Study Desk

Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.

Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

And Isaiah said to them, "This is what you shall say to your master: 'This is what the LORD says: "Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

"Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, And you have said, 'With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice junipers. And I will come to its highest peak, its thickest forest.

'I dug wells and drank waters, And with the sole of my feet I dried up All the canals of Egypt.'

"Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: 'He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an assault ramp against it.

Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esarhaddon became king in his place.

"Behold, I will make the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, go back ten steps." So the sun's shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.

Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His compensation is with Him, And His reward before Him.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And measured the heavens with a span, And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?

With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, And informed Him of the way of understanding?

To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.

Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

"Who has stirred one from the east Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet? He turns nations over to him And subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, Like the wind-driven chaff with his bow.

"He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.

"Who has performed and accomplished it, Summoning the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"

So the craftsman encourages the smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, "It is good"; And he fastens it with nails, So that it will not totter.

'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

"Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.