2 Kings 18:1‑20:21• 1And it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.
2He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah.
3And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.
4He removed the high places, and broke the columns, and cut down the Asherahs, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; for to those days the children of Israel burned incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
5He trusted in Jehovah the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
6For he clave to Jehovah and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments which Jehovah commanded Moses.
7And Jehovah was with him; he prospered whithersoever he went forth; and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
8He smote the Philistines unto Gazah and its borders, from the watchmen's tower to the fortified city.
9So it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
10And at the end of three years they took it, even in the sixth year of Hezekiah (that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel) Samaria was taken.
11And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel into Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:
12because they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah their God, but transgressed his covenant and all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.
13And in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them.
14And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
15And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king's house.
16At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave them to the king of Assyria.
17And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-Shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host, against king Hezekiah, to Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fullers' field.
18And when they had called to the king there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the chronicler.
19And Rab-Shakeh said to them, Say now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
20Thou sayest (but they are but vain words), I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust? that thou rebellest against me.
21Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean it will go into his hand and pierce it; so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
22But if ye say unto me, We trust in Jehovah our God. Is not that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
23Now, therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
24How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
25Am I now come up without Jehovah against this place to destroy it? Jehovah said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.
26And Eliakim the son of Hilkijah, and Shebnah and Joah said to Rab-Shakeh, Speak, we pray thee, to thy servants in Syriac, for we understand it, and talk not with us in the Jewish language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
27But Rab-Shakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? Is it not to the men that sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?
28Then Rab-Shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
29Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand.
30Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
31Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me, and come out to me; and eat every one of his vine and every one of his fig-tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern;
32until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-trees and of honey, that ye may live and not die; and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us.
33Have any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
34Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
35Which are they among all the gods of the countries, who have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
36But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word, for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
37And Eliakim the son of Hilkijah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the chronicler, came to Hezekiah with their garments rent, and told him the words of Rab-Shakeh.
1And it came to pass when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah.
2And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
4It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rab-Shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.
5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8So Rab-Shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
9And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,
10Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah saying: Let not thy God, upon whom thou reliest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all countries, destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
12Have the gods of the nations which my fathers have destroyed delivered them: Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Thelassar?
13Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?
14And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up into the house of Jehovah and spread it before Jehovah.
15And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
16O Jehovah, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, O Jehovah, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
17Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
18and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore have they destroyed them.
19And now, Jehovah our God, I beseech thee, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, thou only.
20And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Jehovah God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
21This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him:
22Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed?{HR}And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice,{HR}And lifted up thine eyes on high?{HR}Even again the Holy One of Israel. {HR}
23By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said,{HR}With the multitude of my chariots have I come up{HR}To the height of the mountain, to the recesses of Lebanon,{HR}And I will cut down its tall cedars, the choice of its cypresses;{HR}And I will enter into its furthest lodging-place,{HR}Into the forest of its fruitful field.{HR}
24I have digged, and have drunk strange waters,{HR}And with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the streams of Matsor.
25Hast thou not heard long ago that I have done it?{HR}And that from ancient days I formed it?{HR}Now have I brought it to pass,{HR}That thou shouldest lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.{HR}
26And their inhabitants were powerless,{HR}They were dismayed and put to shame;{HR}They were as the growing grass, and as the green herb,{HR}As the grass on the housetops, and grain blighted before it be grown up.{HR}
27But I know thine abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in,{HR}And thy raging against me.{HR}
28Because thy raging against me and thine arrogance is come up into mine ears,{HR}I will put my ring in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips,{HR}And I will make thee go back by the way by which thou camest.
29And this shall be the sign unto thee:{HR}They shall eat this year such as groweth of itself,{HR}And in the second year that which springeth of the same;{HR}But in the third year sow ye and reap,{HR}And plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof.{HR}
30And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah{HR}Shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward;{HR}
31For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant,{HR}And out of mount Zion they that escape:{HR}The zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.
32Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria:{HR}He shall not come into this city,{HR}Nor shoot an arrow there,{HR}Nor come before it with shield,{HR}Nor cast a bank against it.{HR}
33By the way that he came, by the same shall he return,{HR}And shall not come into this city, saith Jehovah.
