Beginning

Sennacherib Speaks against the Lord

32 After these faithful acts, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to fight against Judah. His army gathered around the strong cities. He thought he would take them for himself. ² When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to fight against Jerusalem, ³ he planned with his captains and men of war to stop the water from the wells which were outside the city. And they helped him. ⁴ Many people were gathered, and they stopped all the wells and the small river which flowed through the land. They said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” ⁵ Then Hezekiah took strength of heart and built again all of the wall that had been broken down. He built towers on it, and built another outside wall. He made the Millo strong in the city of David. And he made many battle-coverings and objects to fight with. ⁶ He chose army captains to lead the people, and gathered them in the place by the city gate. He spoke comforting words to them, saying, ⁷ “Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or troubled because of the king of Assyria and all those who are with him. For the One with us is greater than the one with him. ⁸ He has only man with him. But we have the Lord our God with us, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people trusted the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁹ Then King Sennacherib of Assyria, whose army was gathered around Lachish with him, sent word by his servants to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem. He said, ¹⁰ “King Sennacherib of Assyria says, ‘On what do you trust, that you are staying in Jerusalem with my army around you? ¹¹ Is not Hezekiah leading you the wrong way to let you die by hunger and thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will save us from the king of Assyria”? ¹² Has not this same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, “You will worship in front of one altar and burn special perfume on it”? ¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the other nations able to save their lands from me? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods could save his people from me in all those nations which my fathers destroyed? Would your God be able to save you from me? ¹⁵ So now do not let Hezekiah lie to you or lead you in the wrong way like this. Do not believe him. For no god of any nation was able to save his people from me or from my fathers. How much less will your God save you from me!’”

¹⁶ Sennacherib’s men said still more against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ The Assyrian king also wrote letters to say things against the Lord God of Israel, saying, “As the gods of the other nations of the lands have not saved their people from me, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from me.” ¹⁸ They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall. They did this to bring fear upon them, so that they might take the city. ¹⁹ They talked about the God of Jerusalem as if He were one of the gods of the people of the earth, which were made by the hands of men.

²⁰ But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the man of God, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven. ²¹ And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every powerful soldier and every captain and leader in the camp of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib returned in shame to his own land. And when he had gone into the house of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword. ²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria, and from all others. And He gave them rest on every side. ²³ Many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and things of much worth to King Hezekiah of Judah. So the king was honored in the eyes of all nations from that time on.

Hezekiah’s Pride

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became very sick. He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him and gave him something special to see. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did not do anything in return for the good he received, because his heart was proud. So the Lord’s anger came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Then Hezekiah put away the pride of his heart, both he and the people of Jerusalem. So that the anger of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Riches

²⁷ Now Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. He made for himself store-houses for silver, gold, stones of much worth, spices, battle-coverings, and all kinds of things of much worth. ²⁸ He made store-houses for the grain that was gathered, wine, and oil. He made places for all kinds of herds, and places for the flocks. ²⁹ He made cities for himself, and gathered very many flocks and cattle. For God had given him very many riches. ³⁰ It was Hezekiah who stopped the upper opening of the waters of Gihon, and made them flow to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah did well in all that he did. ³¹ It was so even when the men were sent to him from the rulers of Babylon to ask about the wonder that had happened in the land. God left Hezekiah alone to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

The End of Hezekiah’s Rule

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good works are written in the special dream of Isaiah the man of God, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ Hezekiah died and they buried him in the upper graves of the sons of David. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Manasseh Rules Judah

33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king. And he ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was bad in the eyes of the Lord. He did the hated things of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the sons of Israel. ³ For he built again the high places which his father Hezekiah had broken down. He built altars for the false gods of Baal and made objects of worship for the false goddess Asherah. He worshiped all the stars of heaven and served them. ⁴ And he built altars in the Lord’s house, of which the Lord had said, “My name will be in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ He built altars for all the stars of heaven in the two open spaces of the house of the Lord. ⁶ And he burned his sons as a gift in the valley of Ben-hinnom. He did witchcraft and asked the demon world about the future. He asked the demon world to do very special things, and he talked with people who spoke with the spirits of the dead. He did what was very bad in the eyes of the Lord, and made Him angry. ⁷ Manasseh made an object to look like a false god, and put it in God’s house, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all the families of Israel, I will put My name forever. ⁸ And I will never again take Israel out of the land which I have chosen for your fathers, if only they will obey all that I have told them in the Laws given through Moses.” ⁹ Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to do more sinful things than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Manasseh Turns from His Sin

¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. ¹¹ So the Lord brought the captains of the army of the king of Assyria against them. And they took Manasseh with hooks and tied him with brass chains and brought him to Babylon. ¹² When Manasseh was in trouble, he prayed to the Lord his God, and put away his pride before the God of his fathers. ¹³ When he prayed to Him, God heard his prayer and listened to him, and brought him again to Jerusalem and to his nation. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

