God

Here is ADONAI's answer concerning him: 'The virgin daughter of Tziyon despises you; she laughs you to scorn. The daughter of Yerushalayim shakes her head at you.

"'Through your messengers you taunted Adonai. You said, "With my many chariots I have ascended the mountain heights even in the far reaches of the L'vanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best cypresses. I reached its remotest corners and its best forests.

"'Haven't you heard? Long ago I made it; in antiquity I produced it; and now I am making it happen: you are turning fortified cities into heaps of ruins;

"'But I know when you sit, when you leave, when you enter - and when you rage against me.

And because of your rage against me, because of your pride that has reached my ears, I am putting my hook in your nose and my bridle on your lips; and I will make you return by the way on which you came.

for a remnant will go out from Yerushalayim, those escaping will go out from Mount Tziyon. The zeal of ADONAI-Tzva'ot will accomplish this.'

"Therefore this is what ADONAI says concerning the king of Ashur: 'He will not come to this city or even shoot an arrow there; he will not confront it with a shield or erect earthworks against it.

By the way he came he will return; he will not come to this city,' says ADONAI.

'For I will defend this city and save it, both for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.'"

That night the angel of ADONAI went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of Ashur. Early the next morning, there they were, all of them, corpses - dead.

Around this time, Hizkiyahu became ill to the point of death. Yesha'yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz, came and said to him, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not live.'"

Hizkiyahu turned his face toward the wall and prayed to ADONAI:

"I plead with you, ADONAI, remember now how I have lived before you truly and wholeheartedly, and how I have done what you see as good." And he cried bitter tears.

Before Yesha'yahu had left the city's middle courtyard, the word of ADONAI came to him:

"Go back, and tell Hizkiyahu the prince of my people, that this is what ADONAI, the God of David your ancestor, says: 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, and I will heal you. On the third day, you are to go up to the house of ADONAI.

I will add fifteen years to your life. Also I will rescue you and this city from the power of the king of Ashur; I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.'"

Hizkiyahu said to Yesha'yahu, "What sign will there be that ADONAI will heal me and that I will be able to go up to the house of ADONAI on the third day?"

Yesha'yahu said, "Here is the sign for you from ADONAI that ADONAI will do what he said: do you want the shadow [of the sundial] to go forward ten intervals or backward ten intervals?

Yesha'yahu called out to ADONAI, and he brought the shadow on the sundial of Achaz ten intervals backward after it had gone down that far.

Yesha'yahu said to Hizkiyahu, "Hear what ADONAI says:

'The day will come when everything in your palace, along with everything your ancestors stored up until today, will be carried off to Bavel. Nothing will be left,' says ADONAI.

Hizkiyahu said to Yesha'yahu, "The word of ADONAI which you have just told me is good." He thought, "Isn't it, though, if peace and truth continue at least through my lifetime?"

He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, following the disgusting practices of the nations whom ADONAI had expelled ahead of the people of Isra'el.

He erected altars in the house of ADONAI, about which ADONAI had said, "In Yerushalayim I will put my name."

He erected altars for all the army of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of ADONAI.