¹It happened, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Yahweh.

¹Zvino mambo Hezekia wakati achizvinzwa, akabvarura nguvo dzake, akafuka magumbu, akapinda mumba maJehovha.

²He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

²Akatuma Eriakimu waitarira imba, naShebhana munyori, navakuru vavapristi, vakafuka magumbu, kunomuporofita Isaya mwanakomana waAmozi.

³They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of trouble, of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.

³Vakati kwaari, Zvanzi naHezekia, Nhasi izuva rokutambudzika, nerokutukwa, nerokuzvidzwa; nekuti vana vakasvika pakuzvarwa, asi hakune simba rokuzvara naro.

⁴It may be Yahweh your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

⁴Zvimwe Jehovha Mwari wenyu uchanzwa mashoko ose omukuru wavatariri, wakatumwa namambo weAsiria tenzi wake, kuzvidza Mwari mupenyu, agovatuka pamusoro pamashoko akanzwa Jehovha Mwari wenyu; naizvozvo nyengetererai vakasara.

⁵So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

⁵Ipapo varanda vamambo Hezekia vakasvika kuna Isaya.

⁶Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall tell your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Don’t be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

⁶Isaya akati kwa vari, Udzai tenzi wenyu, muti, Zvanzi naJehovha, usatya hako mashoko awakanzwa, andakamhurwa nawo navaranda vamambo weAsiria.

⁷Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear news, and will return to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

⁷Tarira, ndichaisa mweya wokutya mukati make, uchanzwa guhu, ndokudzokera kunyika yake; ndichamuurayisa nomunondo munyika yake.

⁸So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish.

⁸Naizvozvo mukuru wavatariri wakadzoka, akawana mambo weAsisia achirwa neRibhina, nekuti wakange anzwa kuti wabva paRakishi.

⁹When he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,

⁹Zvino wakati achinzwa pamusoro paTirihaka mambo weItiopia, zvichinzi, Tarirai, wouya kuzorwa nemi, akatumazve nhume kuna Hezekia, achiti,

¹⁰‘Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, “Don’t let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

¹⁰Endai mundoudza Hezekia mambo waJudha; muti, Mwari wako, waunovimba naye, ngaarege kukunyengera, achiti, Jerusaremu haringaiswi muruoko rwamambo weAsiria.

¹¹Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. Will you be delivered?

¹¹Tarira, wakanzwa zvakaitirwa nyika dzose namadzimambo eAsiria, kuti vakadziparadza chose; zvino iwe ucharwirwa here?

¹²Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar?

¹²Ko vamwari vedzimwe ndudzi vakadzirwira here, idzo dzakaparadzwa namadzibaba angu, vanaGozani, naHarani, naRezefi, navana vaEdheni, vaiva paTerasari?

¹³Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?”’”

¹³Mambo weHamati uripiko, namambo weAripadhi, namambo weguta reSefari-vhaimi, neHena, neIvha?

¹⁴Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the house of Yahweh, and spread it before Yahweh.

¹⁴Hezekia akagamuchira tsamba pamaoko enhume, akairava; Hezekia akakwira kumba kwaJehovha akaipetenura pamberi paJehovha.

¹⁵Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sit above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

¹⁵Ipapo Hezekia akanyengetera pamberi paJehovha, akati, Haiwa! Jehovha waIsiraeri, iye ugere pamusoro pamakerubhi! Ndimi Mwari, imwi moga, woushe hwose bwenyika, ndimi makaita kudenga napasi.

¹⁶Incline your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib, with which he has sent to defy the living God.

¹⁶Rerekerai nzeve yenyu, Jehovha, munzwe; svinudzai meso enyu, Jehovha, muwone; inzwai mashoko aSaniheribhi, aakatuma kuzozvidza Mwari mupenyu.

¹⁷Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,

¹⁷Zvirokwazvo, Jehovha, madzimambo eAsiria akaparadza ndudzi nenyika dzadzo,

¹⁸and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them.

¹⁸akakandira vamwari vadzo mumoto; nekuti vakanga vasi vamwari, asi rakanga riri basa ramaoko avanhu, ari matanda namabwe; naizvozvo vakavaparadza.

¹⁹Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God alone.”

¹⁹Zvino, Jehovha Mwari wedu, chitiponesai henyu paruoko rwake, kuti ushe hwose bwenyika huzive kuti ndimi Jehovha Mwari, imwi moga.

²⁰Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Whereas you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.

²⁰Ipapo Isaya mwanakomana waAmozi, wakatuma shoko kuna Hezekia, akati, Zvanzi naJehovha Mwari waIsiraeri, Zvawanyengetera kwandiri pamusoro paSaniheribhi mambo weAsiria, ndakunzwa.

