Sennacherib’s Invasion

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Assyria’s King Sennacherib attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(A) 14 So King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish:(B) “I have done wrong;(C) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded eleven tons[a] of silver and one ton[b] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.

16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.(D)

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

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 18:14 Lit 300 talents
  2. 18:14 Lit 30 talents
  3. 18:17 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and came and

13 In the fourteenth year(A) of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah(B) and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish:(C) “I have done wrong.(D) 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[a] of silver and thirty talents[b] of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave(E) 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(F) and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(G)(H)

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

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  2. 2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 1 ton or about 1 metric ton