¹⁴ After this he built the outside wall of the city of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the Fish Gate. He built it around the Ophel, and made it very high. Then he put army captains in all the strong cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He took away the strange gods and the false god from the house of the Lord. And he took away all the altars he had built on the mountain of the Lord’s house and in Jerusalem, and threw them outside the city. ¹⁶ He set up the altar of the Lord and gave peace gifts and thank gifts in worship on it. And he told Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁷ But the people still killed animals in worship at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

The End of Manasseh’s Rule

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words the men who spoke for God spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are among the writings of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ His prayer and how God heard his prayer, and of all his sin and how he was not faithful, are found in the writings of the men who spoke for God. Also it is written where he built the high places, and made the objects of the false goddess Asherah, and made objects to look like gods, before he put away his pride. ²⁰ So Manasseh died and they buried him in his own house. And his son Amon became king in his place.

²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and ruled for two years in Jerusalem. ²² Amon did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. He killed animals in worship to all the false gods his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. ²³ He did not put away his pride before the Lord as his father Manasseh had done, but Amon added to his guilt. ²⁴ His servants made plans against him, and killed him in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land killed all those who had killed King Amon and made his son Josiah king in his place.

Josiah Rules Judah

34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. And he ruled thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³ For in the eighth year of his rule while he was still young, he began to look for the God of his father David. In the twelfth year he began to take the sinful things out of Judah and Jerusalem. He took away the high places, the objects of the false goddess Asherah, and all the objects made to look like gods. ⁴ They tore down the altars of the false gods of Baal in front of him. And he cut down the special perfume altars which stood above them. He broke in pieces the objects of the false goddess Asherah and all the objects made to look like gods. Then he ground them to dust and spread it on the graves of those who had given gifts in worship to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of their religious leaders on their altars, and made Judah and Jerusalem free from worshiping false gods. ⁶ And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in the broken down places around them, ⁷ Josiah tore down the altars and beat to dust the objects of Asherah and the objects made to look like gods. He cut down all the special perfume altars through all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Is Found

⁸ Now it was the eighteenth year of his rule, and Josiah had made the land and the Lord’s house free from worshiping false gods. At that time he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the leader of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, who wrote down the things that happened, to do the work needed on the house of the Lord his God. ⁹ They came to Hilkiah the head religious leader and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God. The Levites who watched the door had received this money from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all those who were left of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the people of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they gave the money to the workmen who watched over the work of the Lord’s house. And the workmen who were working in the Lord’s house used it to make the house like new. ¹¹ They gave the money to those who work with wood and to the builders to buy cut stone and wood for joints and building-pieces for the houses. The kings of Judah had not had the needed work done on them. ¹² And the men were faithful in doing the work. Watching over them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites. The Levites who were good at playing music ¹³ watched over those who carried loads and those who did work in every kind of duty. Some of the Levites were writers and leaders and gate-keepers.

¹⁴ When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the Lord’s house, Hilkiah the religious leader found the book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah told Shaphan the writer, “I have found the book of the Law in the Lord’s house.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Then Shaphan brought the book to the king, and said to him, “Your servants are doing all the work that they have been given to do. ¹⁷ They have taken all the money that was found in the Lord’s house and have given it to the leaders and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the writer said to the king, “Hilkiah the religious leader gave me a book.” And Shaphan read it in front of the king. ¹⁹ When King Josiah heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king called Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the writer, and Asaiah the king’s servant. He told them, ²¹ “Go, ask the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, about the words of the book which have been found. For much of the Lord’s anger has been poured out on us because our fathers have not obeyed the Word of the Lord. They have not done all that is written in this book.”

²² So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent went to Huldah the woman who spoke for God. She was the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, who watched over the clothing. (She lived in Jerusalem in the second part of the city.) They spoke to her about this. ²³ And she said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me ²⁴ what I say. See, I am bringing much trouble to this place and to its people. I am allowing all the curses to come which are written in the book they have read in front of the king of Judah. ²⁵ They have left Me and have burned special perfume to other gods, that they might make Me angry with all the work of their hands. So My anger will be poured out on this place, and it will not be stopped. ²⁶ But tell the king of Judah who sent you to the Lord, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says about the words which you have heard: ²⁷ ‘Your heart was broken and you had no pride before God when you heard His words against this place and its people. And because you came before Me with no pride, tore your clothes, and cried before Me, I have heard you,’ says the Lord. ²⁸ ‘Your eyes will not see all the much trouble that I will bring on this place and its people. It will come after you die. You will be taken to your grave in peace.’”’” The men brought back this word to the king.

Josiah Brings Back True Worship

²⁹ Then the king sent and gathered together all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the religious leaders, the Levites, and all the people from the greatest to the least. And he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the agreement which was found in the Lord’s house. ³¹ Then the king stood in his place and made an agreement before the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord, to obey His Laws with all his heart and soul, and to do what is written in the agreement in this book. ³² And he made all who were there in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the people of Jerusalem promised to obey the agreement of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Josiah took away all the hated false gods from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel. He made all who were in Israel worship the Lord their God. While Josiah was alive, they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.