... and answered him not a word: for the king's coinmand. 22 ment was, saying, Answer him not. Then came Elia- .

kim, the son of Hilkiah, that (was) over the house" hold, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of

Afaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with (their) clothes
rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

CHÁP. XXXVII. And it came to pass, when king
Hezekiah heard [it,] that he rent his clothes, and

covered himself with fackcloth, and went into the house 2 of the Lord. 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 pro3. phet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus

faith 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 Allyria his master hath
sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the ,

words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore 5 lift up (thy] prayer for the remnant that is left. So 6 the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And

Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your ,
master, Thus faith the Lord, Be not afraid of the

words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of 7 the king of Allyria have blasphemed me. 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 Rabihakeh returned, and found the king of Al-

syria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he 9 was departed from Lachith. And he heard fay con

cerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth

to make war with thee. And when he heard sit,) he 10 sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus Thall ye

speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy
God, in whom thou trusteft, deceive thee, saying,

Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king u of Affyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utter

ly:

.

286 ;"

286 *** IS. A I A H. XXXVII.
12 ly; and fhalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of

the nations delivered them which my fathers have de

stroyed, [as] Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the .. . 13 children of Eden which were) in Telafsar ? Where [is]

the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphady, and the' * 14 king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? And * Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the mer.

fengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the region house of the LORD, and spread it before the Lord. 15 16 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, O

LORD of hofts, 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 hea17 ven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear;

open thine eyes, O LORD, and fee: and hear all the

words of Sennacherib, which hath fent to reproach the 18 living God. 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:
20 therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore,

O LORD our God, fave us from his hand, that all the
kingdoms of the earth may know that thou (art] the

Lord, seven) thou only.
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz fent unto Hezekiah,

faying, Thus faith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas

thou haft prayed to me against Sennacherib king of
92 Allyria: This is the word which the LORD hath

spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of
Žion, hath defpised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn;

the daughter of Jerusalem hath fhaken her head at thee.
23 Whom haft thou reproached and blafphemed; and

againít whom haft thou exalted (thy) voice, and lifted

up thine eyes on high? [even) against the Holy One 24 of Israel. By thy fervants 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

lides 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 - I have digged, and drunk water, and

with the fole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of 26 the besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago,

Thow I have done it; (and) of antient times, that I.

have formed it ? now have I brought it to pass, that 4- thou should be to lay waste defenced cities sinto] 27 ruinous heaps. 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 house tops, and (as corn) 38 blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy abode,

and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 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 (Thall 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 fow

ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit 31 thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house

of Judah fhall again take root downward, and bear 32 fruit upward: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a

remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the 33 zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. Therefore

thus faith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there,

nor come before it with Thields, nor cast a bank against 34 it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he re

turn, and shall not come into this city, faith 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. So

Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and 38 returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass,

as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons (mote him

with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ar-
menia : and Efar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

CHA P. XXXVIII.
he first part of this chapter gives an account of Hezekiah's
dangerous fickness and miraculous recovery; the latter part
is a tender and beautiful fong of thanksgiving, in which
this pious king breathed out the sentiments of a grateful heart
when his life was as it were restored.
i TN those days was Hezekiah fick unto death, that is,

T of some distemper, which in the common course of nature

would prove mortal.' And Isaiah the prophet the son of .. . Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus faith · the Lord, Set thine house in order : for thou shalt 2 die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face to3 ward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And faid,

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 fore, from the apprehension that he .. pould leave his kingdom in distress, and without an heir. 4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus faith the LORD, the

God of David thy father, whole family seemed to be in P: danger of extinction, I have heard thy prayer, I have

seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen 6 years, And I will deliver thee and this city out of the • hand of the king of Affyria': and I will defend this -7 city.' And this shall be] a sign unto thee from the

LORD, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath
8 spoken; Behold, I will bring again the Thadow of the

degrees, which is gone down in the fun dial of Ahaz,
ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees,
by which degrees it was gone down.

The

! This sickness happened in the space between Sennacherib's invasion and the destruction of his army.

8 Probably an infection of the rays of the swn, which continued for fome time.

The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been fick, and was recovered of his sickness; or, a 10 Song of thanksgiving for his deliverance : I said in the cut

ting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years;

being but about thirty nine years old, I might naturally ex11 peet a longer life. I said, I shall not see the LORD,

[even] the Lord, in the land of the living, in his house and ordinances; that is, no more join in or support his wor. Ship: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world; I pall see my subjeEts and friends no more; I

Shall have no more opportunities of doing good to the publick or 12 myself; a sentiment full of piety and benevolence. Mine age

is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent; a weak, frail building, that is easily taken down or removed from place to place: I have cut off like a wea. ver my life; have given up all nzy schemes and prospeets: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day (even]

to night wilt thou make an end of me; I thought this 13 would be the case every morning and evening. 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; I thought the violence of my pain would destroy 14 me before morning, like a lion breaking my bones. Like a

crane (or) a fwallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove; my voice was weak and broken, fo that I could only figh and, bemoan myself: mine eyes fail (with looking] upward; or rather, mine eyes are so weak that I cannot look up: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me; I am

linking under this heavy affliction ; O Lord, appear for me, 15 before death seizes upon me. What shall I say ? an ex

presion of God's great goodness, and of his own thankfulness; how fall I find words to express my gratitude ? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done [it;] he promised health, and it immediately came : I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul; I Mall all my days

remember the bitterness of my soul; or it may refer to walk16 ing humbly and circumfpe&tly before God after it. O LORD,

by these [things,] thy power and goodness, (men] live, and I'in particular, and in all these [things is the life of my Vol. V,

spirit;