¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you destroyer of Israel?”^(A)

¹⁸ He replied, “I have not destroyed Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands^(B) and followed the Baals.^{(C) 19} Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel,^(D) along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah^(E) who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Elijah at Mount Carmel

²⁰ So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?^(F) If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him.”^(G) But the people didn’t answer him a word.

²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord,^(H) but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. ²³ Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh.^(I) The God who answers with fire, He is God.”

All the people answered, “That sounds good.”

²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don’t light the fire.”

²⁶ So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound;^(J) no one answered. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.

²⁷ At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away;^[a] or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!”^{(K) 28} They shouted loudly, and cut themselves^(L) with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them. ²⁹ All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice,^(M) but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.^(N)

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So all the people approached him. Then he repaired the Lord’s altar that had been torn down:^{(O) 31} Elijah took 12 stones—according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel will be your name”^(P)— ³² and he built an altar^(Q) with the stones in the name of Yahweh. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons.^{[b][c] 33} Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. He said, “Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the offering to be burned and on the wood.” ³⁴ Then he said, “A second time!” and they did it a second time. And then he said, “A third time!” and they did it a third time. ³⁵ So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water.

³⁶ At the time for offering the evening sacrifice,^(R) Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,^(S) today let it be known^(T) that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God^(U) and that You have turned their hearts back.”

⁸ So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights^(A) to Horeb, the mountain of God.^(B)

Sennacherib’s Invasion

32 After these faithful deeds, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended^[a] to break into them.^{(A) 2} Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned^[b] war on Jerusalem, ³ so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the waters of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴ Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs^(B) and the stream that flowed through the land;^(C) they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” ⁵ Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall^(D) and heightening the towers and the other outside wall.^(E) He repaired the supporting terraces^(F) of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields.

⁶ He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them,^[c](G) saying, ⁷ “Be strong and courageous!^(H) Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.^{(I) 8} He has only human strength,^[d] but we have Yahweh our God to help us and to fight our battles.”^(J) So the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

Sennacherib’s Servant’s Speech

⁹ After this,^(K) while Sennacherib king of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged^[e] Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ¹⁰ “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? ¹¹ Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “Yahweh our God will deliver us from the power of the king of Assyria”? ¹² Didn’t Hezekiah himself remove His high places and His altars^(L) and say to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before one altar, and you must burn incense on it”?

¹³ “‘Don’t you know^(M) what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to deliver their land from my power? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to deliver his people from my power, that your God should be able to do the same for you?^{(N) 15} So now,^(O) don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, and don’t let him mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my power or the power of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my power!’”

¹⁶ His servants said more against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He also wrote letters to mock Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying against Him:

¹⁸ Then they called out loudly in Hebrew^[f] to the people of Jerusalem, who were on the wall, to frighten and discourage them in order that he might capture the city. ¹⁹ They spoke against the God of Jerusalem like they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which were made by human hands.

Deliverance from Sennacherib

²⁰ King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven,^{(Q) 21} and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every brave warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.^(R)

²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest^[g](S) on every side. ²³ Many were bringing an offering to the Lord to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.^(T)

Sennacherib’s Invasion

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,^(A) Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish^(B) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller’s Field.^{(C) 3} Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,^(D) and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him.

⁴ The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

¹¹ Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(J) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew^[c] within earshot of the people who are on the wall.”

¹² But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

¹³ Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew:^[d]

²¹ But they kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.”^{(Q) 22} Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.