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2 Chronicles 32
New American Standard Bible

Sennacherib Invades Judah

32 After these [a]acts of faithfulness (A)Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and [b]intended to break into them for himself. 2 Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that [c]he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. 4 So many people assembled (B)and stopped up all the springs and (C)the stream which flowed [d]through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 5 And he resolutely set to work and (D)rebuilt all of the wall that had been broken down and [e]erected towers on it, and built (E)another outside wall and strengthened the [f](F)Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great numbers. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the public square at the city gate, and (G)spoke [g]encouragingly to them, saying, 7 “(H)Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; (I)for the One with us is greater than the one with him. 8 With him is only (J)an arm of flesh, but (K)with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Undermines Hezekiah

9 After this (L)Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was [h]besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: ‘On what are you trusting that you are staying in Jerusalem under siege? 11 Is Hezekiah not misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will save us from the [i]hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 (M)Is it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and [j]Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall [k]burn incense”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? (N)Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand? 14 (O)Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand? 15 Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for (P)no god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’”

16 His servants spoke further against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah. 17 He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “(Q)As the gods of the nations of the lands [l]have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.” 18 (R)They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city. 19 They spoke [m]of the God of Jerusalem as they did against (S)the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

Hezekiah’s Prayer Is Answered

20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and called out to heaven for help. 21 And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned [n]in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword. 22 So the Lord (T)saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and [o]guided them on every side. 23 And (U)many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter (V)he rose in the sight of all nations.

24 (W)In those days Hezekiah became [p]mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and [q]the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did nothing in return for the benefit [r]he received, (X)because his heart was [s]proud; (Y)therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 26 However, (Z)Hezekiah [t]humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles, 28 also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and [u]sheepfolds for the flocks. 29 He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, because (AA)God had given him very great [v]wealth. 30 It was Hezekiah who (AB)stopped the upper outlet of the waters of (AC)Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did. 31 Even in the matter of (AD)the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about (AE)the wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only (AF)to test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.

32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, 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. 33 So Hezekiah [w]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the [x]upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (AG)honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 32:1 Lit things and this faithfulness
  2. 2 Chronicles 32:1 Lit said
  3. 2 Chronicles 32:2 Lit he set his face for war
  4. 2 Chronicles 32:4 Lit in the midst of
  5. 2 Chronicles 32:5 Lit raised on the towers
  6. 2 Chronicles 32:5 I.e., terraced structure
  7. 2 Chronicles 32:6 Lit upon their hearts
  8. 2 Chronicles 32:9 Lit against
  9. 2 Chronicles 32:11 Lit palm
  10. 2 Chronicles 32:12 Lit Jerusalem, saying,
  11. 2 Chronicles 32:12 Lit offer up in smoke
  12. 2 Chronicles 32:17 Lit who have
  13. 2 Chronicles 32:19 Lit to
  14. 2 Chronicles 32:21 Lit in shame of face
  15. 2 Chronicles 32:22 Another reading is gave them rest
  16. 2 Chronicles 32:24 Lit sick to the point of death
  17. 2 Chronicles 32:24 Lit He
  18. 2 Chronicles 32:25 Lit to Him
  19. 2 Chronicles 32:25 Lit high
  20. 2 Chronicles 32:26 Lit humbled himself in
  21. 2 Chronicles 32:28 As in ancient versions; MT herds for the stables
  22. 2 Chronicles 32:29 Lit possessions; or property
  23. 2 Chronicles 32:33 I.e., died
  24. 2 Chronicles 32:33 Or ascent to
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2 Chronicles 32
Common English Bible

Sennacherib’s invasion

32 After these things and these faithful acts, Assyria’s King Sennacherib invaded Judah and attacked its fortified cities, intending to capture them. 2 When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also planned on fighting Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and soldiers about stopping up the springs outside the city, and they supported him. 4 A large force gathered to stop up all the springs and the streams that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they asked. 5 Hezekiah vigorously rebuilt all the broken sections of the wall, erected towers, constructed another wall outside the first, reinforced the terrace of David’s City, and made a large supply of weapons and shields. 6 He appointed military officers over the troops, assembled them in the square of the city gate, and spoke these words of encouragement: 7 “Be brave and be strong! Don’t let the king of Assyria and all those warriors he brings with him scare you or cause you dismay, because our forces are greater than his.[a] 8 All he has is human strength, but we have the Lord our God, who will help us fight our battles!”

The troops trusted Judah’s King Hezekiah.

9 After this Assyria’s King Sennacherib, who was attacking Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem with the following message for Judah’s King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem:

10 This is what Assyria’s King Sennacherib says: What makes you so confident that you stay put in Jerusalem while it is being attacked? 11 Obviously, Hezekiah has fooled you into surrendering yourselves to death by hunger and thirst when he says, “The Lord our God will rescue us from Assyria’s king.” 12 Isn’t this the same Hezekiah who got rid of his shrines and altars, and then demanded of Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship and burn incense before only one altar”? 13 Don’t you know what I and my predecessors have done to the people of other nations? Were any of the gods of these other nations able to rescue their lands from my power? 14 Which one of any of the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed was able to rescue them from my power? So why should your god be able to rescue you from my power? 15 Don’t let Hezekiah seduce you like fools. Don’t believe him! No god of any other nation or kingdom has been able to rescue their people from me or from my predecessors. No, your gods won’t rescue you from my power.

16 The Assyrian king’s servants continued to make fun of the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah. 17 He wrote other letters insulting the Lord God of Israel, defying him by saying, “Just as the gods of the nations in other countries couldn’t rescue their people from my power, Hezekiah’s god won’t be able to rescue his people from my power.” 18 Then they shouted loudly in Hebrew[b] at the people of Jerusalem gathered on the wall, in an attempt to frighten and demoralize them, in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as though he were the work of human hands, like the gods of the other peoples of the earth. 20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son, prayed about this, crying out to heaven. 21 Then the Lord sent a messenger who destroyed every warrior, leader, and officer in the camp of the Assyrian king. When Sennacherib went home in disgrace, he entered the temple of his god, and his own sons killed him with a sword. 22 This is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem from the power of Assyria’s King Sennacherib, and all others, giving them rest[c] on all sides. 23 Many people brought offerings to the Lord in Jerusalem and costly gifts to Judah’s King Hezekiah, who was highly regarded by all the nations from then on.

Hezekiah’s illness

24 Around that same time, Hezekiah became deathly ill and prayed to the Lord, who answered him with a miraculous sign. 25 But Hezekiah was too proud to respond appropriately to the kindness he had received, and he, along with Judah and Jerusalem, experienced anger. 26 However, Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem humbled themselves in their pride, and so they didn’t experience the Lord’s anger for the rest of Hezekiah’s reign.

27 Hezekiah became very wealthy and greatly respected. He made storehouses for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and other valuables. 28 He made barns to store the harvest of grain, wine, and olive oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle; and pens for flocks. 29 He acquired towns for himself and many flocks and herds because God had given him great wealth. 30 Hezekiah was the one who blocked the upper outlet of the waters of the Gihon Spring, channeling them down to the west side of David’s City. Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did, 31 even in the matter of the ambassadors sent from Babylonian officials to find out about the miraculous sign that occurred in the land, when God had abandoned him in order to test him and to discover what was in his heart.

32 The rest of Hezekiah’s deeds, including his faithfulness, are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son, in the records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings. 33 Hezekiah lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the upper area of the tombs of David’s sons. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. His son Manasseh succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 32:7 Or there is greater power with us than with him
  2. 2 Chronicles 32:18 Or the language of Judah
  3. 2 Chronicles 32:22 LXX; MT he led them
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