וַיְהִי כִּשְׁמֹעַ הַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ וַיִּקְרַע אֶת־בְּגָדָיו וַיִּתְכַּס בַּשָּׂק וַיָּבֹא בֵּית ה'

It was when King Hizkiyahu heard the gloating of Rav Shakeh, the representative of the great superpower, that he rent his clothes and covered himself in sackcloth as signs of mourning, and came to the House of the Lord.

וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת־אֶלְיָקִים אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַבַּיִת וְשֶׁבְנָא הַסֹּפֵר וְאֵת זִקְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים מִתְכַּסִּים בַּשַּׂקִּים אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא בֶּן־אָמוֹץ

He sent Elyakim, who was in charge of the household; Shevna the scribe; and the elders of the priests, all of them covered in sackcloth, to Isaiah the great prophet who was revered by all, son of Amotz.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו כֹּה אָמַר חִזְקִיָּהוּ יוֹם־צָרָה וְתוֹכֵחָה וּנְאָצָה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי־בָאוּ בָנִים עַד־מַשְׁבֵּר וְכֹחַ אַיִן לְלֵדָה

They said to him: So said Hizkiyahu: This day is a day of trouble, rebuke, or dispute or punishment, and of execration, or cursing, as the Assyrian officer had blasphemed God by the very comparison between God and the false gods worshipped by other nations; as children have come to the birthstool, but there is no strength for birth. Hizkiyahu meant that their state was as dangerous as that of a woman who is bent over and ready to give birth and whose child has almost emerged from her womb, but she is exhausted from her labor and does not have the strength for the last effort needed to relieve her distress.

אוּלַי יִשְׁמַע ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵת כָּל־דִּבְרֵי רַבְשָׁקֵה אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר אֲדֹנָיו לְחָרֵף אֱלֹהִים חַי וְהוֹכִיחַ בַּדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְנָשָׂאתָ תְפִלָּה בְּעַד הַשְּׁאֵרִית הַנִּמְצָאָה

Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rav Shakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, sent to revile the living God, contesting with words that the Lord your God has heard. God might rebuke Assyria for these words. Alternatively, this may be interpreted as meaning: Perhaps God will prove His power and the justice of our cause by taking demonstrative action against Assyria. Will you offer a prayer on behalf of the remnant of the Jewish people that survives in Jerusalem after the rest of the cities of Judah have been destroyed?

וַיָּבֹאוּ עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָהוּ

The servants of King Hizkiyahu came to Isaiah.

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם יְשַׁעְיָהוּ כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן אֶל־אֲדֹנֵיכֶם כֹּה אָמַר ה' אַל־תִּירָא מִפְּנֵי הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ אֲשֶׁר גִּדְּפוּ נַעֲרֵי מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר אֹתִי

Isaiah said to them: So shall you say to your master, King Hizkiyahu: So said the Lord: Do not be frightened by the words that you heard, with which the lads of the king of Assyria, a disparaging term for the representatives of the Assyrian Empire, have blasphemed Me.

הִנְנִי נֹתֵן בּוֹ רוּחַ וְשָׁמַע שְׁמוּעָה וְשָׁב לְאַרְצוֹ וְהִפַּלְתִּיו בַּחֶרֶב בְּאַרְצוֹ

Behold, I will introduce a spirit into him, a desire to return to his land; alternatively, I will confuse him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his land, and I will fell him by the sword in his land. He will not be killed in Judah, but will be assassinated in his own land.

וַיָּשָׁב רַבְשָׁקֵה וַיִּמְצָא אֶת־מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר נִלְחָם עַל־לִבְנָה כִּי שָׁמַע כִּי נָסַע מִלָּכִישׁ

Rav Shakeh returned to the place from where he had come to Jerusalem, near the conquered city of Lakhish in southern Judah, to report about his mission. And he found the king of Assyria making war against Livna, for he, Rav Shakeh, had heard that he, Sennacherib, had meanwhile moved from Lakhish.

