Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

When King Hezekiah heard that Sennacherib's powerful army was marching against Jerusalem, he tore his clothes in grief and covered himself with sackcloth. In a solemn act of faith, he went into the house of the Lord to seek guidance.

He sent Eliakim, who managed the palace household, along with Shebna the scribe and the leading priests, all dressed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet. They delivered this urgent message: "Today is a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy. The children are struggling to be born, but there's no strength to bring them forth." Isaiah was asked to pray for the remnant that remained, hoping God would hear their pleas.

Isaiah instructed Eliakim to tell King Hezekiah not to be afraid of Sennacherib's mocking words, which blasphemed God. Instead, the Lord would send a devastating blow upon the Assyrian army, and they would return to their own land, where they would fall by the sword. Meanwhile, Rabshakeh, the king's top advisor, returned to report to Sennacherib about Libnah, a nearby city.

As he was gathering his forces, Rabshakeh heard rumors that Tirhakah, the powerful Ethiopian king, had arrived with an army to attack him. In response, Rabshakeh sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying: "Don't be deceived by your God's promises; you think Jerusalem will never fall into my hands." He boasted about his conquests of various nations, claiming their gods were nothing but lifeless idols made from wood and stone.

Hezekiah received the letter and went up to the house of the Lord. There, he spread it out before Him and prayed: "You are the God of all the earth's kingdoms, enthroned among the cherubim. You created heaven and earth; you're the one true God of all nations." Hezekiah pleaded with God to hear his prayer, to save Jerusalem from Sennacherib's army, so that everyone would know God was the only true Lord.

The prophet Isaiah then sent a message to Hezekiah: "God says, 'I've heard your prayer and will deliver you from Sennacherib's hand.'" The people of Zion mocked Sennacherib, shaking their heads in scorn. They asked him, "Whom have you defied and blasphemed against the Holy One of Israel?" Sennacherib boasted about his military might: "I've come up to the heights of mountains; I've cut down towering trees; I've drained rivers to besiege cities."

However, God reminded him that he had known Israel's deeds since ancient times. Now, God was bringing it to pass – using Sennacherib's own power against him – to lay waste fortified cities and reduce them to rubble. The people who lived in those cities were weak and dismayed, like fragile grass that withers before maturity.

God said to Sennacherib: "I know your dwelling place, your comings and goings, and your fierce opposition against me." In response, God would put a hook in Sennacherib's nose and a bridle in his lips. He would turn him back by the way he came.

As a sign of this promise, Sennacherib would eat what grew naturally on its own during one year; harvest the sprouts that followed in the second year; sow, reap, and plant vineyards to enjoy their fruit in the third year. The remnant of Judah would again take root downward, bearing fruit upward.

From Jerusalem would come a remnant, along with those who escaped from Mount Zion. It was the Lord's zeal for His people that would make this happen. God declared that Sennacherib's army would not reach Jerusalem; they wouldn't shoot an arrow or build a siege ramp against it.

Instead, by the same way he came, Sennacherib would return home, defeated. God defended Jerusalem to save it for His own sake and for David's sake. In the night, the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp. When they awoke the next morning, all were dead corpses.

Sennacherib retreated back to Nineveh, where he worshiped his god Nisroch. But while he was in the temple, his own sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, struck him down with a sword. They escaped into the land of Armenia, and Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king.