Chapter 37: Yeshayahu prophesies to Chizkiyah of the fall of Sancheirev

• Mourning the dreadful words of Ravshaka: When King Chizkiyah heard the words of Ravshaka he tore his clothing and covered himself in sackcloth and came to pray in the house of G-d.
• Consulting with Yeshayahu the prophet: King Chizkiyah sent Eliyakim, Shevna, and the elders of the priests to consult with Yeshayahu the prophet, while they were wearing sackcloth. The emissaries told Yeshayahu that King Chizkiyah has said that he has come to conquest Jerusalem and spoke words of blasphemy and we the Jewish people have come to a point of distress and loss of hope. Perhaps G-d will listen to the blasphemous words of Ravshaka and take vengeance against him and save the Jewish people which are left of Jerusalem.
• The response of Yeshayahu-A prophecy of death for Sancheirev: Yeshayahu the prophet responded to them as follows: Go tell your master that the following are the words of G-d, “Do not fear the words that you heard in which the young lads of the king of Assyria blasphemed me. I will enter into king Sancheirev a desire to return home on the basis of a rumor that the king of Kush desires to wage war against him. He will return to his land Assyria to wage the war and there I will make him fall by the sword.
• Ravshaka finds Sancheirev waging war against Livna: Ravshaka returned to Sancheirev to inform him of the lack of response of King Chizkiyah and he found the king of Assyria waging a war against the Judean town of Livna, as he had heard that the king had traveled from the town of Lackish to wage war against the town of Livna.
• Sancheirev returns to Assyria: Sancheirev received word that Tirhaka the king of Kush was planning to wage war against him, so he sends emissaries to Chizkiyah with the following message, “Do not trust your G-d that he will save you from the conquest of Jerusalem by the king of Assyria. You have heard all that the king of Assyria has done to the other lands and how he is has conquered them. Do you really think you will be saved? Did their deity manage to save them from my hands? Where are all the kings of these lands that I conquered, having I not abdicated them and sent them into exile?
• Chizkiyah spreads open the letters from Sancheirev in front of G-d: Chizkiyah took the books that he received from the messengers of Sancheirev which contained his messages demanding capitulation and brought them to the house of G-d where he spread them open before G-d.
• The prayer of Chizkiyah: Chizkiyah then prayed to G-d as follows: You O G-d the G-d of Israel who is the lone G-d and who has made heaven and earth. Please open Your eyes and pay attention to the words of blasphemy said by Sancheirev. Although the king of Assyria has successfully conquered all of the other lands and kingdoms, and destroyed all of their deities and idols, this is because these deities are not the true G-d but rather the work of man made from wood and stone. Now oh G-d please save us from his hand and let all of the nations of the world know that you alone are G-d.
• The response of G-d through Yeshayahu the prophet that Sancheirev will return to his land: The prophet Yeshayahu sent to Chizkiyah the following message of prophecy that he received from G-d: I have heard the prayer that you prayed to me regarding the Sancheirev the king of Assyria. You should know that I will shame him and scoff at him as Jerusalem will not be conquered by him and he will run away back to Assyria. Sancheirev, do you have any idea against whom you blasphemed? You arrogantly claim you can come fight against Me. You boast over the fact that you conquered all the other nations and that you think that you will also be able to conquer the temple in Jerusalem. You were simply the appointed messenger from G-d to punish the other nations and make their lands desolate. I will put a collar around you and drag you back to the land you came from.
• A prophecy for Chizkiyah: The prophet Yeshayahu then gave Chizkiyah the following sign as an omen that the bad days forJerusalem have come to an end: You will see great blessing the produce of the land for the next three years and the citizens of Jerusalem will repopulate and from them will the entire land of Israel be repopulated. Sancheirev will never manage to make it to Jerusalem as I will send him back to his land and I will protect the city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.
• The destruction of the Army of Sancheirev: An angel of G-d was sent to the camp of Assyria in middle of the night, and he smote their army, killing 185,000 men. In the morning, Sancheirev and the remaining survivors woke up and saw that his entire army was dead. Sancheirev then left Israel and returned to his land and settled in the city of Ninveh, in which he continued worshiping his deities.
• The assassination of Sancheirev by his sons: The sons of Sancheirev, Adra-melech and Sharezer, assassinated Sancheirev with the use of the sword. They then fled to the land of Arrarat, and his son Eisar became king in his place.