Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God!

"So now, our God -- the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity -- do not regard as inconsequential all the hardship that has befallen us -- our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people -- from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

when they prayed: "Have mercy on me, Lord! See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, O one who can snatch me away from the gates of death!

O Lord, reflect on what has happened to us; consider and look at our disgrace.


Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed -- the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar -- rescued by their gods? Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'" Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. read more.
Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: "Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God." Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. This is what the Lord says about him: "The virgin daughter Zion despises you, she makes fun of you; Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted, and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel! Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 'With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars, and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.' Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. Their residents are powerless, they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field, or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind. I know where you live, and everything you do. Because you rage against me, and the uproar you create has reached my ears; I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came." This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord to his people will accomplish this. So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. He will go back the way he came. He will not enter this city," says the Lord. I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.'"

Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, this is what the Lord says about him: "The virgin daughter Zion despises you -- she makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel! read more.
Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 'With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.' Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. Their residents are powerless; they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind. I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and the uproar you create has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came."


Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: "Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! read more.
It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God."


Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: "Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! read more.
It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God." Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria.

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven. The Lord sent a messenger and he wiped out all the soldiers, princes, and officers in the army of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib returned home humiliated. When he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword. The Lord delivered Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the other nations. He made them secure on every side. read more.
Many were bringing presents to the Lord in Jerusalem and precious gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that time on he was respected by all the nations.


Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: "Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! read more.
It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God."

He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. read more.
He was loyal to the Lord and did not abandon him. He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to Moses. The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him.


Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God!

Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'"