וַיִּשְׁמַע אֶל תִּרְהָקָה מֶלֶךְ־כּוּשׁ לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה יָצָא לְהִלָּחֵם אִתָּךְ וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח מַלְאָכִים אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ לֵאמֹר

He, the king of Assyria, heard about Tirhaka king of Kush, who ruled Egypt at that time. They were saying: Behold, he has come out to make war against you. The Assyrian king decided to divert his army from the small war in Judah toward the great battle with the powerful Egyptian Empire. He, Rav Shakeh, again sent messengers to Hizkiyahu, with formal letters saying:

כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה לֵאמֹר אַל־יַשִּׁאֲךָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בֹּטֵחַ בּוֹ לֵאמֹר לֹא תִנָּתֵן יְרוּשָׁלִַם בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר

So shall you say to Hizkiyahu king of Judah, stating: In light of the news that we are departing from Jerusalem and Judah and turning southward, you are certainly hoping that the Assyrian threat has been lifted. But let your God upon whom you rely not mislead you, saying: Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. This is merely a tactical change in the order in which we are fighting our battles.

הִנֵּה אַתָּה שָׁמַעְתָּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ מַלְכֵי אַשּׁוּר לְכָל־הָאֲרָצוֹת לְהַחֲרִימָם וְאַתָּה תִּנָּצֵל

Behold, you have heard that which the kings of Assyria did to all the lands, destroying them; do you think you will be delivered?

הַהִצִּילוּ אֹתָם אֱלֹהֵי הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר שִׁחֲתוּ אֲבוֹתַי אֶת־גּוֹזָן וְאֶת־חָרָן וְרֶצֶף וּבְנֵי־עֶדֶן אֲשֶׁר בִּתְלַאשָּׂר

Did the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed deliver them: Gozan, Haran, Retzef, and the children of Eden, who are in Telasar? These were countries closer to Assyria that were conquered during or before the generation of Shalmaneser.

אַיּוֹ מֶלֶךְ־חֲמָת וּמֶלֶךְ אַרְפָּד וּמֶלֶךְ לָעִיר סְפַרְוָיִם הֵנַע וְעִוָּה

Where are the king of Hamat, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sefarvayim, and the kings of Hena and of Iva? They were all conquered and killed or exiled. You are also in our sights, and sooner or later you will meet the same fate.

וַיִּקַּח חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶת־הַסְּפָרִים מִיַּד הַמַּלְאָכִים וַיִּקְרָאֵם וַיַּעַל בֵּית ה' וַיִּפְרְשֵׂהוּ חִזְקִיָּהוּ לִפְנֵי ה'

Hizkiyahu received the scrolls of Rav Shakeh from the hand of the messengers, and he read them. Hizkiyahu went up to the House of the Lord and unfurled it, each of the scrolls, before the Lord.

וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל חִזְקִיָּהוּ לִפְנֵי ה' וַיֹּאמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרֻבִים אַתָּה־הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים לְבַדְּךָ לְכֹל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ

Hizkiyahu prayed before the Lord, and he said: Lord, God of Israel, who is seated amidst the cherubs in this House that Sennacherib seeks to destroy, You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth; You made the heavens and the earth. You created everything, You rule over everything, and Your power is unlimited.

הַטֵּה ה' אָזְנְךָ וּשֲׁמָע; פְּקַח ה' עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה; וּשְׁמַע אֵת דִּבְרֵי סַנְחֵרִיב אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ לְחָרֵף אֱלֹהִים חָי

Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; hear the words of the messenger of Sennacherib, whom he, Sennacherib, sent to revile the living God.

אָמְנָם ה' הֶחֱרִיבוּ מַלְכֵי אַשּׁוּר אֶת־הַגּוֹיִם וְאֶת־אַרְצָם

Indeed, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands; they have conquered and destroyed cities that were better fortified than Jerusalem

וְנָתְנוּ אֶת־אֱלֹהֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ כִּי לֹא אֱלֹהִים הֵמָּה כִּי אִם־מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי־אָדָם עֵץ וָאֶבֶן וַיְאַבְּדוּם

and put their gods into the fire and destroyed their temples, as they are not gods but the handiwork of people, wood and stone, and they eliminated them.

וְעַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ נָא מִיָּדוֹ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל־מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ כִּי אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהִים לְבַדֶּךָ

Now, Lord our God, please save us from his hand, save us from Sennacherib, and all the kingdoms of the world will know that You alone are the Lord God. My kingdom is no more powerful than the kingdoms destroyed by Assyria, and my honor is no greater than that of their kings. But due to Your honor, I request to be spared the fate that befell those nations.