34For I will defend this city, to save it,{HR}For mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
35It came to pass that night, that the angel of Jehovah went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred eighty-five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
36And Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and abode at Nineveh.
37And it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not live.
2He turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, saying,
3I beseech, O Jehovah, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4And it came to pass afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of Jehovah came to him saying,
5Turn again, and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer; I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of Jehovah.
6And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
7And Isaiah said, Take a cake of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that Jehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah the third day?
9And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10And Hezekiah said, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
11And Isaiah the prophet cried to Jehovah, and he brought the shadow back on the degrees by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.
12At that time Berodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
13And Hezekiah hearkened to them, and showed them all his treasure-house, the silver and the gold, and the spices and the fine oil, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found among his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not show them.
14Then came the prophet Isaiah to king Hezekiah and said to him, What said these men? and from whence came they to thee? And Hezekiah said, They came from a far country, from Babylon.
15And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah said, All that is in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.
16And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of Jehovah:
17Behold, days come that all that is in thy house, and what thy fathers have laid up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah.
18And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be chamberlains in the palace of the king of Babylon.
19And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not so? if only there shall be peace and truth in my days!
20And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool and the aqueduct, and brought the water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
21And Hezekiah slept with his fathers; and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 18:1‑20:21)
2 Chron. 29:1‑32:33• 1Hezekiah began to reign being twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah.
2And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.
3He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Jehovah and repaired them.
4And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them together into the east street,
5and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and turned their backs.
7Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
8Wherefore the wrath of Jehovah was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with Jehovah God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11My sons, be not now negligent: for Jehovah hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
12Then the Levites rose up, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalleleel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah;
13and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15And they gathered their brethren, and hallowed themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah.
16And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse it, and carried forth all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah, into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it to carry it forth into the brook Kidron.
17Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Jehovah: so they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
18And they went in to king Hezekiah, and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the table of the bread to be set in rows, and all its vessels;
19and all the vessels that king Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression have we prepared and hallowed, and behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah.
20Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city and went up to the house of Jehovah.
21And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Jehovah.
22So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
23And they brought forth the he-goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them.
24And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for so was the commandment of Jehovah by his prophets.
26And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of Jehovah began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
28And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.
30Moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises unto Jehovah with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
31And Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to Jehovah, come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart, burnt-offerings.
32And the number of the burnt-offerings, which the congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
33And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34Only the priests were too few, and they could not flay all the burnt-offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them, until the work was ended, and until the priests had hallowed themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to hallow themselves than the priests.
35And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and with the drink-offerings for the burnt-offering. And the service of the house of Jehovah was set in order.
36And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
1And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh that they should come to the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem to keep the Passover unto Jehovah God of Israel.
2And the king took counsel, and his princes, and the whole congregation in Jerusalem, to hold the Passover in the second month.
3For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not hallowed themselves in sufficient number, neither had the people been gathered together to Jerusalem.
4And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.
5So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel from Beer-Sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover unto Jehovah God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written.
6So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto Jehovah God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you—that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.
7And be not ye like your fathers and like your brethren which trespassed against Jehovah God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation as ye see.
8Now, be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto Jehovah, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified forever, and serve Jehovah your God, that the fierceness of his anger may turn away from you.
9For if ye return to Jehovah, your brethren and your children shall find compassion with those that have carried them captive, so that they shall come again unto this land; for Jehovah your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return to him.
10So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.
11Nevertheless, divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
12Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king, and of the princes, by the word of Jehovah.
13And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to hold the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation.
14And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away and cast them into the brook Kidron.
15Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month, and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of Jehovah,
16and they stood in their place after their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood receiving it from the hand of the Levites.
17For there were many in the congregation that were not hallowed; therefore the Levites had the charge of the slaughtering of the Passover-lambs for every one not clean, to hallow them unto Jehovah.
18For a multitude of the people, many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, and they ate the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying, Jehovah, who is good, forgive every one
19that has directed his heart to seek God, Jehovah the God of his fathers, although not according to the purification of the sanctuary.
20And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
21And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised Jehovah day by day, singing with loud instruments unto Jehovah.
22And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that had understanding in the good knowledge of Jehovah; and they ate the feast-offerings the seven days, sacrificing peace-offerings, and extolling Jehovah the God of their fathers.
