God’s Indictment of His People

What God Requires of Mankind

The Prophet Acknowledges Injustice

God Is the Source of Salvation and Light

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.

Invasion of Judah

^13 (A)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. ¹⁴ Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent messengers to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “^(B)I have done wrong. ^[a]Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will endure.” So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah the payment of three hundred ^[b]talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ^15 (C)Hezekiah then gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, 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 the Lord, and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent ^(D)Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the ^(E)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the road of the ^[c]fuller’s field. ¹⁸ Then they called to the king, and ^(F)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, ^(G)Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, went out to them.

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36 ^(A)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, ^(B)Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. ² And the ^(C)king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the ^(D)conduit of the upper pool on the road to the ^[a]fuller’s field. ³ Then ^(E)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and ^(F)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to him.

¹⁹ And Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “^(A)What is this confidence that you ^[a]have? ²⁰ You say—but they are only ^[b]empty words—‘I have a plan and strength for the war.’ Now on whom have you relied, ^(B)that you have revolted against me? ²¹ Now behold, you have ^[c](C)relied on the ^[d]support of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^[e]hand and pierce it. That is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. ²² However, if you say to me, ‘We have trusted in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and ^(D)whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? ²³ Now then, ^[f]come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them! ²⁴ How then can you drive back even ^[g]one ^[h]official of the least of my master’s servants, and ^[i]rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Have I now come up without ^[j]the Lord’s approval against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

²⁶ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, because we ^[k]understand it; and do not speak with us in ^[l](E)Judean ^[m]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” ²⁷ But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not also sent me 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 up and shouted with a loud voice in Judean, ^[n]saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! ²⁹ This is what the king says: ‘^(F)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you from ^[o]my hand. ³⁰ And do not let Hezekiah lead you to trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly save us, and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make ^[p]your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, ^(G)each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern, ³² until I come and take you ^(H)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 producing oil, and of honey, so that you will live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah, because he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will save us.” ^33 (I)Has any of the gods of the nations actually saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ^34 (J)Where are the gods of Hamath and ^(K)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^[q](L)Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands are there who have saved their land from my hand, ^(M)that the Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”

³⁶ But the people were silent and did not answer him with even a word, because it was the king’s ^[r]command: “Do not answer him.” ³⁷ Then ^(N)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah ^(O)with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.

⁴ And ^(A)Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “What is this confidence that you have? ⁵ I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only ^[a]empty words.’ Now on whom have you relied, that ^(B)you have revolted against me? ⁶ Behold, you have relied on the ^(C)staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^[b]hand and pierce it. ^(D)So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. ⁷ But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He ^(E)whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? ⁸ Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them! ⁹ How then can you ^[c]drive back even one ^[d]official of the least of my master’s servants and ^[e](F)rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ¹⁰ And have I now come up ^[f]without the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? ^(G)The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

¹¹ Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in ^(H)Aramaic, for we ^[g]understand it; and do not speak to us in ^[h](I)Judean ^[i]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” ¹² But Rabshakeh said, “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?”

¹³ Then Rabshakeh stood and ^(J)called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! ¹⁴ This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah ^(K)deceive you, for he will not be able to save you; ¹⁵ and do not let Hezekiah lead you to ^(L)rely on the Lord, saying, “The Lord will certainly save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!” ¹⁶ Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘^[j]Surrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his ^(M)vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of the ^(N)waters of 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, saying, “^(O)The Lord will save us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of ^(P)Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of ^(Q)Sepharvaim? And when have they ^(R)saved Samaria from my hand? ²⁰ Who among all the ^(S)gods of these lands have saved their land from my hand, that the ^(T)Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”

²¹ But they were silent and did not ^(U)answer him so much as a word; for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” ²² Then ^(V)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and ^(W)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.