⁵ Hezekiah trusted^(A) in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. ⁶ He held fast^(B) to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. ⁷ And the Lord was with him; he was successful^(C) in whatever he undertook. He rebelled^(D) against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ From watchtower to fortified city,^(E) he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

⁹ In King Hezekiah’s fourth year,^(F) which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. ¹⁰ At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. ¹¹ The king^(G) of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.^{(H) 12} This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant^(I)—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.^(J) They neither listened to the commands^(K) nor carried them out.

¹³ In the fourteenth year^(L) of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah^(M) and captured them.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(A)(B)

¹⁷ The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander,^(C) his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool,^(D) on the road to the Washerman’s Field. ¹⁸ They called for the king; and Eliakim^(E) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna^(F) the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

¹⁹ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

⁹ Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,^[a] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: ¹⁰ “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend^(A) on deceive^(B) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ¹² Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver^(C) them—the gods of Gozan,^(D) Harran,^(E) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”^(F)

Hezekiah’s Prayer^(G)

¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter^(H) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,^(I) you alone^(J) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Give ear,^(K) Lord, and hear;^(L) open your eyes,^(M) Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

¹⁷ “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods^(N) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.^{(O) 19} Now, Lord our God, deliver^(P) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms^(Q) of the earth may know^(R) that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall^(S)(T)

²⁰ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard^(U) your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. ²¹ This is the word that the Lord has spoken against^(V) him:

²⁹ “This will be the sign^(A) for you, Hezekiah:

“The zeal^(H) of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

³² “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

³⁵ That night the angel of the Lord^(L) went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!^{(M) 36} So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.^(N) He returned to Nineveh^(O) and stayed there.

³⁷ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek^(P) and Sharezer killed him with the sword,^(Q) and they escaped to the land of Ararat.^(R) And Esarhaddon^(S) his son succeeded him as king.