The Lord and King continues,“ Long ago my people went down to Egypt. They lived there for a while. Later, Assyria crushed them without any reason.

主耶和华如此说：起先我的百姓下到埃及，在那里寄居，又有亚述人无故欺压他们。

主耶和华如此说：“先前我的百姓下到埃及，在那里寄居，末后又有亚述人欺压他们。

主耶和华如此说：“先前我的百姓下到埃及，在那里寄居，末后又有亚述人欺压他们。

主耶和华说：“起先我的子民到埃及寄居，后来亚述人无缘无故地欺压他们。”

主耶和华这样说：“我的子民先前曾下到埃及，在那里寄居；后来有亚述人无缘无故地欺压了他们。

主耶和华如此说：“先前我的子民下到埃及，在那里寄居；后来亚述人无故地欺压他们。

主耶和華如此說：起先我的百姓下到埃及，在那裏寄居，又有亞述人無故欺壓他們。

主耶和華如此說：「先前我的百姓下到埃及，在那裏寄居，末後又有亞述人欺壓他們。

主耶和華如此說：「先前我的百姓下到埃及，在那裏寄居，末後又有亞述人欺壓他們。

主耶和華說：「起先我的子民到埃及寄居，後來亞述人無緣無故地欺壓他們。」

主耶和華這樣說：“我的子民先前曾下到埃及，在那裡寄居；後來有亞述人無緣無故地欺壓了他們。

因為主永恆主這麼說：我的人民起先下埃及、去寄居在那裏；後來有亞述人無緣無故欺壓他們。

主耶和華如此說：「先前我的子民下到埃及，在那裡寄居；後來亞述人無故地欺壓他們。

主耶和華曰、昔我民下埃及而寓之、亞述人無故虐遇之、

主耶和華又曰。昔我民往居埃及、後遭亞述人、無故虐遇、而我援之、

主天主如是云、昔我民往居伊及、後亞述人無故凌虐之、

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:“ At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

For thus says the Lord God:“ My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“ Long ago my people chose to live in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by Assyria.

For this is what the Lord GOD says:“ At first my people went down to Egypt to reside there, then Assyria oppressed them without cause.

For this is what the Lord God says:“ My people went down to Egypt first to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without reason.

For thus says the Lord GOD:“ My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there: and the Assyrian hath oppressed them without cause.

For this is what the Lord God says:“ At first My people went down to Egypt to live there, then Assyria oppressed them without cause.

For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

For this is what the sovereign LORD says:“ In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

For the Lord Yahweh says:“ My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there: and the Assyrian has oppressed them without cause.

So Jacob and his whole family went to Egypt. They took their livestock with them. And they took everything they had acquired in Canaan.

Then the Lord said to Satan,“ Have you thought about my servant Job? There isn’t anyone on earth like him. He is honest. He does what is right. He has respect for God and avoids evil. You tried to turn me against him. You wanted me to destroy him without any reason. But he still continues to be faithful.”

Those who hate me without any reason are more than the hairs on my head. Many people who don’t have any reason to be my enemies are trying to destroy me. They force me to give back what I didn’t steal.

This has happened so that what is written in their Law would come true. It says,‘ They hated me without any reason.’( Psalms 35:19; 69:4)

“ Israel is like a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first lion that ate them up was the king of Assyria. The last one that broke their bones was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.”

Sennacherib attacked and captured all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria.He sent his field commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He sent him along with a large army. The commander stopped at the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. It was on the road to the Washerman’s Field.Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to him. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was in charge of the palace. Shebna was the secretary. Joah, the son of Asaph, kept the records.The field commander said to them,“ Give Hezekiah this message. Tell him,“‘ Sennacherib is the great king of Assyria. He says,“ Why are you putting your faith in what your king says?You say you have a military plan. You say you have a strong army. But your words don’t mean anything. Who are you depending on? Why don’t you want to stay under my control?Look, I know you are depending on Egypt. Why are you doing that? Egypt is nothing but a broken papyrus stem. Try leaning on it. It will only cut your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who depends on him.But suppose you say to me,‘ We are depending on the Lord our God.’ Didn’t Hezekiah remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem,‘ You must worship at the altar in Jerusalem’?“‘ “Come on. Make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses. But only if you can put riders on them!You are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen. You can’t drive away even the least important officer among my master’s officials.Besides, do you think I’ve come without being sent by the Lord? Have I come to attack and destroy this land without receiving a message from him? The Lord himself told me to march out against your country. He told me to destroy it.” ’ ”Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah spoke to the field commander. They said,“ Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew. If you do, the people on the wall will be able to understand you.”But the commander replied,“ My master sent me to say these things. Are these words only for your master and you to hear? Aren’t they also for the people sitting on the wall? They are going to suffer just like you. They’ll have to eat their own waste. They’ll have to drink their own urine.”Then the commander stood up and spoke in the Hebrew language. He called out,“ Pay attention to what the great king of Assyria is telling you.He says,‘ Don’t let Hezekiah trick you. He can’t save you!Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord. Don’t believe him when he says,“ You can be sure that the Lord will save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ’“ Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says,‘ Make a peace treaty with me. Come over to my side. Then each one of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree. Each one of you will drink water from your own well.You will do that until I come back. Then I’ll take you to a land just like yours. It’s a land that has a lot of grain and fresh wine. It has plenty of bread and vineyards.“‘ Don’t let Hezekiah fool you. He’s telling you a lie when he says,“ The Lord will save us.” Have the gods of any nations ever saved their lands from the power of the king of Assyria?Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they saved Samaria from my power?Which one of all the gods of those countries has been able to save their lands from me? So how can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power?’ ”But the people remained silent. They didn’t say anything. That’s because King Hezekiah had commanded,“ Don’t answer him.”Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, went to Hezekiah. Eliakim was in charge of the palace. Shebna the secretary went with him. So did Joah, the son of Asaph. Joah kept the records. All of them went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn. They told him what the field commander had said.

I will crush the Assyrians in my land. On my mountains I will walk all over them. The yokes they put on my people will be removed. The heavy load they put on their shoulders will be taken away.”

Those who put their hope in you will never be put to shame. But those who lie to other people for no reason will be put to shame.

After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family. The total number of people was 75.Then Jacob went down to Egypt. There he and his family died.