The Reforms of Hezekiah^(A)

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(B)broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the ^[a]high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.

² And Hezekiah appointed ^(C)the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites ^(D)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the ^[b]camp of the Lord. ³ The king also appointed a ^[c]portion of his ^(E)possessions^[d] for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the ^(F)Law of the Lord.

⁴ Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute ^(G)support^[e] for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to ^(H)the Law of the Lord.

⁵ As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance ^(I)the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the ^(J)tithe of everything. ⁶ And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the ^(K)tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord their God they laid in heaps.

⁷ In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸ And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest, from the ^(L)house of Zadok, answered him and said, ^(M)“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great ^(N)abundance.”

¹¹ Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(O)rooms^[f] in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; ^(P)Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ^(Q)ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴ Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the ^(R)freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And under him were ^(S)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in ^(T)the cities of the priests, to distribute ^(U)allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.

¹⁶ Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, ¹⁷ and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites ^(V)from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, ¹⁸ and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they ^[g]sanctified themselves in holiness.

¹⁹ Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in ^(W)the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were ^(X)designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites.

²⁰ Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he ^(Y)did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. ²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he ^(Z)prospered.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord^(AA)

32 After ^(AB)these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. ² And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, ³ he consulted with his leaders and ^[h]commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him. ⁴ Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the ^(AC)springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the ^[i]kings of Assyria come and find much water?” ⁵ And ^(AD)he strengthened himself, ^(AE)built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired ^[j]the ^(AF)Millo in the City of David, and made ^[k]weapons and shields in abundance. ⁶ Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and ^(AG)gave them encouragement, saying, ^7 (AH)“Be strong and courageous; ^(AI)do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for ^(AJ)there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is an ^(AK)arm of flesh; but ^(AL)with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

^9 (AM)After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ^10 (AN)“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, ^(AO)“The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? ^12 (AP)Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one altar and burn incense on ^(AQ)it”? ¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? ^(AR)Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? ¹⁴ Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my ^(AS)hand? ¹⁵ Now therefore, ^(AT)do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ”

¹⁶ Furthermore, his servants spoke against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷ He also wrote letters to revile the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, ^(AU)“As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my ^(AV)hand.” ^18 (AW)Then they called out with a loud voice in ^[l]Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, that they might take the city. ¹⁹ And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—^(AX)the work of men’s hands.

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death^(AY)

^20 (AZ)Now because of this King Hezekiah and ^(BA)the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. ^21 (BB)Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^(BC)shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.

²² Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and ^[m]guided them on every side. ²³ And many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and ^(BD)presents^[n] to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was ^(BE)exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

Hezekiah Humbles Himself^(BF)

^24 (BG)In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah ^(BH)did not repay according to the favor shown him, for ^(BI)his heart was lifted up; ^(BJ)therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. ^26 (BK)Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them ^(BL)in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor^(BM)

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; ²⁸ storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and ^[o]folds for flocks. ²⁹ Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for ^(BN)God had given him very much property. ^30 (BO)This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and ^[p]brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah ^(BP)prospered in all his works.

³¹ However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they ^(BQ)sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to ^(BR)test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

Death of Hezekiah

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in ^(BS)the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the ^(BT)book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ^33 (BU)So Hezekiah ^[q]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(BV)honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah^(BW)

33 Manasseh ^(BX)was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the ^(BY)abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the ^[r]high places which Hezekiah his father had ^(BZ)broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and ^(CA)made wooden images; and he worshiped ^(CB)all ^[s]the host of heaven and served them. ⁴ He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^(CC)“In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” ⁵ And he built altars for all the host of heaven ^(CD)in the two courts of the house of the Lord. ^6 (CE)Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced ^(CF)soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and ^(CG)consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ^7 (CH)He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the ^[t]house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, ^(CI)“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; ^8 (CJ)and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” ⁹ So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

Manasseh Restored After Repentance

¹⁰ And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not ^[u]listen. ^11 (CK)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with ^[v]hooks, ^(CL)bound him with ^[w]bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. ¹² Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and ^(CM)humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, ¹³ and prayed to Him; and He ^(CN)received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh ^(CO)knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴ After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of ^(CP)Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it ^(CQ)enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He took away ^(CR)the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. ¹⁶ He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and ^(CS)thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ^17 (CT)Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the ^[x]high places, but only to the Lord their God.

Death of Manasseh^(CU)

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(CV)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the ^[y]book of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built ^[z]high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of ^[aa]Hozai. ^20 (CW)So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.

Amon’s Reign and Death^(CX)

^21 (CY)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. ²³ And he did not humble himself before the Lord, ^(CZ)as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

^24 (DA)Then his servants conspired against him, and ^(DB)killed him in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.