Esajas 37 | Bibelen på hverdagsdansk

Bibelen på hverdagsdansk

Hizkija søger hjælp hos Esajas

1 Da kong Hizkija fik assyrerkongens budskab, blev han så fortvivlet, at han rev flænger i sit tøj, klædte sig i sæk og aske og gik ind i Herrens hus for at bede. 2 Samtidig sendte han Eljakim, Shebna og de ledende præster til profeten Esajas. De havde også klædt sig i sæk og aske 3 og skulle overbringe følgende besked fra kongen: „Vi er blevet ydmyget og skældt ud og er i stor nød. Vi føler os som en kvinde, der er i gang med at føde, men ikke kan føde barnet alligevel. 4 Måske har Herren, din Gud, hørt, hvordan den assyriske næstkommanderende har hånet den levende Gud, og måske vil Herren selv straffe ham? Gå derfor i forbøn for den rest af folket, som endnu er i live.” 5-6 Esajas svarede: „Herren har følgende besked til kongen: Du skal ikke tage dig af assyrernes store ord, som de har hånet mig med. 7 Jeg vil sørge for, at assyrerkongen snart hører dårligt nyt hjemmefra, så han rejser tilbage til sit land. Der vil han senere blive dræbt.”

Fornyede trusler

8 Den assyriske næstkommanderende var i mellemtiden vendt tilbage til Lakish, hvor han fik at vide, at kong Sankerib havde forladt byen og var i færd med at belejre en anden by, Libna. 9 Midt i det hele fik Sankerib efterretning om, at kong Tirhaka fra Kush havde sendt sin hær for at angribe ham. Så sendte han et skriftligt budskab til kong Hizkija: 10 „Lad ikke din gud give dig falske forhåbninger. Tro ikke på ham, når han påstår, jeg ikke kan indtage Jerusalem. 11 Du har jo hørt, hvordan assyrerkongen har underlagt sig utallige lande. Hvordan kan du tro, at du kan undslippe? 12 Har de andre guder kunnet redde deres tilhængere? Tænk på nationer som Gozan, Karan, Retzef og Eden i landet Telassar—de er alle blevet knust af assyriske konger. 13 Glem ikke, hvad der skete med kongerne af Hamat, Arpad, Lair, Sefarvajim, Hena og Ivva.”

Hizkija beder Herren om hjælp

14 Da Hizkija havde læst assyrerkongens brev, gik han ind i helligdommen og lagde det frem for Herren. 15-16 „Herre, Israels Gud!” bad han. „Du sidder på din trone højt over de mægtigste engle. Du alene er Herre over alle jordens riger. Du skabte himlen og jorden. 17 Bøj dig ned, Herre, og lyt til min bøn! Se det brev her fra kong Sankerib, hvor han håner den levende Gud! 18 Herre, det er jo sandt, at assyrerkongerne har knust alle de nævnte folkeslag, lagt deres lande øde 19 og brændt deres guder. Men de var jo ikke virkelige guder, kun menneskeværk lavet af træ og sten. Derfor kunne de blive ødelagt. 20 Herre, du er vores Gud, frels os fra assyrerkongens magt. Så vil alle jordens folk kunne se, at du er den eneste sande Gud!”

Herrens dom over assyrerkongen

21 Derefter sendte Esajas følgende besked til kong Hizkija: „Herren, Israels Gud, siger, at han har hørt din bøn angående assyrerkongen. 22 Nu skal du høre, hvad han siger om kong Sankerib: Jerusalems indbyggere ryster på hovedet. Ja, Zions datter ler dig op i ansigtet. 23 Hvem var det, du hånede og spottede? Hvem brugte du så store ord imod? I hovmod trodsede du Himlens Gud, vendte dig imod Israels Hellige. 24 Ved sendebud hånede du Herren og sagde: ‚Mine hære krydsede de højeste bjerge, jeg erobrede Libanons højdedrag. Jeg fældede skovens stolte cedre, nedlagde de statelige cypresser. Jeg nåede bjergenes tinder, Libanons prægtige frugtplantager. 25 Jeg lod brønde grave i fjendeland og brugte løs af deres drikkevand. Ved mine hæres støvletramp blev Egyptens floder tømt for vand.’ 26 Forstår du ikke, at det var min idé? Jeg planlagde det for længst og lod det ske. Du skulle angribe fæstningsbyer og forvandle dem til bunker af sten, 27 mens indbyggerne måtte se til, skuffede, udmattede og skamfulde, som spirer, der rykkes op med rode, som græs på taget, der visner for vinden. 28 Jeg ser, når du rejser dig og sætter dig, jeg ved, hvornår du går og kommer tilbage. 29 Men fordi du hidser dig op imod mig, og dine stolte ord har nået mit øre, sætter jeg kroge i din næse og lægger bidsel i din mund. Jeg trækker dig bort, tilbage ad den vej, du kom.

Om Jerusalem og folkets fremtid

30 Herren giver dig nu et tegn, kong Hizkija: Første år skal man spise af det korn, som har sået sig selv. Næste år skal folk spise af de frugter, der er.^[1] Men tredje år skal de så og høste deres korn og nyde frugterne af de vinstokke, de har plantet. 31 For den rest, som er tilbage af Judas folk, skal fæste rod forneden og sætte frugt foroven. 32 En rest vil slippe levende væk fra Jerusalem, nogle af dens indbyggere vil overleve. Det gør Herren, den Almægtige, for sin egen skyld. 33 Hør hvad Herren siger om Assyriens konge: Han kommer ikke ind i Jerusalem. Han får end ikke lov at skyde en pil herind eller nærme sig byen med løftede skjolde for at bygge angrebsramper rundt omkring den. 34 Han skal vende tilbage ad den vej, han kom. Han kommer ikke herind, siger Herren. 35 For jeg vil forsvare og frelse Jerusalem for min egen æres skyld og for min tjener Davids skyld!”

Herren ødelægger den assyriske hær

36 Så gik Herrens engel gennem assyrernes lejr og slog 185.000 krigere ihjel. Næste morgen lå der døde kroppe overalt. 37 Da brød kong Sankerib op og vendte hjem til Nineve. 38 Engang, da han bad i sin gud Nisroks tempel, trængte hans sønner Adrammelek og Sarezer derind og myrdede ham, hvorefter de flygtede til Ararats land. Sankeribs søn Asarhaddon blev konge i hans sted.

King James Version

1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it , that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. 5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will send a blast upon 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. 8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it , he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, 16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. 17 Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, 19 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men' hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only. 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22 This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. 25 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. 26 Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. 28 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. 30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and 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. 31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. 33 Therefore 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 cast a bank against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David' sake. 36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.