A   When Hezekias hearde that, he rent hys clothes, ^note and putt on a sacke cloth, and went into the temple of the Lorde. But he sente Eliakim the president. Sobna the scribe, with the eldest prestes clothed in ^note sacke, vnto the prophet Esay the sonne of Amoz, and they said vnto hym: Thus sayth Hezekias: Thys is the daye of trouble, of plage and of blasphemye: for the children are come to the place of byrth: but there is no power to brynge them forth. The Lorde thy God (no doubte) hath well consydered the wordes of Rabsaketh, whom his Lorde the king of Assirians hath sent to defye ∧ blaspheme the lyuynge God: with soche wordes as the Lorde thy God hath hearde ryght well. And therfore, lyfte vp thy prayer for the remnaunt, that yet are left. So the seruauntes of the kynge Hezekias came to Esay.

B   And Esay gaue th&ebar; thys answere: Saye thus vnto your lorde: thus sayth the Lorde: Be not afraied of the wordes that thou hast hearde wherwith the kyng of the Assirians serua&ubar;tes haue blasphemed me. ^noteBeholde, I will cause a wynde to go ouer him, assone as he heareth the rumour, he shall go again into hys contrey: there wyll I destroye hym with the swearde in his awne l&abar;de. ^noteNowe when Rabsakeh returned, he founde þe; king of Assiria laying sege to Libnas: for he had vnderstande þt; he was departed fr&obar; Lachis. For ther came a rumour þt; Tharhakas k&ibar;ge of Ethiopia was come forth to warre agaynst him. And wh&ebar; the king of Assiria heard that, C   he sent other messaungers to kyng Hezekias &wt; this commaundement: Saye thus to Hezekias king of Iuda: Let not thy God disceaue the, in wh&obar; thou hopest, and sayest: Ierusalem shall not be geuen into the h&abar;des of the king of Assiria. For lo, thou knowest well howe the kinges of Assiria haue handled all the landes that they haue subuerted, and hopest thou to escape? Were the people of Gentyles (whom my progenitours conquered) deliuered at any tyme thorow their goddes? ^noteAs namely, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the chyldren of Eden, which were at Thalassar. Where is the kynge of Hemah, and the kyng of Arphad, and the king

of the cytie Sepharuaim, Ena ∧ Aua? Now when Ezekia had receaued the lettre of the messaungers, and read it, he went vp into þe; house of the Lorde, and opened the letter before the Lorde. And Ezekia prayed before þe; Lorde on this maner. O Lorde of Hostes, þu; God of Israel, which dwellest vpon ^note Cherubin. Thou art the God, that onely is God of all the kyngdomes of the worlde, for thou onely hast ^note created heauen and earth. ^noteEnclyne thyne eare Lorde ∧ consydre, open thyne eyes, O Lorde, and se, and pondre all the wordes vpon Sennaherib, which hath sent his embassage to blaspheme the lyuyng God It is true, D   O Lorde, that the kynges of Assyria haue conquered all kyngdomes and l&abar;des, and cast theyr goddes in the fyre. Not withstandynge those were no goddes, but þe; worckes of mens handes, of wood or stone, therfore haue they destroyed them. Delyuer vs then, O Lorde oure God, from the h&abar;des of Sennaherib, that all Kyngdomes of the earth maye knowe, that thou onely art the Lorde. Then Esaye the sonne of Amoz sent vnto Hezekia, sayinge: Thus sayth þe; Lorde God of Israel. Where as thou hast made thy prayer vnto me, as touchyng Sennaherib þe; kynge of Assyria, this is the answere, that þe; Lorde hath geuen concernynge hym. Despised art þu;, and mocked (O daughter of Sy&obar;) he hath shak&ebar; his head at the, O daughter of Ierusalem. But thou Sennaherib. ^note whom hast thou defyed and blasphemed? Agaynst whom hast thou lifted vp thy voyce, and exalted thy proude lookes? euen agaynst þe; holy one of Israel. Thou with thy seruauntes hast blasphemed the Lorde, and thus holdest thou of thy selfe. I will couer the hye mountaynes, and sydes of Libanus with my horsmen. And there will I cut downe the hye Cedre trees and the fayrest Fyrre trees. E   I wyll vp into the heygth of it, and into the chefest of hys tymbre woddes. If there be no water, I wyll graue and drinke. And as for waters of defence, I shall drye th&ebar; vp with the fete of myne hoost. Yee, hast thou not hearde, what I haue taken in hande, ∧ brought to passe of olde tyme? That same wyll I do nowe also: waste, destroye, and brynge stronge cyties vnto heapes of stones. For theyr inhabitatours shalbe lyke lame men, brought in feare and confounded. They shalbe lyke þe; grasse ∧ grene herbes in the felde, lyke the hey vpon house toppes, that withereth afore it be growne vp.

I knowe thy wayes, thy goinge forth and thy commynge home, yee, ∧ thy madnesse agaynst me. Therfore thy furiousnes against me, and thy pryde is come before me. F   I wyll put my rynge in thy nose, and my brydle byt in the chawes of the, and turne the about, eu&ebar; the same waye thou camest. I wyll geue the also this token (O Hezekia) thys yere shalt thou eate such as groweth of yt selfe ∧ the sec&ubar;de yeare, þt; which springeth agayne of the same, and in the thyrde yeare, ye shall sowe ∧ reape, yee, ye shall pl&abar;te vineyardes, and enioye the frutes therof.

And soche of the house of Iuda as are escaped, shall come together, and the remna&ubar;t shall take rote beneth, and bringe forth frute aboue. For the escaped shall go out of Ierusalem, and the remnaunt from the mounte Syon.

G   And thys shall the gelousy of the Lorde of Hostes bring to passe. Therfore thus sayeth the Lorde, concernynge the kynge of the Assyrians. He shall not come into this cyte, and shal shote no arowe into it, there shal no shilde hurt it, nether shal they cast ditches about it. The same waye þt; he came, he shal retourne, and not come at thys cytie, sayeth þe; Lorde. And I wyll kepe and saue þe; cytie (sayeth he) for myne awne, and for my serua&ubar;te Dauids sake.

^noteThus the angel went forth, and slewe of the Assyrians hoost, an h&ubar;dred fourescore and fyue thousande. And wh&ebar; men arose vp early in the mornynge. Beholde, they were slayne, and all laye full of deed bodyes. So Sennaherib the kyng of the Assyri&abar;s brake vp, ∧ dwelt at Niniue. Afterwarde it chaunsed, as he prayed in the temple of Nesrah his God, that Adramalech and Sarazer hys awne sonnes slewe him with the sweard, and fled into the lande of Armenia. And Asar hadon his sonne raygned in his steade.

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