23And the whole congregation took counsel to observe other seven days; and they observed the seven days with gladness.
24For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.
25And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.
26So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had not been the like in Jerusalem.
27And the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, to the heavens.
1And when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the columns, and hewed down the Asherahs, and demolished the high places and the altars in all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his own possession, into their own cities.
2And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests, and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, as well the priests as the Levites, for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the courts of Jehovah.
3And he ordered that the king's portion should be taken from his substance for the burnt-offerings: for the morning and evening burnt-offerings, for the burnt-offerings of the Sabbaths, and of the new moons, and of the set feasts, as it is written in the law of Jehovah.
4And he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of Jehovah.
5And as soon as the commandment was published, the children of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of corn, new wine and oil and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all things.
6And the children of Israel and of Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to Jehovah their God, and laid them by heaps.
7In the third month they began to lay the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.
8And Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, and they blessed Jehovah, and his people Israel.
9And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
10And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok spoke to him and said, Since they began to bring the heave-offerings into the house of Jehovah, we have eaten and been satisfied and have left plenty; for Jehovah has blessed his people; and what is left is this great store.
11And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Jehovah; and they prepared them,
12and brought in the heave-offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully; and over these Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was second.
13And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the command of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.
14And Kore the son of Jimnah the Levite, the doorkeeper toward the east, was over the voluntary-offerings of God, to distribute the heave-offerings of Jehovah, and the most holy things.
15And under him were Eden and Miniamin and Jeshua and Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set trust, to make distributions to their brethren by their divisions, to the great as to the small,
16besides those from three years old and upward who as males were entered in the genealogical register, —all that came into the house of Jehovah, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their charges, according to their divisions,
17—both to the priests enregistered according to their fathers' houses, and to the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges, by their divisions;
18and to all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, the whole congregation of those entered in the register; for in their trust they hallowed themselves to be holy.
19And for the sons of Aaron the priests who were in the country, in the suburbs of their cities, there were, in every several city, men expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all the Levites that were entered in the register.
20Thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before Jehovah his God.
21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
1After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to break into them.
2And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
3he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.
4So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water.
5Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David; and made darts and shields in abundance.
6And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,
7Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
8with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is Jehovah our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
9After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he himself was before Lachish, and all his power with him), unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,
10Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: On what do ye rely that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?
11Does not Hezekiah persuade you, to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, Jehovah our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
12Has not the same Hezekiah removed his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?
13Do ye not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the countries? Were the gods of the nations of the countries in any wise able to deliver their country out of my hand?
14Who is there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers have utterly destroyed, that was able to deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand?
15And now, let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this manner, neither yet believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, nor out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand?
16And his servants spoke yet more against Jehovah, the true God, and against his servant Hezekiah.
17And he wrote a letter to rail at Jehovah the God of Israel, and to speak against him saying, As the gods of the nations of the countries have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of my hand.
18And they cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language to the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to frighten them and to trouble them; that they might take the city.
19And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of man's hand.
20For this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz prayed and cried to heaven.
21And Jehovah sent an angel which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.
22Thus Jehovah saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all, and protected them on every side.
23And many brought gifts unto Jehovah to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah; and he was thenceforth magnified in the sight of all the nations.
24In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death, and he prayed to Jehovah; and he spoke to him and gave him a sign .
25But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up; and there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
26And Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of Jehovah came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
27And Hezekiah had very much riches and honour; and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant vessels;
28storehouses also for the increase of corn and new wine and oil, and stalls for all manner of beasts, and he procured flocks for the stalls.
29And he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God gave him very much substance.
30And he, Hezekiah, stopped the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
31However in the matter of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
32And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
33And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the highest place of the sepulchres of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. (2 Chron. 29:1‑32:33)
Isa. 36:1‑39:8• 1And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah [that] Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them.
2And the king of Assyria sent Rab-shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a strong force. And he stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field.
3Then came forth to him Eliakim the son of Hilkijah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
4And Rab-shakeh said to them, Say now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence [is] this wherein thou trustest?
5I say [sayest thou], Counsel and strength for the war [are but] a word of the lips. Now on whom trustest thou that hast revolted against me?
6Behold, thou trustest on the staff of that broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man lean it will go into his hand and pierce it: so [is] Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all that trust in him.
