know how very angry you are with me.
29
You roar against me and brag. And I have heard your bragging. So I will put my hook in your nose. I will put my bit in your mouth. And I will make you go home by the same way you came.' " ' "
Reference
30
The Lord said, "Hezekiah, here is a miraculous sign for you. "This year you will eat what grows by itself. Next year you will eat what grows from that. But in the third year you will plant your crops and gather them in. You will plant your grapevines and eat their fruit.
Reference
31
The people of Judah who are still alive will be like plants. Once more they will put down roots and produce fruit.
Reference
32
Out of Jerusalem will come those who remain. Out of Mount Zion will come those who are still left alive. My great love will make sure that happens. I rule over all.
Reference
33
"Here is a message from me about the king of Assyria. It says, " 'He will not enter this city. He will not even shoot an arrow at it. He will not come near it with a shield. He will not build a ramp in order to climb over its walls.
34
By the way that he came he will go home. He will not enter this city,' announces the Lord.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 37:29
35
"I will guard this city and save it. I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David."
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 31:5
Isaiah 38:6
Isaiah 43:25
Ephesians 1:14
Ephesians 1:6
Deuteronomy 32:27
Ezekiel 20:9
Ezekiel 36:22
References David
2 Kings 20:6
Jeremiah 30:9
36
Then the angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians. He put to death 185,000 soldiers there. The people of Jerusalem got up the next morning. They looked out and saw all of the dead bodies.
Reference
37
So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, took the army tents down. Then he left. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
Reference
Summary of Isaiah 37
Isaiah 37 continues the dramatic confrontation between Jerusalem and the Assyrian Empire in 701 BC.
After hearing the Assyrian threats, King Hezekiah responds by tearing his clothes, wearing sackcloth, and going into the temple.
Instead of answering Assyria with political boasting or military confidence, he turns to God and sends his officials to the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah tells Hezekiah not to fear because the Assyrian king will eventually be forced to withdraw.
Sennacherib then sends another threatening message, reminding Hezekiah of the many nations Assyria has conquered and mocking the idea that the Lord could protect Jerusalem.
Hezekiah responds by taking the letter into the temple and spreading it before the Lord.
His prayer acknowledges Assyria's genuine military power but makes an important distinction: the gods of the conquered nations were idols made by human hands, while the Lord is the Creator of heaven and earth.
Hezekiah therefore asks God to save Jerusalem so that the nations will know that the Lord alone is God.
Isaiah answers that God has heard the prayer.
The prophet then exposes the arrogance behind Sennacherib's confidence.
Assyria believes its victories have been achieved through its own strength, but God declares that the empire's success has occurred within His larger purposes.
The proud king who believes he controls nations will himself be controlled by God.
God promises that Sennacherib will not enter Jerusalem or establish a siege against it.
The Assyrian army will return the way it came.
The chapter then describes the dramatic destruction of the Assyrian army and Sennacherib's withdrawal to Nineveh.
The historical record confirms the larger framework: Sennacherib invaded Judah in 701 BC, captured numerous Judean cities, and did not capture Jerusalem.
Sennacherib was later assassinated in 681 BC, approximately twenty years after the campaign.
The chapter therefore emphasizes a powerful reversal.
Assyria appears unstoppable, but God is greater than the empire.
The central message is that when Hezekiah stops relying on political strength and places the Assyrian threat directly before God, the crisis becomes an opportunity to demonstrate God's sovereignty; the empire that boasts of conquering nations is ultimately forced to retreat, Jerusalem survives, and the proud ruler who believed he controlled history discovers that his own power remains subject to the authority of God.
After hearing the Assyrian threats, King Hezekiah responds by tearing his clothes, wearing sackcloth, and going into the temple.
Instead of answering Assyria with political boasting or military confidence, he turns to God and sends his officials to the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah tells Hezekiah not to fear because the Assyrian king will eventually be forced to withdraw.
Sennacherib then sends another threatening message, reminding Hezekiah of the many nations Assyria has conquered and mocking the idea that the Lord could protect Jerusalem.
Hezekiah responds by taking the letter into the temple and spreading it before the Lord.
His prayer acknowledges Assyria's genuine military power but makes an important distinction: the gods of the conquered nations were idols made by human hands, while the Lord is the Creator of heaven and earth.
Hezekiah therefore asks God to save Jerusalem so that the nations will know that the Lord alone is God.
Isaiah answers that God has heard the prayer.
The prophet then exposes the arrogance behind Sennacherib's confidence.
Assyria believes its victories have been achieved through its own strength, but God declares that the empire's success has occurred within His larger purposes.
The proud king who believes he controls nations will himself be controlled by God.
God promises that Sennacherib will not enter Jerusalem or establish a siege against it.
The Assyrian army will return the way it came.
The chapter then describes the dramatic destruction of the Assyrian army and Sennacherib's withdrawal to Nineveh.
The historical record confirms the larger framework: Sennacherib invaded Judah in 701 BC, captured numerous Judean cities, and did not capture Jerusalem.
Sennacherib was later assassinated in 681 BC, approximately twenty years after the campaign.
The chapter therefore emphasizes a powerful reversal.
Assyria appears unstoppable, but God is greater than the empire.
The central message is that when Hezekiah stops relying on political strength and places the Assyrian threat directly before God, the crisis becomes an opportunity to demonstrate God's sovereignty; the empire that boasts of conquering nations is ultimately forced to retreat, Jerusalem survives, and the proud ruler who believed he controlled history discovers that his own power remains subject to the authority of God.