The Preacher's Bible

After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, entered into Judah, encamped against the fortified cities, and intended to win them for himself. ²When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he was planning to fight against Jerusalem, ³he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the springs which were outside of the city, and they helped him. ⁴Then many people gathered together and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the middle of the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find abundant water?”

⁵He took courage, built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers, with the other wall outside, and strengthened Millo in David’s city, and made weapons and shields in abundance. ⁶He set captains of war over the people, gathered them together to him in the wide place at the gate of the city, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, ⁷“Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude who is with him; for there is a greater one with us than with him. ⁸An arm of flesh is with him, but Jehovah our God is with us to help us and to fight our battles.” The people rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁹After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem, (now he was attacking Lachish, and all his forces were with him), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying, ¹⁰Sennacherib king of Assyria says, “In whom do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹Doesn’t Hezekiah persuade you to give you over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, ‘Jehovah our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria’? ¹²Hasn’t the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall worship before one altar, and you shall burn incense on it’? ¹³Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their land out of my hand? ¹⁴Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand? ¹⁵Now therefore don’t let Hezekiah deceive you nor persuade you in this way. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand?”

¹⁶His servants spoke yet more against Jehovah God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷He also wrote letters insulting Jehovah, the God of Israel, and speaking against him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall the God of Hezekiah not deliver his people out of my hand.” ¹⁸They called out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and to trouble them, that they might take the city. ¹⁹They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.

²⁰Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and cried to heaven.

²¹Jehovah sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty men of valor, the leaders, and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. When he had come into the house of his god, those who came out of his own body killed him there with the sword. ²²Thus Jehovah saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side. ²³Many brought gifts to Jehovah to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from then on.

²⁴In those days Hezekiah was terminally ill, and he prayed to Jehovah; and he spoke to him, and gave him a sign. ²⁵But Hezekiah didn’t reciprocate appropriate to the benefit done for him, because his heart was lifted up. Therefore there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem. ²⁶However, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that Jehovah’s wrath didn’t come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷Hezekiah had exceedingly great riches and honor. He provided himself with treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of valuable vessels; ²⁸also storehouses for the increase of grain, new wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of animals, and flocks in folds. ²⁹Moreover he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him abundant possessions. ³⁰This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of David’s city. Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

³¹However, concerning the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to test him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

³²Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ascent to the tombs of the sons of David. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Manasseh his son reigned in his place.