¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the field marshal,^(A) the chief of staff, and his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.^(B) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and^[a] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field.^{(C) 18} They called for the king, but Eliakim^(D) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah^(E) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.^(F)

The Royal Spokesman’s Speech

¹⁹ Then^(G) the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?^{[b](H) 20} You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?^{(I) 21} Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff^(J) that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it.^(K) This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. ²² Suppose you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,^(L) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem”?’

²³ “So now, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! ²⁴ How then can you drive back a single officer^(M) among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵ Now, have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?^(N) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the royal spokesman, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(O) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew^[c] within earshot of the people on the wall.”

²⁷ But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?” ^(P)

²⁸ The royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive^(Q) you; he can’t rescue you from my power.^{(R) 30} Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord by saying, “Certainly the Lord will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”’^(S)

³¹ “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace^[d] with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,^(T) and each may drink water from his own cistern ³² until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey^(U)—so that you may live^(V) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will rescue us.” ³³ Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued^(W) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?^[e] Have they rescued Samaria from my power?^{(X) 35} Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” ^(Y)

³⁶ But the people kept silent; they did not answer him at all, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” ³⁷ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,^(Z) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn^(AA) and reported to him the words of the royal spokesman.

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

⁸ When^(A) the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,^(B) he left and found him fighting against Libnah.^(C)

Sennacherib’s Invasion

32 After Hezekiah’s faithful deeds, King Sennacherib 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 water 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 abundant 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 the Lord 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 King Sennacherib 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, “The Lord our God will keep us from the grasp 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 predecessors have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?^{(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 rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. How much less will your God rescue 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 the Lord, the God of Israel, saying against him:

Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not rescue his people from my power.^(P)

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 valiant 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) King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² Then the king of Assyria sent his royal spokesman, 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 Launderer’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 royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on? ⁵ You^[a] think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?^{(E) 6} Look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff^(F) that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him.^{(G) 7} Suppose you say to me, ‘We rely on the Lord our God.’ Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar’?^(H)

⁸ “Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! ⁹ How then can you drive back a single officer among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?^{(I) 10} Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

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

¹² But the royal spokesman 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 royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew:

Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! ¹⁴ This is what the king says: “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you,^(K) for he cannot rescue you. ¹⁵ Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will certainly rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’”

¹⁶ Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make peace^[c] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree^(L) and drink water from his own cistern ¹⁷ until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. ¹⁸ Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us.’^(M) Has any one of the gods of the nations^(N) rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?^(O) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my power?^{(P) 20} Who among all the gods of these lands ever rescued his land from my power? So will the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?”

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 royal spokesman.