^aY sucedió que cuando oyó esto el rey Ezequías, rasgó sus vestidos^b, se cubrió de cilicio^c y entró en la casa del SEÑOR. 2 Envió entonces a Eliaquim, mayordomo de la casa real, con el escriba Sebna y los ancianos de los sacerdotes, cubiertos de cilicio^a, al profeta Isaías, hijo de Amoz^b. 3 Y ellos le dijeron: Así dice Ezequías: «Este día es día de angustia, de reprensión y de desprecio, pues hijos están para nacer¹, pero no hay fuerzas para dar a luz. 4 Tal vez el SEÑOR tu Dios oirá todas las palabras del Rabsaces^a, a quien su señor, el rey de Asiria, ha enviado para injuriar al Dios vivo, y lo reprenderá por las palabras que el SEÑOR tu Dios ha oído^b. Eleva, pues, una oración por el remanente que aún queda^c». 5 Cuando llegaron los siervos del rey Ezequías ante Isaías, 6 este¹ les dijo: Así diréis a vuestro señor: «Así dice el SEÑOR: “No temas por las palabras que has oído, con las que los criados del rey de Asiria^a me han blasfemado^b. 7 He aquí, pondré en él un espíritu, oirá un rumor^a y se volverá a su tierra; y en su tierra lo haré caer a espada^b”».

8 Entonces el Rabsaces volvió y halló al rey de Asiria peleando contra Libna^a, pues había oído que el rey había partido de Laquis^b. 9 Y les oyó¹ decir acerca de Tirhaca, rey de Etiopía²: He aquí, ha salido a pelear contra ti. Entonces envió de nuevo mensajeros a Ezequías, diciendo: 10 Así diréis a Ezequías, rey de Judá¹: «No te engañe tu Dios en quien tú confías^a, diciendo: “Jerusalén no será entregada en mano del rey de Asiria^b”. 11 He aquí, tú has oído lo que los reyes de Asiria han hecho a todas las naciones¹, destruyéndolas por completo, ¿y serás tú librado? 12 ¿Acaso los libraron los dioses de las naciones que mis padres destruyeron^a, es decir, Gozán^b, Harán^c, Resef y a los hijos de Edén que estaban en Telasar^d? 13 ¿Dónde está el rey de Hamat, el rey de Arfad, el rey de la ciudad de Sefarvaim, de Hena y de Iva^a?».

14 Entonces Ezequías tomó la carta de mano de los mensajeros y la leyó¹, y subió a la casa del SEÑOR y² la extendió delante del SEÑOR^a. 15 Y oró Ezequías delante del SEÑOR, y dijo: Oh SEÑOR, Dios de Israel, que estás¹ sobre los querubines^a,solo tú eres Dios de todos los reinos de la tierra^b. Tú hiciste los cielos y la tierra. 16 Inclina, oh SEÑOR, tu oído y escucha; abre, oh SEÑOR, tus ojos y mira^a; escucha las palabras que Senaquerib ha enviado para injuriar al Dios vivo^b. 17 En verdad, oh SEÑOR, los reyes de Asiria han asolado las naciones y sus tierras, 18 y han echado sus dioses al fuego, porque no eran dioses, sino obra de manos de hombre, de madera y piedra^a; por eso los han destruido. 19 Y ahora, oh SEÑOR, Dios nuestro, líbranos, te ruego, de su mano para que todos los reinos de la tierra sepan quesolo tú^a, oh SEÑOR, eres Dios^b.

20 Entonces Isaías, hijo de Amoz, envió a decir a Ezequías: Así dice el SEÑOR, Dios de Israel: «Lo que me has rogado acerca de Senaquerib, rey de Asiria, he escuchado^a». 21 Esta es la palabra que el SEÑOR ha hablado contra él:«Te ha despreciado y se ha burlado de tila virgen hija de Sión^a;ha movido la cabeza^b a tus espaldasla hija de Jerusalén.

29 »Esto te será por señal^a: Este año comeréis¹ lo que crezca espontáneamente; el segundo año lo que nazca de por sí, y en el tercer año sembrad, segad, plantad viñas y comed su fruto. 30 Y el remanente de la casa de Judá^a que se salve, echará de nuevo raíces por debajo y dará fruto por arriba. 31 Porque de Jerusalén saldrá un remanente, y del monte Sión sobrevivientes^1a. El celo del SEÑOR de los ejércitos² hará esto^b. 32 Por tanto, así dice el SEÑOR acerca del rey de Asiria: “El no entrará en esta ciudad, ni lanzará allí flecha alguna; tampoco vendrá delante de ella con escudo, ni levantará terraplén contra ella^a. 33 Por el camino que vino, por él se volverá^a, y no entrará en esta ciudad”—declara el SEÑOR. 34 Porque defenderé esta ciudad para salvarla por amor a mí mismo^a y por amor a mi siervo David^b».

