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to him Samaria and Israel. And this was to heed many gods contrary to the ancestral law. Then, reasoning, he says, that since the gods of the nations were not able to deliver those devoted to them, so also the God of Jerusalem will not be able to save those in it, thinking that the one honored in Jerusalem is no different from those mistakenly considered gods among the other nations. Now, in response to such boasts and blasphemies of the Rabshakeh, by royal command the hearers kept silence, answering nothing, because the king had ordered this. And it was a sign of Hezekiah’s great understanding and piety to command not to answer one who was speaking so insolently; for one who uttered such things against God no longer has to do with men, for it is not fitting for a reverent man to converse with a blasphemer, lest he be provoked to fall into other blasphemies. Wherefore it is said somewhere: "Do not kindle the coal of a sinner," but that it is not even holy to share in words with such men nor to expect to benefit in any way those whose souls are incurably sick, but that one must only be fenced in as if with certain weapons and be secured on all sides by silence, hiding the true words not for their own sakes, but awaiting the movement from God against the blasphemers. When the king had commanded these things, the leaders of the people wisely did what was ordered, which is indeed what we must do in times of persecution or in public discussions with atheistic and blasphemous men. 2.11 Since the history, because of its clarity, needs no interpretation, we will say this much concerning the passages: that those who had heard the blasphemies against God tore their own clothes, and King Hezekiah himself, on account of the impious words; having shared in them through hearing, or because God had been blasphemed on their account, for they supposed they themselves were the cause of these things; for the enemy would not have been permitted to enter up to the very gates of the city of God and to act so presumptuously. unless they themselves had been the cause of these things, and in addition to this, because they were in agony lest perhaps they themselves might also suffer the same things which Samaria and the people in it had suffered on account of their own impieties. And Hezekiah put on sackcloth instead of his royal robe, bringing upon himself signs of mourning and affliction, and in this attire he went through the midst of the city from the royal house to the temple of God, and by showing himself humble to God he sought to obtain pity and mercy through his appearance; for he sent certain of the priests of God, clothed in sackcloth instead of their priestly robes, to the prophet Isaiah, having commanded them to say: Thus says Hezekiah, not adding "the king"; for the time did not permit him, being humbled on account of the present calamity, to say this. Then, since the present circumstance, he says, is a day of rebuke for exposing our sins, but it also happens to be a day of wrath; for being rebuked, we have done things worthy of wrath. To this we are now delivered, and we are like a woman in labor who is about to give birth, but is too weak to endure the pains; for we are not able to say: "Because of fear of you, O Lord, we have conceived and have been in labor and have brought forth a spirit of salvation." For this reason we have sent to you, the man of God, imploring that through you your God would stand by us as a helper in time of need; whom we do not even dare to call our own God, but we know that he is truly your Lord and God. We therefore beseech him himself not to look upon our transgressions nor to make mention of our sins, but to give heed to the godless voices of the enemy and to such great, arrogant boasting, and to do what is pleasing to him, whether he wishes to permit it or to punish it. But you, O prophet of God, having reminded yourself that our whole multitude has already been made captive by the one, and it has fallen to the same, to the Assyrian, do not hesitate to intercede with God on behalf of us who have been left behind;

