of thyself the nations were scattered.
23:033:004 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the
caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run
upon them.
23:033:005 The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled
Zion with judgment and righteousness.
23:033:006 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times,
and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his
treasure.
23:033:007 Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors
of peace shall weep bitterly.
23:033:008 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath
broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth
no man.
23:033:009 The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and
hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel
shake off their fruits.
23:033:010 Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now
will I lift up myself.
23:033:011 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your
breath, as fire, shall devour you.
23:033:012 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut
up shall they be burned in the fire.
23:033:013 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are
near, acknowledge my might.
23:033:014 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the
hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
23:033:015 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that
despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from
holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of
blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
23:033:016 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the
munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall
be sure.
23:033:017 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold
the land that is very far off.
23:033:018 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where
is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
23:033:019 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper
speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that
thou canst not understand.
23:033:020 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall
see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not
be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be
removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
23:033:021 But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad
rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars,
neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.
23:033:022 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD
is our king; he will save us.
23:033:023 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their
mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a
great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.
23:033:024 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that
dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
23:034:001 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let
the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all
things that come forth of it.
23:034:002 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his
fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he
hath delivered them to the slaughter.
23:034:003 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come
up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted
with their blood.
23:034:004 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens
shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall
fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a
falling fig from the fig tree.
23:034:005 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come
down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to
judgment.
23:034:006 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat
with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the
fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in
Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
23:034:007 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks
with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and
their dust made fat with fatness.
23:034:008 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of
recompences for the controversy of Zion.
23:034:009 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the
dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become
burning pitch.
23:034:010 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof
shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall
lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
23:034:011 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl
also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out
upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
23:034:012 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none
shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
23:034:013 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles
in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of
dragons, and a court for owls.
23:034:014 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild
beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow;
the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a
place of rest.
23:034:015 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch,
and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be
gathered, every one with her mate.
23:034:016 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these
shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath
commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
23:034:017 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided
it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from
generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
23:035:001 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
23:035:002 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and
singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the
excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of
the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
23:035:003 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
23:035:004 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not:
behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a
recompence; he will come and save you.
23:035:005 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of
the deaf shall be unstopped.
23:035:006 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert.
23:035:007 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty
land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where
each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
23:035:008 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be
called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over
it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though
fools, shall not err therein.
23:035:009 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up
thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall
walk there:
23:035:010 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away.
23:036:001 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah,
that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the
defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
23:036:002 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to
Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood
by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the
fuller's field.
23:036:003 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was
over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son,
the recorder.
23:036:004 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus
saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is
this wherein thou trustest?
23:036:005 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have
counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust,
that thou rebellest against me?
23:036:006 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt;
whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce
it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
23:036:007 But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not
he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken
away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship
before this altar?
23:036:008 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king
of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou
be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
23:036:009 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the
least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for
chariots and for horsemen?
23:036:010 And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to
destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land,
and destroy it.
23:036:011 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I
pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we
understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in
the ears of the people that are on the wall.
23:036:012 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and
to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men
that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and
drink their own piss with you?
23:036:013 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews'
language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the
king of Assyria.
23:036:014 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he
shall not be able to deliver you.
23:036:015 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The
LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered
into the hand of the king of Assyria.
23:036:016 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria,
Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me:
and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig
tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
23:036:017 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a
land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
23:036:018 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, the LORD will
deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his
land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
23:036:019 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of
Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
23:036:020 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have
delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should
deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
23:036:021 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for
the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
23:036:022 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the
household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph,
the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told
him the words of Rabshakeh.
23:037:001 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent
his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into
the house of the LORD.
23:037:002 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna
the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with
sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
23:037:003 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day
of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children
are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring
forth.
23:037:004 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh,
whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the
living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God
hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that
is left.
23:037:005 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
23:037:006 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master,
Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast
heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have
blasphemed me.
23:037:007 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a
rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to
fall by the sword in his own land.
23:037:008 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring
against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from
Lachish.
23:037:009 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is
come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he
sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
23:037:010 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not
thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of
Assyria.
23:037:011 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be
delivered?
23:037:012 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers
have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the
children of Eden which were in Telassar?
23:037:013 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the
king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
23:037:014 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the
messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house
of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
23:037:015 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,
23:037:016 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the
cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the
kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
23:037:017 Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD,
and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath
sent to reproach the living God.
23:037:018 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the
nations, and their countries,
23:037:019 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods,
but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they
have destroyed them.
23:037:020 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all
the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD,
even thou only.
23:037:021 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me
against Sennacherib king of Assyria:
23:037:022 This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him;
The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and
laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken
her head at thee.
23:037:023 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom
hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high?
even against the Holy One of Israel.
23:037:024 By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said,
By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of
the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down
the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and
I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of
his Carmel.
23:037:025 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet
have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.
23:037:026 Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of
ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to
pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into
ruinous heaps.
23:037:027 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were
dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field,
and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as
corn blasted before it be grown up.
23:037:028 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in,
and thy rage against me.
23:037:029 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into
mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my
bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by
which thou camest.
23:037:030 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year
such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which
springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap,
and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
23:037:031 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall
again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
23:037:032 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that
escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall
do this.
23:037:033 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria,
He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there,
nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.
23:037:034 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and
shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
23:037:035 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and
for my servant David's sake.
23:037:036 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp
of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand:
and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were
all dead corpses.
23:037:037 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and
returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
23:037:038 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of
Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote
him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia:
and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
23:038:001 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the
prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus
saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die,
and not live.
23:038:002 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto
the LORD,
23:038:003 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have
walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have
done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
23:038:004 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,
23:038:005 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David
thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears:
behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
23:038:006 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the
king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
23:038:007 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the
LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken;
23:038:008 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is
gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So
the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone
down.
23:038:009 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick,
and was recovered of his sickness:
23:038:010 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates
of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
23:038:011 I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land
of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants
of the world.
23:038:012 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's
tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off
with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an
end of me.
23:038:013 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all
my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
23:038:014 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a
dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am
oppressed; undertake for me.
23:038:015 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself
hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness
of my soul.
23:038:016 O LORD, by these things men live, and in all these things is
the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to
live.
23:038:017 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in
love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for
thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
23:038:018 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate
thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy
truth.
23:038:019 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this
day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
23:038:020 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs
to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the
house of the LORD.
23:038:021 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it
for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
23:038:022 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to
the house of the LORD?
23:039:001 At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of
Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had
heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.
23:039:002 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of
his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices,
and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour,
and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in
his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them
not.
23:039:003 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto
him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee?
And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me,
even from Babylon.
23:039:004 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah
answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is
nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
23:039:005 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of
hosts:
23:039:006 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and
that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day,
shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the
LORD.
23:039:007 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt
beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the
palace of the king of Babylon.
23:039:008 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD
which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be
peace and truth in my days.
23:040:001 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
23:040:002 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her
warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for
she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
23:040:003 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our
God.
23:040:004 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and
the rough places plain:
23:040:005 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken
it.
23:040:006 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh
is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of
the field:
23:040:007 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of
the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
23:040:008 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our
God shall stand for ever.
23:040:009 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high
mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy
voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the
cities of Judah, Behold your God!
23:040:010 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm
shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his
work before him.
23:040:011 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the
lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall
gently lead those that are with young.
23:040:012 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and
meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of
the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales,
and the hills in a balance?
23:040:013 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his
counsellor hath taught him?
23:040:014 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught
him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and
shewed to him the way of understanding?