37:26 1 Certainly you must have heard! 2
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned 3 it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 4
37:27 Their residents are powerless; 5
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation. 6
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 7
when it is scorched by the east wind. 8
37:28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me. 9
37:29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears, 10
I will put my hook in your nose, 11
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.”
37:30 12 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 13 This year you will eat what grows wild, 14 and next year 15 what grows on its own. But the year after that 16 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 17 37:31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 18
37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies 19 will accomplish this.
37:33 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. 20
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, 21
nor will he build siege works against it.
37:34 He will go back the way he came –
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 22
37:36 The Lord’s messenger 23 went out and killed 185,000 troops 24 in the Assyrian camp. When they 25 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 26 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 27 37:38 One day, 28 as he was worshiping 29 in the temple of his god Nisroch, 30 his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 31 They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.