7But if thou say to me, We trust in Jehovah our God: [is it] not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
8And now, I pray thee, engage with my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants? And thou trustest in Egypt for horses and chariots!
10And am I now come up without Jehovah against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.
11And Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to Rab-shakeh, Speak, we pray thee, to thy servants in Syrian, for we understand [it]; and speak not to us in the Jewish [language] in the ears of the people that [are] on the wall.
12And Rab-shakeh said, [Is it] to thy master and to thee that my master sent me to speak these words? [Is it] not to the men that sit on the wall, to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?
13And Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish [language] and said, Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
14Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you;
15neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will certainly deliver us: this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
16Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one of his cistern;
17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18Let not Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where [are] the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim? And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20Who [are they] among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21And they were silent and answered him not a word; for the king's command was, saying, Answer him not.
22And Eliakim the son of Hilkijah, who [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came to Hezekiah with clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.
1And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard [it], that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah.
2And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
3And they said to him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day [is] a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely: for the children are come to the birth, and [there is] not strength to bring forth.
4It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard. Therefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that is left.
5And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7Behold, I will put a spirit into him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8And Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
9And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight against thee. And when he heard [it], he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
12Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that [were] in Thelassar?
13Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?
14And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up into the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah.
15And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah saying,
16Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest [upon] the cherubim, thou [art] He, even thou alone, the God of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
17Incline thine ear, Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, Jehovah, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the living God.
18Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their land,
19and have cast their gods into the fire; for they [were] no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; and they have destroyed them.
20Now therefore, Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Jehovah, thou only.
21And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,
22this [is] the word which Jehovah hath spoken against him. The virgin-daughter of Zion hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
23Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted the voice? Against the Holy One of Israel hast thou lifted up thine eyes on high.
24By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the recesses of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, its choice cypresses: and I will enter into the height of its border, the forest of its fruitful field.
25I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of Matsor.
26Hast thou not heard long ago I have done it, how of ancient days I purposed it? Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest waste fortified cities [to] ruinous heaps.
27And their inhabitants [were] powerless, they were dismayed and put to shame; they were [as] the grass of the field, the green herb, the grass on the housetops, and [corn] blighted before it be grown up.
28But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me.
29Because thy raging against me and thine arrogance is come up into mine ears, I will put my ring in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will make thee go back by the way by which thou camest.
30And this [shall be] the sign unto thee; ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
31And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
32For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape; the zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall perform this.
33Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast a mount against it.
34By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith Jehovah.
35For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
36And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses.
37And Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
38And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah,
3and said, Remember now, Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done [that which is] good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept much.
4And the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah, saying,
5Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add to thy days fifteen years.
6And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
7And this [shall be] the sign unto thee from Jehovah that Jehovah will do this thing that he hath spoken:
8behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down with the sun on the dial of Ahaz, to return ten steps backward. So the sun returned on the dial ten steps whereby it was gone down.
9The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness.
10I said, In the still noon of my days I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the residue of my years.
11I said, I shall not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living. I shall not behold man longer with the inhabitants of the world.
12Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent. I have rolled off like a weaver my life; from the thrum he cutteth me off; from day to night wilt thou make an end of me.
13I kept still till morning: as a lion he breaketh all my bones; from day to night he will make an end of me.
14Like a swallow, a crane, so did I chatter; I mourned as a dove; mine eyes failed [with looking] upward. Jehovah, I am oppressed: undertake for me.
15What shall I say? He hath both spoken to me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go softly all my years for the bitterness of my soul.
16Lord, by these things [men] live, and wholly in them [is] the life of my spirit; and thou recoverest me and makest me to live.
17Behold, for peace I had bitterness on bitterness; but thou hast in love delivered my soul from the pit of destruction, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18For Sheol doth not praise thee, [nor] death celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit do not hope for thy truth.
19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I this day; the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20Jehovah—to save me! My song too we will sing to stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.
21Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.
22Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?
1At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent a letter and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.
2And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
3Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they to thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country to me, from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house?
4And Hezekiah answered, All that [is] in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.
5Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts.
6Behold, days come, when all that [is] in thy house, and [that] which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah.
7And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
8Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good [is] the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. And he said, For there shall be peace and truth in my days. (Isa. 36:1‑39:8)