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2 Kings 18
Legacy Standard Bible

Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Now it happened (A)in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that (B)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. 2 He was (C)twenty-five years old when he became king; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. 3 (D)And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. 4 (E)He took away the high places and shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the [a]Asherah. And he broke in pieces (F)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel were burning incense to it; and it was called [b]Nehushtan. 5 (G)He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; (H)so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. 6 So he (I)clung to Yahweh; he did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments, which Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Hezekiah Prospers

7 (J)And Yahweh was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And (K)he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 (L)He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from (M)watchtower to fortified city.

9 Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, (N)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was (O)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. 11 Then the king of Assyria took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in (P)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they (Q)did not listen to the voice of Yahweh their God, but trespassed against His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.

Sennacherib Comes Up Against Judah

13 (R)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “(S)I have done wrong. Turn away from me; whatever penalty you give to me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria set a penalty on Hezekiah king of Judah [c]three hundred talents of silver and [d]thirty talents of gold. 15 (T)Thus Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Yahweh and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

17 Then the king of Assyria sent (U)Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a heavy military force to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the (V)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the [e]fuller’s field. 18 Then they called to the king, and (W)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (X)Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.

19 Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “(Y)What is this trust that you have? 20 You say (but they are [f]only empty words), ‘I have counsel and might for the war.’ Now on whom do you trust, (Z)that you have rebelled against me? 21 Now behold, you [g](AA)trust in the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his [h]hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ is it not He whose high places and (AB)whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 So now, [i]come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to give riders for them. 24 How then can you [j]turn away one [k]official of the least of my master’s servants, and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 So now, have I come up [l]without the approval of Yahweh against this place to make it a ruin? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land and make it a ruin.’”’”

26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we [m]understand it; and do not speak with us in [n](AC)Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean, [o]saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 Thus says the king, ‘(AD)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from [p]his hand; 30 and do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, “[q]Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat (AE)each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you away (AF)to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” 33 (AG)Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 (AH)Where are the gods of Hamath and (AI)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and [r](AJ)Ivvah? When have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands [s]have delivered their land from my hand, (AK)that Yahweh would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”

36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then (AL)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah (AM)with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:4 A wooden symbol of a female deity
  2. 2 Kings 18:4 Lit a piece of bronze
  3. 2 Kings 18:14 Approx. 11.25 tons or 10.2 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
  4. 2 Kings 18:14 Approx. 1.13 tons or 1 metric ton
  5. 2 Kings 18:17 Or launderer’s
  6. 2 Kings 18:20 Lit a word of the lips
  7. 2 Kings 18:21 Lit rely for yourself
  8. 2 Kings 18:21 Lit palm
  9. 2 Kings 18:23 Lit please exchange pledges
  10. 2 Kings 18:24 Lit turn away the face of
  11. 2 Kings 18:24 Or governor
  12. 2 Kings 18:25 Lit without Yahweh
  13. 2 Kings 18:26 Lit hear
  14. 2 Kings 18:26 Hebrew
  15. 2 Kings 18:28 Lit and spoke, saying,
  16. 2 Kings 18:29 Ancient versions my
  17. 2 Kings 18:31 Lit Make with me a blessing
  18. 2 Kings 18:34 In 2 Kin 17:24, Avva
  19. 2 Kings 18:35 Lit who have
Listen to 2 Kings 18
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2 Kings 18
New International Version

Hezekiah King of Judah(A)(B)(C)

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah(D) son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years.(E) His mother’s name was Abijah[a] daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right(F) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David(G) had done. 4 He removed(H) the high places,(I) smashed the sacred stones(J) and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake(K) Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.[b])

5 Hezekiah trusted(L) 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(M) 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(N) in whatever he undertook. He rebelled(O) against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city,(P) he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

9 In King Hezekiah’s fourth year,(Q) 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(R) of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.(S) 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant(T)—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.(U) They neither listened to the commands(V) nor carried them out.

13 In the fourteenth year(W) of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah(X) and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish:(Y) “I have done wrong.(Z) Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents[c] of silver and thirty talents[d] of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave(AA) him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

16 At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors(AB) and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(AC)(AD)

17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander,(AE) 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,(AF) on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 18 They called for the king; and Eliakim(AG) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna(AH) the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

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

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence(AI) of yours? 20 You say you have the counsel and the might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 21 Look, I know you are depending on Egypt,(AJ) that splintered reed of a staff,(AK) which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 22 But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?

23 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer(AL) of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen[e]? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord?(AM) The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(AN) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

27 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive(AO) you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree(AP) and drink water from your own cistern,(AQ) 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life(AR) and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god(AS) of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath(AT) and Arpad?(AU) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(AV)

36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim(AW) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,(AX) and told him what the field commander had said.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:2 Hebrew Abi, a variant of Abijah
  2. 2 Kings 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and snake.
  3. 2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  4. 2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 1 ton or about 1 metric ton
  5. 2 Kings 18:24 Or charioteers
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2 Kings 17
2 Kings 19
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