²¹This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him: “The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.

²¹Heri shoko rakataurwa naJehovha pamusoro pake, Mhandara, mukunda weZiyoni, wakakushora nokukusweveredza; mukunda weJerusaremu wakakudzungudzira musoro wake.

²²Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.

²²Ndianiko waakatuka nokumhura? Wakazvikudza kuna aniko nenzwi rako, meso ako akatarira aniko kudenga? NdiMutsvene waIsiraeri!

²³By your messengers you have defied the Lord, and have said, ‘With the multitude of my chariots, I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field.

²³Wakatuka Jehovha nenhume dzako, ukati, Ndakakwira kumakomo marefu nengoro dzangu zhinji, kunzvimbo dzomukati dzeRebhanoni; ndichatema misidhari mirefu iripo, nemisipiresi yakatsaurwa iripo, ndichapinda kusvikira paimba yake yomukati, kudondo rake rinobereka zvakanaka.

²⁴I have dug and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.’

²⁴Ndakateka ndikamwa mvura yedzimwe nyika, ndichapwisa nzizi dzose dzeEgipita nokutsika kwetsoka dzangu.

²⁵Haven’t you heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? Now have I brought it to pass, that it should be yours to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

²⁵Hauna kunzwa here kuti ndakazviita kare, kuti ndakazviraira nenguva dzokutangatanga? Zvino ndaraira zviitike, kuti iwe uve muparadzi wamaguta akakombwa namasvingo, ave matongo.

²⁶Therefore their inhabitants were of small power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were like the grass of the field, and like the green herb, like the grass on the housetops, and like grain blasted before it has grown up.

²⁶Naizvozvo vageremo vakanga vane simba duku, vakavhunduswa nokunyadzwa; vakafanana nouswa bwesango, nomuriwo mutema, nouswa huri pamusoro peimba, nezviyo zvakatsva zvichigere kukura.

²⁷But I know your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your raging against me.

²⁷Asi ndinoziva kugara kwako pasi, nokubuda kwako, nokupinda kwako, uye hasha dzako kwandiri.

²⁸Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore will I put my hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.”

²⁸Nokuda kwehasha dzako kwandiri, uye nekuti ndakanzwa kuzvikudza kwako, ndichaisa rwauro rwangu mumhino dzako, netomu rangu mumiromo yako, ndikudzosere nenzira yawakauya nayo.

²⁹“‘This shall be the sign to you: You shall eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat its fruit.

²⁹Ichi ndicho chichava chiratidzo kwauri, nhaka muchadya zvinogomera zvoga, negore rechipiri muchadya zvinomerazve kwazviri; asi negore rechitatu munofanira kudzvara, nokukohwa, nokusima minda yemizambiringa, mudye michero yayo.

³⁰The remnant that has escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

³⁰Zvino vakasara, vakapukunyuka veimba yaJudha, vachaitazve midzi pasi, nokubereka michero kumusoro.

³¹For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go out, and out of Mount Zion those who shall escape. The zeal of Yahweh will perform this.’

³¹Nekuti vakasara vachabuda paJerusaremu, navakapukunyuka pagomo reZiyoni; kushingaira kwaJehovha kuchazviita.

³²“Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He shall not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.

³²Naizvozvo zvanzi naJehovha pamusoro pamambo weAsiria, Haangapindi muguta rino, kana kuposhera museve imomo, kana kusvika pamberi paro nenhovo, kana kututira gomo revhu pariri.

³³By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come to this city,’ says Yahweh.

³³Zvanzi naJehovha, Nenzira yaakauya nayo, uchadzokazve nayo; haangapindi muguta rino.

³⁴‘For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.’”

³⁴Nekuti ndichadzivira guta rino, ndirirwire nekuda kwangu, uye nokuda komuranda wangu Dhavhidhi.

³⁵It happened that night, that the angel of Yahweh went out, and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

³⁵Zvino nousiku uhwo mutumwa waJehovha wakabuda, akauraya vanhu vane zviuru zvine zana namakumi masere nezvishanu pamisasa yavaAsiria; zvino vanhu vakati vachimuka mangwanani, vakawana zvava zvitunha zvose.

³⁶So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and lived at Nineveh.

³⁶Naizvozvo Saniheribhi mambo weAsiria akabva, akaenda, akadzokera kwakare, akandogara Ninivhe.

³⁷It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esar Haddon his son reigned in his place.

³⁷Zvino wakati achinamata mumba maNisiroki mwari wake, Adhiramereki naSharezeri vakamuuraya nomunondo, ivo vakatizira kunyika yeArarati. Esarihadhoni akamutevera paushe.