9. Then the king of Assyria got a report that said, “King Tirhakah of Ethiopia is coming to fight you.” So the king of Assyria sent messengers to Hezekiah again.
10. He told them, “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah these things: ‘Don’t be fooled by the god you trust when he says, “Jerusalem will not be defeated by the king of Assyria.”
11. You have heard what the kings of Assyria did to all the other countries. We destroyed them completely. Will you be saved? No!
12. Did the gods of those people save them? No, my ancestors destroyed them all. They destroyed the cities of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar.
13. Where is the king of Hamath? The king of Arpad? The king of the city of Sepharvaim? The kings of Hena and Ivvah?’”
14. Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the Lord’S Temple and laid the letters out in front of the Lord.
15. He prayed to the Lord:
16. “Lord All-Powerful, God of Israel, you sit as King above the Cherub angels. You alone are the God who rules all the kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth.
17. Lord, please pay attention and hear this. Open your eyes, Lord, and see what is happening. Listen to all the insults against the living God in the message Sennacherib sent!
18. It is true, Lord. The kings of Assyria did destroy all those nations.
19. They did throw the gods of those nations into the fire, but they were not real gods. They were only wood and stone—statues that people made. That is why the kings of Assyria could destroy them.
20. But you are the Lord our God, so please save us from the king of Assyria. Then all the other nations will know that you are the Lord, the only God.”
21. Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘You prayed to me about the message that came from King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.’
22. “So this is the Lord’S message against Sennacherib: ‘The virgin daughter Zion does not think you are important. She makes fun of you. Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you and laughs behind your back.
23. But who was it that you insulted and made fun of? Who was it that you spoke against? You were speaking against the Holy One of Israel. You acted like you were great and he was nothing.
24. You sent your officers to insult the Lord. This is what you said: “I took my many chariots up the high mountains deep inside Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars and its best fir trees. I have been on its highest mountain and deep inside its forests.
25. I dug wells and drank water from new places. I dried up the rivers of Egypt and walked where the water was.”
26. ‘How could you say this, Sennacherib? Did no one ever tell you that I, the Lord, planned these things long ago? From ancient times I decided what would happen. And now I have made it happen. I let you tear down strong cities and change them into piles of rocks.
27. The people living there had no power. They were afraid and confused. They were about to be cut down like grass and plants in the field. They were like grass growing on the housetops, dying before it grows tall.
28. I know all about your battles; I know when you rested, when you went out to war, and when you came home. I also know when you got upset at me.