35 Y aconteció que aquella misma noche salió el ángel del SEÑOR e hirió a ciento ochenta y cinco mil en el campamento de los asirios; cuando los demás se levantaron por la mañana, he aquí, todos eran cadáveres^a. 36 Senaquerib, rey de Asiria, partió y regresó a su tierra^a, y habitó en Nínive^b. 37 Y sucedió que mientras él adoraba en la casa de su dios Nisroc, Adramelec y Sarezer¹ lo mataron a espada^a y huyeron a la tierra de Ararat^b. Y su hijo^c Esar-hadón reinó en su lugar.

^aAnd when King Hezekiah heard it, he ^btore his clothes, ^ccovered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD. 2 Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^acovered with sackcloth, to ^bIsaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver. 4 ^aPerhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^bto reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^cthe remnant that is left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^aservants of the king of Assyria ^bhave blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that ^ahe will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And ^bI will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^aLibnah, for he had heard that ¹the king had left ^bLachish. 9 When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of ¹Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of ¹Judah, ‘Do not ^alet your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, “^bJerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be ¹spared? 12 ^aDid the gods of ¹those nations which my fathers destroyed deliver them, even ^bGozan and ^cHaran and Rezeph and ^dthe sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 ^aWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

14 Then ^aHezekiah took the ¹letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and ²spread it out before the LORD. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, ^awho are ¹enthroned above the cherubim, ^bYou are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 ^aIncline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; ^bopen Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^cto reproach the living God. 17 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, ^afor they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand ^athat all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O ^bLORD, are God.”

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^aI have heard you.’ 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him:‘She has despised you and mocked you,^aThe virgin daughter of Zion;She ^bhas shaken her head behind you,The daughter of Jerusalem!

29 ‘Then this shall be ^athe sign for you: ¹you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 ^aThe surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and ^aout of Mount Zion ¹survivors. ^bThe zeal of ²the LORD will perform this.

32 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, “^aHe will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 ^aBy the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the LORD. 34 ‘^aFor I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and ^bfor My servant David’s sake.’”

35 ^aThen it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when ¹men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were ²dead. 36 So ^aSennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at ^bNineveh. 37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that ^1aAdrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into ^bthe land of Ararat. And ^cEsarhaddon his son became king in his place.

^aNow when King Hezekiah heard the report, he ^btore his clothes, ^ccovered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^acovered with sackcloth, to ^bIsaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 ^aPerhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^bto taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^cthe remnant that is ¹left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘The LORD says this: “Do not be fearful because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^aservants of the king of Assyria ^bhave blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that ^ahe will hear news and return to his own land. And ^bI will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^aLibnah, for he had heard that the king had left ^bLachish. 9 When he heard them say about Tirhakah king of ¹Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of ¹Judah: ‘Do not ^alet your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “^bJerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 ^aDid the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: ^bGozan, ^cHaran, Rezeph, and ^dthe sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 ^aWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

14 Then ^aHezekiah took the ¹letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and ²spread it out before the LORD. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, “LORD, God of Israel, ^1aenthroned above the cherubim, ^bYou are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 ^aIncline Your ear, LORD, and hear; ^bopen Your eyes, LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^cto taunt the living God. 17 It is true, LORD; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have ¹hurled their gods into the fire; ^afor they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 But now, LORD our God, please, save us from his hand, ^aso that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, ^bLORD, are God.”

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^aI have heard you.’ 21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him:‘She, ^athe virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you;She, the daughter of Jerusalem, ^bhas shaken her head behind you!

29 ‘Then this shall be ^athe sign for you: ¹you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 ^aThe survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors ^aout of Mount Zion. ^bThe zeal of ¹the LORD will perform this.

32 ‘Therefore this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: “^aHe will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it. 33 ^aBy the way that he came, by ¹the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the LORD. 34 ‘^aFor I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and ^bfor My servant David’s sake.’”

35 ^aThen it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of ¹the 185,000 were ²dead. 36 So ^aSennacherib the king of Assyria departed and ¹returned home, and lived at ^bNineveh. 37 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that ^1aAdrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to ^bthe land of Ararat. And his son ^cEsarhaddon became king in his place.