The Fall of Samaria

⁹ And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of king Hezekiah—it 'is' the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel—come up hath Shalmaneser king of Asshur against Samaria, and layeth siege to it, ¹⁰ and they capture it at the end of three years; in the sixth year of Hezekiah—it 'is' the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel—hath Samaria been captureth, ¹¹ and the king of Asshur removeth Israel to Asshur, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor 'by' the river Gozan, and 'in' cities of the Medes, ¹² because that they have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah their God, and transgress His covenant—all that He commanded Moses, servant of Jehovah—yea, they have not hearkened nor done 'it'.

The Invasion of Sennacherib

¹³ And in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah hath Sennacherib king of Asshur come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and seizeth them, ¹⁴ and Hezekiah king of Judah sendeth unto the king of Asshur to Lachish, saying, 'I have sinned, turn back from off me; that which thou puttest on me I bear;' and the king of Asshur layeth on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold, ¹⁵ and Hezekiah giveth all the silver that is found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the house of the king; ¹⁶ at that time hath Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and the pillars that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and giveth them to the king of Asshur.

¹⁷ And the king of Asshur sendeth Tartan, and the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the butlers, from Lachish, unto king Hezekiah, with a heavy force, to Jerusalem, and they go up and come in to Jerusalem, and they go up, and come in and stand by the conduit of the upper pool that 'is' in the highway of the fuller's field. ¹⁸ And they call unto the king, and go out unto them doth Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who 'is' over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the remembrancer. ¹⁹ And the chief of the butlers saith unto them, 'Say, I pray you, unto Hezekiah, Thus said the great king, the king of Asshur, What 'is' this confidence in which thou hast confided? ²⁰ Thou hast said: Only a word of the lips! counsel and might 'are' for battle; now, on whom hast thou trusted that thou hast rebelled against me? ²¹ 'Now, lo, thou hast trusted for thee on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; which a man leaneth on, and it hath gone into his hand, and pierced it!—so 'is' Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting on him. ²² 'And when ye say unto me, Unto Jehovah our God we have trusted, is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath turned aside, and saith to Judah and to Jerusalem, Before this altar do ye bow yourselves in Jerusalem? ²³ 'And, now, give a pledge for thee, I pray thee, to my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to give for thee riders on them. ²⁴ And how dost thou turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, that thou dost trust for thee on Egypt for chariot, and for horsemen? ²⁵ Now, without Jehovah have I come up against this place to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up against this land, and thou hast destroyed it.' ²⁶ And Eliakim son of Hilkiah saith—and Shebna, and Joah—to the chief of the butlers, 'Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants 'in' Aramaean, for we are understanding, and do not speak with us 'in' Jewish, in the ears of the people who 'are' on the wall.' ²⁷ And the chief of the butlers saith unto them, 'For thy lord, and unto thee, hath my lord sent me to speak these words? is it not for the men, those sitting on the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water, with you?' ²⁸ And the chief of the butlers standeth and calleth with a great voice 'in' Jewish, and speaketh and saith, 'Hear ye a word of the great king, the king of Asshur: ²⁹ thus said the king, Let not Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you out of his hand; ³⁰ and let not Hezekiah make you trust unto Jehovah, saying, Jehovah doth certainly deliver us, and this city is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur. ³¹ 'Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur, Make with me a blessing, and come out unto me, and eat ye each of his vine, and each of his fig-tree, and drink ye each the waters of his own well, ³² till my coming in, and I have taken you unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive, and honey, and live, and die not; and do not hearken unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us. ³³ 'Have the gods of the nations delivered at all each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur? ³⁴ Where 'are' the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand? ³⁵ Who 'are they' among all the gods of the lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?' ³⁶ And the people have kept silent, and have not answered him a word, for the command of the king is, saying, 'Do not answer him.' ³⁷ And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who 'is' over the house, cometh in, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the remembrancer, unto Hezekiah, with rent garments, and they declare to him the words of the chief of the butlers.

Judah Delivered from Sennacherib

19¹ And it cometh to pass, at king Hezekiah's hearing, that he rendeth his garments, and covereth himself with sackcloth, and entereth the house of Jehovah, ² and sendeth Eliakim, who 'is' over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covering themselves with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, ³ and they say unto him, 'Thus said Hezekiah—A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising 'is' this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bring forth. ⁴ 'It may be Jehovah thy God doth hear all the words of the chief of the butlers with which the king of Asshur his lord hath sent him to reproach the living God, and hath decided concerning the words that Jehovah thy God hath heard, and thou hast lifted up prayer for the remnant that is found.' ⁵ And the servants of king Hezekiah come in unto Isaiah, ⁶ and Isaiah saith to them, 'Thus do ye say unto your lord: Thus said Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have reviled Me. ⁷ Lo, I am giving in him a spirit, and he hath heard a report, and hath turned back to his land, and I have caused him to fall by the sword in his land.'