וַיִּשְׁלַח יְשַׁעְיָהוּ בֶן־אָמוֹץ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ לֵאמֹר כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הִתְפַּלַּלְתָּ אֵלַי אֶל סַנְחֵרִב מֶלֶךְ־ אַשּׁוּר שָׁמָעְתִּי

Isaiah son of Amotz sent to Hizkiyahu, saying: So said the Lord, God of Israel: That which you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.

זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר ה' עָלָיו בָּזָה לְךָ לָעֲגָה לְךָ בְּתוּלַת בַּת־צִיּוֹן אַחֲרֶיךָ רֹאשׁ הֵנִיעָה בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִָם

This is the word that the Lord has spoken in his regard: The virgin daughter of Zion scorns you and mocks you; she shakes her head at you, the daughter of Jerusalem. Zion and Jerusalem are compared to a woman shaking her head in scorn.

אֶת־מִי חֵרַפְתָּ וְגִדַּפְתָּ וְעַל־מִי הֲרִימוֹתָ קּוֹל וַתִּשָּׂא מָרוֹם עֵינֶיךָ עַל־קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל

Whom did you revile and blaspheme, and against whom did you raise your voice? You have arrogantly lifted your eyes on high, against the Holy One of Israel.

בְּיַד מַלְאָכֶיךָ חֵרַפְתָּ אֲדֹנָי וַתֹּאמֶר בְּרֹב רִכְבִּי אֲנִי עָלִיתִי מְרוֹם הָרִים יַרְכְּתֵי לְבָנוֹן וְאֶכְרֹת קוֹמַת אֲרָזָיו מִבְחוֹר בְּרֹשָׁיו וְאָבוֹאָה מְלוֹן קִצֹּה יַעַר כַּרְמִלּוֹ

By means of your messengers you reviled my Lord and said: With the horde of my chariots and soldiers I went up the highest mountains, to the ends of Lebanon. Lebanon is a poetic reference to all the kingdoms and nations in the region, which the king of Assyria intended to conquer. And I felled its tallest cedars and its choicest junipers; I came to its remotest lodging, its fertile forest.

אֲנִי קַרְתִּי וְשָׁתִיתִי מַיִם זָרִים וְאַחֲרִב בְּכַף־פְּעָמַי כֹּל יְאֹרֵי מָצוֹר

I dug and drank unfamiliar water, the water of other nations or water that has not been touched by man, and I dried with the soles of my feet all the moats of the besieged: I have dried up the moats that were dug around the walls of the cities and filled with water in order to prevent me from approaching the cities. Since my army and I are very skilled in siege warfare and conquest, we were successful regardless of whether there was water, as nothing stood in our way.

הֲלֹא־שָׁמַעְתָּ לְמֵרָחוֹק אֹתָהּ עָשִׂיתִי לְמִימֵי קֶדֶם וִיצַרְתִּיהָ עַתָּה הֲבֵיאתִיהָ וּתְהִי לַהְשׁוֹת גַּלִּים נִצִּים עָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת

But why do you glory in your successes? Haven’t you heard from a distance of what I have done? From ancient days I fashioned it, I decreed long ago that this should occur, and now, using you as My vehicle, I have brought it about. By it will fortified cities be laid waste and turned into sprouting mounds.

וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶן קִצְרֵי־יָד חַתּוּ וַיֵּבֹשׁוּ הָיוּ עֵשֶׂב שָׂדֶה וִירַק דֶּשֶׁא חֲצִיר גַּגּוֹת וּשְׁדֵפָה לִפְנֵי קָמָה

Therefore, their inhabitants, the inhabitants of these conquered cities, are powerless; they could not resist. They are broken and ashamed. They were, compared to your power, vegetation of the field and green grass, which are consumed as food, and as hay of roofs and a withered field before the grain could stand, blighted before it is ripe. Since their roofs were flat and made from mud, grass would grow on their roofs, but it would be sparse. To summarize, Assyria’s conquest of other nations was not due to its greatness and power; Sennacherib was also only a player in God’s ancient plan, and all his steps were known to Him.

וְשִׁבְתְּךָ וְצֵאתְךָ וּבֹאֲךָ יָדָעְתִּי וְאֵת הִתְרַגֶּזְךָ אֵלָי

I know your staying, your departing, your coming, and your provoking Me with your blasphemous words.

