Isaias

XXXV. 1 Be thou glad, O thirsting desert; let the wilder- ness rejoice, and blossom as a lily;

2 And the desolate places of Jordan shall blossom and rejoice: and the glory of Lebanon is given unto it, and the honour of Carmel; and my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the exaltation of God.

3 Be strong, ye slackened hands, and feeble knees:

4 Give comfort, ye faint hearted; be strong, fear not; behold, our God will give a recompense of judgment, yea, will give; he himself will come and save us.

5 Then shall the eyes of the blind men be Opened, and the ears of deaf men shall bear.

6 Then shall a lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of stammerers shall be clear, for there hath broken out water in the wilderness, and a torrent in a thirsting land.

7 And the waterless land shall become pools, and into the; thirsting land shall come a fount of water; there shall be joy of birds, beds of reed and pools.

8 A pure way shall be there, and it shall be called a holy way, and (no unclean person shall pass by there, neither shall an unclean way be there; but the dispersed shall walk upon it, and they shall not err.

9 And no lion shall be there, nor shall any of the evil beasts gloetrignthereon, nor be found there; but ransomed shall walk therein,

10 And (those) gathered together because of the Lord; they shall return, and come to Zion with joy, and everlasting joy upon their head; for on their head (shall be) praise and triumph, and joy shall take hold upon them; fled away is pain, and grief, and sighing.

XXXVI. 1 And it came to pass, in the fourteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against the cities of Judah, that were strong, and took them.

2 And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a great power; and he stood in the watercourse of the upper pool, in the way of the fuller's field.

3 And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, the steward, went out to him, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.

4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of the Assyrians: why trustest thou?

5 Cometh there battle array in counsel, or in words of the lips? and now in whom dost thou trust, that thou resistest me?

6 Behold, thy trust is on this staff of reed, that is broken, upon - Egypt: whosoever leaneth upon it, it will go into his hand; so is Pharaoh king of Egypt, and all they that trust in him.

7 But if ye say, We trust in the Lord our God:

8 Now join ye with my lord, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, if ye shall be able to furnish men (to ride) upon them.

9 How, pray, can ye turn back the face of one governor? they are slaves ’ trust in the Egyptians, for horse and for horseman.

10 And now, are we come up without the Lord against this land, to war against it?

11 And Eliakim said unto him, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Speak unto thy servants in the Syrian tongue, for we understand (it); and speak not to us in the Jewish tongue; and why speakest thou in the ears of the men that sit upon the wall?

12. And Rabshakeh said to them, Hath my lord sent me to your lord, or to you, to speak these words; is it not to the men that sit on the wall, that they may eat dung and drink (their own) water with you together?

13 And Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a great voice in the Jewish tongue, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians;

14 Thus saith the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you with words, which shall not be able to deliver you.

15 And let not Hezekiah say to you, God will deliver us, and. this city shall not be given up into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.

16 Hearken not to Hezekiah. Thus saith the king of the Assyrians, If ye will be blessed, come out to me, and ye shall eat everyone of his vine and his figs, and drink the water of your cistern;

17 Until I come and take you to a land, as (is) your own land, a land of corn and wine, and loaves, and vineyards.

18 Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, Your God will deliver us. Have the gods of the nations delivered each one his own land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians?

19 Where is the god of Hamath and Arpad? and where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim? were they able to deliver Samaria out of my hand?

20 Which of the gods of all these nations delivered his land out of my hand? that God shall deliver Jerusalem out of my hand;

21 And they were silent, and none answered him a word, because the king had commanded that none should answer.

22 And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, the steward, went in, and Shebna the scribe of the power, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, unto Hezekiah, with their clothes rent, and reported unto him the words of Rabshakeh.