⁸ And the chief of the butlers turneth back and findeth the king of Asshur fighting against Libnah, for he hath heard that he hath journeyed from Lachish. ⁹ And he heareth concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, saying, 'Lo, he hath come out to fight with thee;' and he turneth and sendeth messengers unto Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ 'Thus do ye speak unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God lift thee up in whom thou art trusting, saying, Jerusalem is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur. ¹¹ Lo, thou hast heard that which the kings of Asshur have done to all the lands—to devote them; and thou art delivered! ¹² did the gods of the nations deliver them whom my fathers destroyed—Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who 'are' in Thelassar? ¹³ Where 'is' the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?' ¹⁴ And Hezekiah taketh the letters out of the hand of the messengers, and readeth them, and goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spreadeth it before Jehovah. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayeth before Jehovah, and saith, 'O Jehovah, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubs, Thou 'art' God Himself—Thyself alone—to all the kingdoms of the earth: Thou hast made the heavens and the earth. ¹⁶ Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes, and see; and hear Thou the words of Sennacherib with which he hath sent him to reproach the living God. ¹⁷ 'Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste the nations, and their land, ¹⁸ and have put their gods into fire, for they 'are' no gods, but work of the hands of man, wood and stone, and destroy them. ¹⁹ And now, O Jehovah our God, save us, we pray Thee, out of his hand, and know do all kingdoms of the earth that Thou 'art' Jehovah God—Thyself alone.'

²⁰ And Isaiah son of Amoz sendeth unto Hezekiah, saying, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed unto Me concerning Sennacherib king of Asshur I have heard: ²¹ this 'is' the word that Jehovah spake concerning him: 'Trampled on thee—laughed at thee, Hath the virgin daughter of Zion Behind thee shaken the head—Hath the daughter of Jerusalem? ²² Whom hast thou reproached and reviled? And against whom lifted up a voice? Yea, thou dost lift up on high thine eyes—Against the Holy One of Israel! ²³ By the hand of thy messengers Thou hast reproached the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of mountains—The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the lodging of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel. ²⁴ I have digged, and drunk strange waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark. ²⁵ Hast thou not heard from afar, it I made, From days of old that I formed it? Now I have brought it in, And it becometh a desolation, Ruinous heaps 'are' fenced cities, ²⁶ And their inhabitants 'are' feeble-handed, They were broken down, and are dried up, They have been the herb of the field, And the greenness of the tender grass, Grass of the roofs, And blasted corn—before it hath risen up! ²⁷ And thy sitting down, and thy going out, And thy coming in, I have known, And thine anger towards Me; ²⁸ Because of thine anger towards Me, And thy noise—it came up into Mine ears, I have put My hook in thy nose, And My bridle in thy lips, And have caused thee to turn back, In the way in which thou camest. ²⁹ And this to thee 'is' the sign, Food of the year 'is' the spontaneous growth, And in the second year the self-produced, And in the third year sow ye, and reap, And plant vineyards, and eat their fruits. ³⁰ And it hath continued—The escaped of the house of Judah That hath been left—to take root beneath, And hath made fruit upward. ³¹ For from Jerusalem goeth out a remnant, And an escape from mount Zion; The zeal of Jehovah 'of Hosts' doth this. ³² Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Concerning the king of Asshur: He doth not come in unto this city, Nor doth he shoot there an arrow, Nor doth he come before it with shield. Nor doth he pour out against it a mount. ³³ In the way that he cometh in—In it he turneth back, And unto this city he doth not come in, The affirmation of Jehovah— ³⁴ And I have covered over this city, To save it, for Mine own sake, And for the sake of David My servant.'

³⁵ And it cometh to pass, in that night, that a messenger of Jehovah goeth out, and smiteth in the camp of Asshur a hundred eighty and five thousand, and they rise early in the morning, and lo, all of them 'are' dead corpses. ³⁶ And Sennacherib king of Asshur journeyeth, and goeth, and turneth back, and dwelleth in Nineveh; ³⁷ and it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adramelech and Sharezar 'his sons' have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.