יַעַן הִתְרַגֶּזְךָ אֵלַי ושַׁאֲנַנְךָ עָלָה בְאָזְנָי וְשַׂמְתִּי חַחִי בְּאַפֶּךָ ומִתְגִּי בִּשְׂפָתֶיךָ וַהֲשִׁיבֹתִיךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־בָּאתָ בָּהּ

Because of your provoking Me, and your complacency that rose in My ears, your confidence that nothing bad can happen to you, I will place My ring in your nose, and My bit between your lips, and I will return you by the way that you came. You will be limited and guided like a harnessed animal, which is tied by a chain attached to a ring in its nose and led around by the bridle attached to its harness.

וְזֶה־לְּךָ הָאוֹת אָכוֹל הַשָּׁנָה סָפִיחַ וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית סָחִישׁ וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁלִישִׁית זִרְעוּ וְקִצְרוּ וְנִטְעוּ כְרָמִים וְאִכְלוּ פִרְיָם

The word of God is now directed toward Hizkiyahu: This will be your sign, this is how the events will unfold until you experience full relief: Eat this year the aftergrowth, because due to the war no new crops were planted that year, and in the second year you will eat the growth of the aftergrowth, that which grows on its own from that which had grown on its own the previous year; and in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. After this year, which is a difficult year, and next year, which will be even more difficult, in the following year everything will be fine.

וְיָסְפָה פְּלֵיטַת בֵּית־יְהוּדָה הַנִּשְׁאָרָה שֹׁרֶשׁ לְמָטָּה וְעָשָׂה פְרִי לְמָעְלָה

The remnant that survives from the house of Judah will add a root below and bear fruit above. The Kingdom of Judah will grow and flourish.

כִּי מִירוּשָׁלִַם תֵּצֵא שְׁאֵרִית וּפְלֵיטָה מֵהַר צִיּוֹן קִנְאַת ה' צְבָאוֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה־זֹּאת

For a remnant will emerge from Jerusalem and survivors from Mount Zion; the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֶל־מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר לֹא יָבֹא אֶל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת וְלֹא־יוֹרֶה שָׁם חֵץ וְלֹא־יְקַדְּמֶנָּה מָגֵן וְלֹא־יִשְׁפֹּךְ עָלֶיהָ סֹלְלָה

The prophet now transitions from a metaphorical style to a more prosaic one: Therefore, so said the Lord about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, and he will not shoot an arrow there; he and his soldiers will not approach it with a shield to break through the walls of the city, and he will not erect a ramp against it, against the city walls, in order to infiltrate the city.

בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־יָבֹא בָּהּ יָשׁוּב וְאֶל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת לֹא יָבֹא נְאֻם־ה'

He will return by the way that he came, and he will not come to this city – the utterance of the Lord.

וְגַנּוֹתִי אֶל הָעִיר הַזֹּאת לְהוֹשִׁיעָהּ לְמַעֲנִי וּלְמַעַן דָּוִד עַבְדִּי

I will protect this city to save it, for My sake, and for the sake of David My servant.

וַיְהִי בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיֵּצֵא מַלְאַךְ ה' וַיַּךְ בְּמַחֲנֵה אַשּׁוּר מֵאָה שְׁמוֹנִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה אָלֶף וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ בַבֹּקֶר וְהִנֵּה כֻלָּם פְּגָרִים מֵתִים

It was on that night, after Isaiah had delivered his prophecy, that an angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand men. They, the remaining men, arose in the morning, and behold, they, the people surrounding them, were all dead corpses.

וַיִּסַּע וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב סַנְחֵרִיב מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּנִינְוֵה

Sennacherib king of Assyria set out, went, and returned to his land, and he dwelled in Nineveh. Although Sennacherib himself was not killed, his great army was decimated, and he therefore returned home.

וַיְהִי הוּא מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה בֵּית נִסְרֹךְ אֱלֹהָיו וְאַדְרַמֶּלֶךְ וְשַׂרְאֶצֶר בָּנָיו הִכֻּהוּ בַחֶרֶב וְהֵמָּה נִמְלְטוּ אֶרֶץ אֲרָרָט וַיִּמְלֹךְ אֵסַר־חַדֹּן בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו

After some time, it was as he was prostrating himself in the temple of Nisrokh, his god, one of the gods of Assyria, that Adramelekh and Saretzer, his sons, smote him with the sword; they fled to the land of Ararat, which at that time was an independent country on the northern border of Assyria, outside of Assyrian jurisdiction. Esar Hadon, his son, a different son of Sennacherib, reigned in his place.