Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord
32 After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of
Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities,
thinking to win them over to himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib
had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, 3 he
consulted with his leaders and commanders[a] to stop the water from the springs
which were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 Thus many people gathered
together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land,
saying, “Why should the kings[b] of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 And he
strengthened himself, built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to
the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired the Millo[c] in
the City of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance. 6 Then he set
military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open
square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement, saying, 7 “Be strong and
courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor
before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with
him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us
and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of
Hezekiah king of Judah.
9 After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants
to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish),
to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10
“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain
under siege in Jerusalem? 11 Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves
over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will deliver us
from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 Has not the same Hezekiah taken away
His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You
shall worship before one altar and burn incense 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 nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my
hand? 14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers
utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God
should be able to deliver you from my hand? 15 Now therefore, do not let
Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no
god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the
hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’”
16 Furthermore, his servants spoke against the Lord God and
against His servant Hezekiah.
17 He also wrote letters to revile the Lord God of Israel,
and to speak against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of other lands
have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not
deliver His people from my hand.” 18 Then they called out with a loud voice in
Hebrew[d] to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and
trouble them, that they might take the city. 19 And they spoke against the God
of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—the work of men’s
hands.
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
20 Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah,
the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. 21 Then the Lord sent an angel
who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the
king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone
into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the
sword there.
22 Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand
of all others, and guided them[e] on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to
the Lord at Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was
exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.
Hezekiah Humbles Himself
24 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he
prayed to the Lord; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah
did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up;
therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then
Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of
Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor
27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made
himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for
shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; 28 storehouses for the harvest
of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for
flocks.[f] 29 Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of
flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property. 30
This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and brought
the water by tunnel[g] to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah prospered
in all his works.
31 However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of
Babylon, whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the
land, God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that
was in his heart.
Death of Hezekiah
32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness,
indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz,
and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 So Hezekiah rested with
his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and
all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then
Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
Manasseh Reigns in Judah
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he
reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 But he did evil in the sight of the
Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out
before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah
his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden
images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven[h] and served them. 4 He also
built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In
Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of
heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 Also he caused his sons to
pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced
soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists.
He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even
set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which
God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem,
which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name
forever; 8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I
have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have
commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances
by the hand of Moses.” 9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before
the children of Israel.
Manasseh Restored After Repentance
10 And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they
would not listen. 11 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the
army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks,[i] bound him with
bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in
affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before
the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty,
heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then
Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on
the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate;
and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military
captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He took away the foreign gods
and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built
in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of
the city. 16 He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings
and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the
Lord their God.
Death of Manasseh
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his
God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of
Israel, indeed they are written in the book[j] of the kings of Israel. 19 Also
his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and
the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved
images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of
Hozai.[k] 20 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his
own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place.
Amon’s Reign and Death
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he
reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as
his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images
which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble
himself before the Lord, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon
trespassed more and more.
24 Then his servants conspired against him, and killed him
in his own house. 25 But the people of the land executed all those who had
conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah
king in his place.
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