God Is Our Refuge and Strength

46¹ To the Overseer.—By sons of Korah. 'For the Virgins.'—A song. God 'is' to us a refuge and strength, A help in adversities found most surely. ² Therefore we fear not in the changing of earth, And in the slipping of mountains Into the heart of the seas. ³ Roar—troubled are its waters, Mountains they shake in its pride. Selah. ⁴ A river—its rivulets rejoice the city of God, Thy holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. ⁵ God 'is' in her midst—she is not moved, God doth help her at the turn of the morn!

⁶ Troubled have been nations, Moved have been kingdoms, He hath given forth with His voice, earth melteth. ⁷ Jehovah of Hosts 'is' with us, A tower for us 'is' the God of Jacob. Selah. ⁸ Come ye, see the works of Jehovah, Who hath done astonishing things in the earth, ⁹ Causing wars to cease, Unto the end of the earth, the bow he shivereth, And the spear He hath cut asunder, Chariots he doth burn with fire. ¹⁰ Desist, and know that I 'am' God, I am exalted among nations, I am exalted in the earth. ¹¹ Jehovah of hosts 'is' with us, A tower for us 'is' the God of Jacob! Selah.

A Prayer for Restoration

80¹ Shepherd of Israel, give ear, Leading Joseph as a flock, Inhabiting the cherubs—shine forth, ² Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, Wake up Thy might, and come for our salvation. ³ O God, cause us to turn back, And cause Thy face to shine, and we are saved. ⁴ Jehovah, God of Hosts, till when? Thou hast burned against the prayer of Thy people. ⁵ Thou hast caused them to eat bread of tears, And causest them to drink With tears a third time. ⁶ Thou makest us a strife to our neighbors, And our enemies mock at it. ⁷ God of Hosts, turn us back, And cause Thy face to shine, and we are saved.

⁸ A vine out of Egypt Thou dost bring, Thou dost cast out nations, and plantest it. ⁹ Thou hast looked before it, and dost root it, And it filleth the land, ¹⁰ Covered have been hills 'with' its shadow, And its boughs 'are' cedars of God. ¹¹ It sendeth forth its branches unto the sea, And unto the river its sucklings. ¹² Why hast Thou broken down its hedges, And all passing by the way have plucked it? ¹³ A boar out of the forest doth waste it, And a wild beast of the fields consumeth it. ¹⁴ God of Hosts, turn back, we beseech Thee, Look from heaven, and see, and inspect this vine, ¹⁵ And the root that Thy right hand planted, And the branch Thou madest strong for Thee, ¹⁶ Burnt with fire—cut down, From the rebuke of Thy face they perish. ¹⁷ Let Thy hand be on the man of Thy right hand, On the son of man Thou hast strengthened for Thyself. ¹⁸ And we do not go back from Thee, Thou dost revive us, and in Thy name we call. ¹⁹ O Jehovah, God of Hosts, turn us back, Cause Thy face to shine, and we are saved!

The Greatness of the LORD and the Vanity of Idols

135¹ Praise ye Jah! Praise ye the name of Jehovah, Praise, ye servants of Jehovah, ² Who are standing in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of the house of our God. ³ Praise ye Jah! for Jehovah 'is' good, Sing praise to His name, for 'it is' pleasant. ⁴ For Jacob hath Jah chosen for Himself, Israel for His peculiar treasure.

⁵ For I have known that great 'is' Jehovah, Yea, our Lord 'is' above all gods. ⁶ All that Jehovah pleased He hath done, In the heavens and in earth, In the seas and all deep places, ⁷ Causing vapours to ascend from the end of the earth, Lightnings for the rain He hath made, Bringing forth wind from His treasures. ⁸ Who smote the first-born of Egypt, From man unto beast. ⁹ He sent tokens and wonders into thy midst, O Egypt, On Pharaoh and on all his servants. ¹⁰ Who smote many nations, and slew strong kings, ¹¹ Even Sihon king of the Amorite, And Og king of Bashan, And all kingdoms of Canaan. ¹² And He gave their land an inheritance, An inheritance to Israel His people, ¹³ O Jehovah, Thy name 'is' to the age, O Jehovah, Thy memorial to all generations. ¹⁴ For Jehovah doth judge His people, And for His servants comforteth Himself.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations 'are' silver and gold, Work of the hands of man. ¹⁶ A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not, ¹⁷ Ears they have, and they give not ear, Nose—there is no breath in their mouth! ¹⁸ Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them. ¹⁹ O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah, O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah, ²⁰ O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah, Those fearing Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah. ²¹ Blessed 'is' Jehovah from Zion, Inhabiting Jerusalem—praise ye Jah!