Targum Isaiah

1And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the sanctuary of the Lord.

2And he sent Eliakim, who was appointed over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, thus covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

3And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress, of reproach, and of contumely: for distress hath laid hold on us, as a woman that sitteth upon the stool of a woman in labour, and hath no strength to bring forth.

4Perhaps the words of Rabshakeh may be heard by the Lord thy God, whom the king of Assyria, his master, hath sent to reproach the people of the living God, and he may take vengeance for the words which were heard before thy God, wherefore thou shalt supplicate in prayer for the remnant that is left.

5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid on account of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed before me.

7Behold, I will put a spirit within 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.

8So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria waging war against Libnah: for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish.

9And Sennacherib heard say concerning Tirhaka king of Ethiopia, he hath gone forth to wage war against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

10Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah, king of the tribe of the house of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, cause thee to err, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and dost thou imagine that thou wilt be delivered?

12Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the inhabitants of Eden which were in Telassar?

13Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim? hath he not removed them, and carried them captive?

14And Hezekiah received letters from the hands of the messengers, and read one of them: and Hezekiah went to the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

15And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, saying,

16O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, whose Shekinah dwelleth above the Cherubim! Thou art the Lord, and there is none besides Thee in all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made the heavens and the earth.

17It is manifest to Thee, O Lord, judge therefore; and it hath been heard by Thee, O Lord, avenge therefore! Take vengeance on account of all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the people of the living God.

18Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the provinces and their lands,

19And have burnt their gods in the fire: for they were no gods, they are of no use, but they are the work of men's hands, wood and stone, therefore they have destroyed them.

20And now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord; there is none besides Thee.

21Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, whereas thou hast prayed before me concerning Sennacherib, the king of Assyria:

22This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him. The kingdom of the congregation of Zion despises thee, abhors thee; the people which are in Jerusalem shake their head behind thee.

23Whom hast thou reproached, and against whom hast thou exalted thyself? and before whom hast thou lifted up thy voice? Yea, thou hast lifted up thine eyes on high; because thou hast spoken words which are not right before the Holy One of Israel.

24By thy servants hast thou reproached the people of the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up against their fortified cities; and moreover, I will seize the house of their sanctuary, and I will slay the most beautiful? of their mighty ones, and the choicest of their rulers, and I will subdue the city of their strength, and I will destroy the multitude of their army.

25I have digged cisterns, and I have drunk water, and I have dried up all the waters of the deep rivers with the sole of the people that were with me.

26Hast thou not heard long ago, what I have done to Pharao, king of Egypt? Yea, also, the prophets of Israel have prophesied concerning thee; but thou hast not repented. I contemplated doing this unto thee, since the days of old. I have prepared it, now I will bring it to pass, and it shall be ruin unto thee; because it shall be before thee as the raging of waves, which destroy fortified cities.

27Therefore their inhabitants had their strength cut off, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the fields, yea, as the green grass, as the herb on the housetops, as corn blasted before it becomes an ear of corn.

28And thy sitting down in counsel, and thy going forth to wage war, and thy coming into the land of Israel is known to me, and that thou art enraged is known to me.

29Because thou art enraged against my WORD, and thy tumultuous noise hath come up before me: therefore I will put a ring in thy nostril, and a bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

30And this shall be a sign to thee: Eat this year such as groweth of itself; and in the second year, that which springeth of the same; and in the third year, sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

31And again the escaped of the house of Judah that are left shall be like a tree which sends forth its roots downwards, and lifts its branches upwards.

32For the remnant of the righteous shall go forth from Jerusalem, and the escaped of them that establish the law from mount Zion: by the WORD of the Lord of hosts shall this be done.

33Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor shall be cast up a mound against it.

34By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

35For I will defend this city to save it, for the sake of my WORD, and for the sake of David my servant.

36Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and four score and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all of them dead corpses.

37Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went away, and returned and dwelt at Nineveh.

38And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that Adramelech and Sharezer his sons slew him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Kardu: and Eserhaddon his son reigned in his stead.