1 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 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.
7 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.
8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
9 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,
10 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.
11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
12 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?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
14 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.
15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying,
16 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.
17 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.
18 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,
19 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.
20 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.
21 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:
22 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 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.
24 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.
25 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.
26 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.
27 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.
28 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.
29 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.
30 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.
31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
32 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.
33 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.
34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.
35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
36 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.
37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
38 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.
<html><b>proof</b> (Aprobement in O.F.) The enemies show evidence to praise themselves with their success, saying, “Our hand has overpowered (lit., has become high), and there is no God (like our God).” <b>for the children have come</b> The children of Israel, children of the Holy One, blessed be He. <b>as far as the birthstool and there is no strength to give birth</b> It is a time of distress analogous to a woman sitting on the birthstool, and the fetus has no strength to come out.</html>
<html><b>and he brought proof with the words</b> (וְהוֹכִיחַ) He told his strength and showed his success. The word והוֹכִיחַ is eprober in O.F., to prove.</html>
<html><b>and he will hear a rumor</b> immediately. This is the rumor of Tirhakah, king of Cush, because of which he will leave you this time to battle with Tirhakah, but this is not the return to his land. Afterwards he will return here, and I am destined to return him to his land and to cause him to fall there by the sword.</html>
<html><b>And he heard</b> i.e., the king of Assyria. <b>about Tirhakah…saying</b> Tirhakah went out to wage war against you. <b>And he heard, and he sent emissaries</b> The second “and he heard” is not like the first “and he heard.” The first is an expression of hearing, and the second is an expression of accepting. He accepted the report of the messengers, and it appealed to him to give thought to withdraw from Jerusalem to fight first with Cush. <b>and he sent emissaries to Hezekiah</b> to notify [him] that he was not withdrawing completely, but with the intention of returning.</html>
<html><b>Eden</b> the name of a kingdom, as it is stated (Ezekiel 27:23): “Haran and Canneh and Eden.”</html>
<html><b>He exiled [them] and twisted [them]</b> (וְעִוָּה הֵנַע) The king of Assyria exiled him and twisted him; he destroyed them and exiled them from their place.</html>
<html><b>Indeed, O Lord</b> It is true that the kings of Assyria destroyed <b>all the countries and their land</b> “The countries” refers to the (capitals) of the provinces, and (“their land” refers to) the land near them, the royal cities, which are the heads of the provinces, he calls “countries” and the remaining regions surrounding them he calls “their land.” And in the Book of II Kings (19:7) it is written: “the nations and their land.” It has, however, one meaning.</html>
<html><b>And committing</b> (Heb. וְנָתֹן). Comp. (Gen. 41:43) “And appointing (וְנָתוֹן) him over all the land of Egypt,” an expression of the infinitive. Comp. “saying” (אָמוֹר), “remembering” (זָכוֹר), (donnant in French, giving). <b>wood and stone</b> are they; therefore, they had no power, and the king of Assyria destroyed them.</html>
<html><b>to the heights of mountains</b> the Temple mount. <b>to the end of the Lebanon</b> the Temple. <b>and I will cut down its tallest cedars</b> I will not go to my land until I destroy it. <b>its remotest height</b> (lit., the height of) its end. <b>its farmland forest</b> The best of its praise and the intensity of its strength.</html>
<html><b>I dug and drank</b> (קַרְתִּי) I.e., to say, I started all my deeds and completed them and succeeded, as one who digs a hole and finds water and succeeds. This is an expression of a spring (מָקוֹר). <b>and I dry up with the soles of my feet</b> If I would besiege a city reliant on the strength of its rivers, I would bring upon it many troops, and the water of their rivers would be depleted from their drinking and the drinking of their cattle and by the treading of their feet. <b>and I dry up</b> (lit., and I will dry up) This is the present tense, i.e., to say, so is my wont always. <b>rivers of the siege</b> The rivers of the city that is besieged through its rivers. ([Mss. yield:] that is besieged by me.)</html>