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αὐτῷ τὴν Σαμάρειαν καὶ τὸν Ἰσραήλ. τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τὸ πολλοῖς προσέχειν θεοῖς παρὰ τὸν πάτριον νόμον. εἶτα συλλογιζόμενος ὡς οὐκ ἐδυνήθησάν φησιν οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐξελεῖν τοὺς αὐτοῖς ᾠκειωμένους, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ θεὸς διασῶσαι δυνήσεται τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ, οὐδὲν διαφέρειν νομίζων τὸν ἐν τῇ Ἰερουσαλὴμ τιμώμενον τῶν παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔθνεσι πεπλανημένως θεῶν νομιζομένων. Πρὸς δὴ τὰς τοιαύτας μεγαλαυχίας καὶ βλασφημίας τοῦ Ῥαψάκου ἐκ παραγγέλματος βασιλικοῦ σιωπὴν εἶχον οἱ ἀκούοντες μηδὲν ἀποκρινόμενοι διὰ τὸ τὸν βασιλέα τοῦτο προστάξαι. πολλῆς τε συνέσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας δεῖγμα ἦν τοῦ Ἑζεκίου τὸ κελεῦσαι μὴ ἀποκρίνασθαι τοιαῦτα θρασυνομένῳ· μηκέτι γὰρ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἔχειν τὸν τοιαῦτα κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ φθεγξάμενον, μηδὲ γὰρ προσήκειν τὸν εὐλαβῆ βλασφήμῳ προσδιαλέγεσθαι ἀνδρὶ ὡς ἂν μὴ ἐρεθίζοιτο εἰς ἑτέρας ἐκπίπτειν βλασφημίας. διὸ εἴρηταί που· «μὴ ἔκκαιε ἄνθρακα ἁμαρτωλοῦ», ἀλλὰ μηδ' ὅσιον εἶναι λόγων τοῖς τοιούτοις κοινωνεῖν μηδὲ ὠφελήσειν τι προσδοκᾶν τοὺς ἀνίατα τὴν ψυχὴν νοσοῦντας, μόνον δὲ πεφράχθαι δεῖν ὥσπερ τισὶν ὅπλοις καὶ πανταχόθεν ἠσφαλίσθαι τῇ σιωπῇ κρύπτοντας μὴ ἑαυτοῖς τοὺς ἀληθεῖς λόγους, περιμένοντας δὲ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ τῶν βλασφήμων κίνησιν. ταῦτα παραγγείλαντος τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιστημόνως τὸ προσταχθὲν ἐποίουν οἱ τοῦ πλήθους προεστῶτες, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἡμῖν ποιητέον ἐστὶν ἐν καιροῖς διωγμῶν ἢ ἐν κοιναῖς ἀθέων καὶ βλασφήμων ἀνδρῶν διαλέξεσιν. 2.11 Τῆς ἱστορίας διὰ τὸ σαφὲς μηδεμιᾶς ἑρμηνείας δεομένης τοσοῦτον εἰς τοὺς τόπους ἐροῦμεν ὡς τοὺς αὐτῶν χιτῶνας διέρρηξαν οἱ τῶν κατὰ θεοῦ βλασφημιῶν ἀκηκοότες, αὐτός τε ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἑζεκίας ἅτε δυσσεβῶν ῥημάτων· διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς κεκοινωνηκότες ἢ ὡς δι' αὐτοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ βεβλασφημημένου αὐτοὺς γὰρ εἶναι τούτων αἰτίους ὑπελάμβανον· μηδὲ γὰρ συγχωρηθῆναι τῷ πολεμίῳ μέχρις αὐτῶν πυλῶν εἰσελθεῖν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ πόλεως καὶ τοιαῦτα ἀπαυθαδιάσασθαι. εἰ μὴ τούτων αὐτοὶ ὑπῆρχον αἴτιοι καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις διὰ τὸ ἀγωνιᾶν μή πη ἄρα καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰ ὅμοια πάθοιεν, οἷς πέπονθε Σαμάρεια καὶ ὁ ἐν αὐτῇ λαὸς διὰ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἀσεβείας. Σάκκον δὲ περιέθετο ἀντὶ βασιλικῆς ἐσθῆτος ὁ Ἑζεκίας σημεῖα πένθους καὶ κακώσεως ἐπαγόμενος, τούτῳ τε τῷ σχήματι διὰ μέσης ἀνῄει τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ τῶν βασιλείων οἴκων ἐπὶ τὸν νεὼν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ταπεινὸν τῷ θεῷ ἑαυτὸν δεικνὺς οἴκτου καὶ ἐλέους τυχεῖν ἠξίου τῷ σχήματι· τοὺς γὰρ ἑτέρους τῶν ἱερέων τοῦ θεοῦ σάκκους ἀντὶ τῶν ἱερατικῶν ἠμφιεσμένους στολῶν πρὸς τὸν προφήτην Ἠσαΐαν ἔπεμπε φάσκειν αὐτοῖς παραγγείλας· Τάδε λέγει Ἑζεκίας, οὐχ «ὁ βασιλεὺς» προσθείς· οὐ γὰρ ὁ καιρὸς αὐτῷ τοῦτ' ἐπέτρεπε λέγειν ταπεινουμένῳ τῆς παρούσης ἕνεκα συμφορᾶς. εἶτ' ἐπεὶ ἡ παροῦσα περίστασις ἐλεγμοῦ φησιν ἡμέρα ἐστὶ τῷ τὰς ἡμετέρας ἀπελέγχειν ἁμαρτίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὀργῆς ἡμέρα τυγχάνει· ἐλεγχόμενοι γὰρ ἄξια ὀργῆς πεπραχότες. ταύτῃ νῦν παραδεδόμεθα ἐοίκαμέν τε ὠδινούσῃ γυναικὶ καὶ μελλούσῃ μὲν ἀποκύειν, ἐξασθενούσῃ δὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὠδίνων καρτερίαν· οὐ γὰρ οἷοί τε ἐσμὲν λέγειν· «ἐκ τοῦ φόβου σου, κύριε, ἐν γαστρὶ ἐλάβομεν καὶ ὠδινήσαμεν καὶ ἐτέκομεν πνεῦμα σωτηρίας». τούτου χάριν ἐπὶ σὲ τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον ἀνεπέμψαμεν διὰ σοῦ τὸν σὸν θεὸν ἐν καιρῷ παραστῆναι βοηθὸν ἡμῖν ἀντιβολοῦντες· ὃν οὐδὲ ἑαυτῶν θεὸν ὀνομάζειν τολμῶμεν, σὸν δὲ κύριον καὶ θεὸν ἀκριβῶς ὄντα ἐπιστάμεθα. τοῦτον οὖν αὐτὸν ἱκετεύομεν μὴ τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἀποβλέψαι πλημμελήμασι μηδὲ τῶν ἡμετέρων μνήμην ποιήσασθαι ἁμαρτημάτων, ταῖς δὲ ἀθέοις τοῦ πολεμίου φωναῖς καὶ τῇ τοσαύτῃ ὑπερηφάνῳ προσχεῖν ἀλαζονείᾳ, ποιεῖν τε τὸ αὐτῷ φίλον εἴτε συγχωρεῖν εἴτε ἐπεξιέναι βούλοιτο. Σύ γε μήν, ὦ τοῦ θεοῦ προφῆτα, σαυτὸν ὑπομνήσας ὡς τὸ πᾶν ἡμῶν πλῆθος αἰχμάλωτον ἤδη ὑπὸ τοῦ τῷ αὐτῷ γέγονε τῷ Ἀσσυρίῳ πρεσβεῦσαι πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῶν καταλειφθέντων, μὴ ὀκνήσῃς·