<html><b>Have you not heard</b> Now why do you boast? This is not yours, for this is a decree that emanated from Me many years ago, that you will exact My recompense from the nations, as the matter is written (supra 10:5): “Woe! Assyria is the rod of My wrath.” <b>Have you not heard from long ago</b> More than seventy years (correct version as in Parshandatha and Warsaw edition) since Amos prophesied two years before the earthquake (Amos 7:17), “and Israel shall be exiled from upon its land.” Since then, you should have heard that I wrought and prepared this retribution. <b>in days of yore</b> Since the six days of Creation, that decree that was decreed upon you entered My mind, as it is said (supra 30:33): “For Tophteh is set up from yesterday, that too has been prepared for the king.” Now that I have given you superiority over the nations, I have brought it, that decree, in order that it shall be to make desolate, blossoming hills [of] fortified cities, that you shall slay their inhabitants and they shall remain devoid of people and they shall be prepared for hills where vegetation grows.</html>
<html><b>And their inhabitants became short of strength</b> (lit. short of hand.) I weakened the strength before you. <b>and stubble before [becoming] standing grain</b> (וּשְׁדֵמָה) That is what is called ‘estoble’ in O.F., stubble, what remains in the ground, the roots of the harvest. <b>before [becoming] standing grain</b> When it has not yet reached the time to ripen and harden, to become standing grain, and it is weak and tender. <b>before standing grain</b> Before becoming standing grain.</html>
<html><b>And your sitting and your going out and your coming I know</b> Jonathan paraphrased: And your sitting in counsel, and your going out to wage war, and your coming to the land of Israel, is revealed to Me. When the thought entered your mind, and you took counsel to destroy My house, I knew it.</html>
<html><b>you have raged against Me</b> Your raging and your becoming overpowering toward Me (acc. to Parshandatha). <b>and your tumult</b> (וְשַׁאֲנַנְךָ) like וּשְׁאוֹנְךָ. <b>My ring</b> (חַחִי in Heb.) It is a kind of ring that is inserted into the lip of an unruly animal by which to pull it. <b>and My bit</b> Jonathan renders וּזְמַם, which is made of iron, and which they insert into the nostrils of a female camel. This is what we learned, “and the female camel with a nose ring” in Tractate Shabbath (5:1). (This is difficult in view of the wording of the verse, which places חַח in the nose and מֶתֶג in the lips.)</html>
<html><b>And this shall be the sign for you</b> This statement is not addressed to Sennacherib, but the prophet said to Hezekiah, “And this salvation shall be a sign for you for another promise. Now the legions have destroyed all the vegetation and chopped off the trees, and the Holy One, blessed be He, promises you that you will have sufficient from the shoots of the plants that will grow by themselves.” <b>this year you shall eat</b> (אָכוֹל) to eat this year. <b>and the next year what grows from the tree stumps</b> (Heb. שָׁחִיס.) They are the shoots of the stumps. So it appears in Seder Olam (ch. 23), but Jonathan renders: כַּתְכַּתִּין, the shoots of the shoots. And this will be the sign for you; when you see that my words, that Sennacherib will return to his land and he will fall, are fulfilled, you will believe that the second promise will yet be fulfilled.</html>
<html><b>the zeal of the Lord of Hosts</b> that He will be zealous for His Name and not because of the merit you possess. We learn that the merit of the Patriarchs has been depleted.</html>
<html><b>nor shall he advance upon it with a shield</b> (Heb. יְקַדְּמֶנָּה.) He shall not set a shield before it, since the Aramaic of “before” is קֳדָם. <b>nor shall he pile up a siege mound against it</b> [Targum renders:] He should not pile up against it a landfill. I say that they pour out earth and pile it up against the walls and towers so that they can build a rampart. <b>a siege mound</b> (סֹלְלָה) since it is trodden (סוֹלְלִים) and pressed down with sledge hammers in order that it harden. The Targum renders: מִלֵּיתָא, since they first make for it two walls of a fence of reeds and pour the earth between them and press it down there after they have filled (מִלְאוּ) the walls. And I heard that they interpret it as the throwing of huge stones, called perere in O.F., but the expression of piling up, lit., spilling, does not apply to stones, neither is the expression of pressing down, nor the rendering of the Targum, appropriately for this interpretation.</html>
<html><b>And an angel of the Lord went forth, etc.</b> After he went and battled with Cush, he returned and came to Jerusalem, and at the time an angel of the Lord went forth. In the following manner, it was taught in Seder Olam (ch. 23): (supra v. 7) “Behold I will imbue him with a desire, and he will hear a rumor,” as it is said (v. 9): “And he heard about Tirhakah etc.” He swept Shebna (the scribe) ([Warsaw edition:] the treasurer) and his company and led them in chains, and went away to Cush, and took all the coveted treasures, and came to Jerusalem, to fulfill what was stated (infra 45: 14): “The toil of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush…shall pass over to you.” This refers to Jerusalem. “After you they shall go.” This refers to Hezekiah. At that time, “And…sent Tartan and Rabsaris.” They are the ones mentioned in the Book of Kings (2 18:17), and they are the emissaries concerning whom it is stated that he sent after the rumor, as it is said (v. 9), “And he sent emissaries to Hezekiah,” and they did not come with Rabshakeh on his first mission. And concerning those letters, Hezekiah replied (v. 22), “…has despised you, has mocked you.” At that time, “an angel of the Lord went out and slew, etc.” All of them were kings with crowns ti ed to their heads, and the smallest of them was an officer over two thousand men, and they and their armies fell.</html>
<html><b>and dwelt in Nineveh</b> That is the capital, as it is said (Gen. 10:11): “From that land Asshur came out, and he built Nineveh.”</html>
<html><b>the temple of Nisroch</b> A board (נֶסֶר) from Noah’s ark, as is related in the Aggadah of Chelek (San. 96a). <b>slew him by the sword</b> for he said, “If you save me that my subjects do not kill me for I brought their sons here (sic) and they died, I will sacrifice my two sons before you.” They rose and slew him.</html>