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32 After these things and this truth, come hath Sennacherib king of Asshur, yea, he cometh in to Judah, and encampeth against the cities of the bulwarks, and saith to rend them unto himself.

And Hezekiah seeth that Sennacherib hath come, and his face [is] to the battle against Jerusalem,

and he taketh counsel with his heads and his mighty ones, to stop the waters of the fountains that [are] at the outside of the city -- and they help him,

and much people are gathered, and they stop all the fountains and the brook that is rushing into the midst of the land, saying, `Why do the kings of Asshur come, and have found much water?'

And he strengtheneth himself, and buildeth the whole of the wall that is broken, and causeth [it] to ascend unto the towers, and at the outside of the wall another, and strengtheneth Millo, [in] the city of David, and maketh darts in abundance, and shields.

And he putteth heads of war over the people, and gathereth them unto him, unto the broad place of a gate of the city, and speaketh unto their heart, saying,

`Be strong and courageous, be not afraid, nor be cast down from the face of the king of Asshur, and from the face of all the multitude that [is] with him, for with us [are] more than with him.

With him [is] an arm of flesh, and with us [is] Jehovah our God, to help us, and to fight our battles;' and the people are supported by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

After this hath Sennacherib king of Asshur sent his servants to Jerusalem -- and he [is] by Lachish, and all his power with him -- against Hezekiah king of Judah, and against all Judah, who [are] in Jerusalem, saying,

10 `Thus said Sennacherib king of Asshur, On what are ye trusting and abiding in the bulwark, in Jerusalem?

11 `Is not Hezekiah persuading you, to give you up to die by famine, and by thirst, saying, Jehovah our God doth deliver us from the hand of the king of Asshur?

12 Hath not Hezekiah himself turned aside His high places, and His altars, and speaketh to Judah and to Jerusalem, saying, Before one altar ye bow yourselves, and on it ye make perfume?

13 `Do ye not know what I have done -- I and my fathers -- to all peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands at all able to deliver their land out of my hand?

14 Who among all the gods of these nations whom my fathers have devoted to destruction [is] he who hath been able to deliver his people out of my hand, that your God is able to deliver you out of my hand?

15 `And, now, let not Hezekiah lift you up, nor persuade you thus, nor give credence to him, for no god of any nation and kingdom is able to deliver his people from my hand, and from the hand of my fathers: also, surely your God doth not deliver you from my hand!'

16 And again have his servants spoken against Jehovah God, and against Hezekiah His servant,

17 and letters he hath written to give reproach to Jehovah, God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, `As the gods of the nations of the lands that have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah doth not deliver His people from my hand.'

18 And they call with a great voice [in] Jewish, against the people of Jerusalem who [are] on the wall, to frighten them, and to trouble them, that they may capture the city,

19 and they speak against the God of Jerusalem as against the gods of the peoples of the land -- work of the hands of man.

20 And Hezekiah the king prayeth, and Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, concerning this, and they cry to the heavens,

21 and Jehovah sendeth a messenger, and cutteth off every mighty one of valour -- both leader and head -- in the camp of the king of Asshur, and he turneth back with shame of face to his land, and entereth the house of his god, and those coming out of his bowels have caused him to fall there by the sword.

22 And Jehovah saveth Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Asshur, and from the hand of all, and He leadeth them round about;

23 and many are bringing in an offering to Jehovah, to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, and he is lifted up before the eyes of all the nations after this.

24 In those days hath Hezekiah been sick even unto death, and he prayeth unto Jehovah, and He speaketh to him, and a wonder hath appointed for him;

25 and Hezekiah hath not returned according to the deed [done] unto him, for his heart hath been lofty, and there is wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem;

26 and Hezekiah is humbled for the loftiness of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the wrath of Jehovah hath not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 And Hezekiah hath riches and honour very much, and treasures he hath made to himself of silver, and of gold, and of precious stone, and of spices, and of shields, and of all [kinds] of desirable vessels,

28 and storehouses for the increase of corn, and new wine, and oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and herds for stalls;

29 and cities he hath made for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance, for God hath given to him very much substance.

30 And Hezekiah himself hath stopped the upper source of the waters of Gihon, and directeth them beneath to the west of the city of David, and Hezekiah prospereth in all his work;

31 and so with the ambassadors of the heads of Babylon, those sending unto him to inquire of the wonder that hath been in the land, God hath left him to try him, to know all in his heart,

32 And the rest of the matters of Hezekiah, and his kind acts, lo, they are written in the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

33 And Hezekiah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the uppermost of the graves of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have done honour to him at his death, and reign doth Manasseh his son in his stead.

33 A son of twelve years is Manasseh in his reigning, and fifty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;

and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, like the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

and he turneth and buildeth the high places that Hezekiah his father hath broken down, and raiseth altars for Baalim, and maketh shrines, and boweth himself to all the host of the heavens, and serveth them.

And he hath built altars in the house of Jehovah of which Jehovah had said, `In Jerusalem is My name to the age.'

And he buildeth altars to all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the house of Jehovah.

And he hath caused his sons to pass over through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and observed clouds and used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and a wizard; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.

And he placeth the graven image of the idol that he made in the house of God, of which God said unto David, and unto Solomon his son, `In this house, and in Jerusalem that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I put My name to the age,

and I add not to turn aside the foot of Israel from off the ground that I appointed to your fathers, only, if they watch to do all that I have commanded them -- to all the law, and the statutes, and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.'

And Manasseh maketh Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, to do evil above the nations that Jehovah destroyed from the presence of the sons of Israel.

10 And Jehovah speaketh unto Manasseh and unto his people, and they have not attended,

11 and Jehovah bringeth in against them the heads of the host that the king of Asshur hath, and they capture Manasseh among the thickets, and bind him with brazen fetters, and cause him to go to Babylon.

12 And when he is in distress he hath appeased the face of Jehovah his God, and is humbled exceedingly before the God of his fathers,

13 and prayeth unto Him, and He is entreated of him, and heareth his supplication, and bringeth him back to Jerusalem, to his kingdom, and Manasseh knoweth that Jehovah -- He [is] God.

14 And after this he hath built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west of Gihon, in the valley, and at the entering in at the fish-gate, and it hath gone round to the tower, and he maketh it exceeding high, and he putteth heads of the force in all the cities of the bulwarks in Judah.

15 And he turneth aside the gods of the stranger, and the idol, out of the house of Jehovah, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of Jehovah and in Jerusalem, and casteth [them] to the outside of the city.

16 And he buildeth the altar of Jehovah, and sacrificeth upon it sacrifices of peace-offerings and thank-offering, and saith to Judah to serve Jehovah, God of Israel;

17 but still the people are sacrificing in high places, only -- to Jehovah their God.

18 And the rest of the matters of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the matters of the seers, those speaking unto him in the name of Jehovah, God of Israel, lo, they are [on the book of] the matters of the kings of Israel;

19 and his prayer, and his entreaty, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places in which he had built high places, and established the shrines and the graven images before his being humbled, lo, they are written beside the matters of Hozai.

20 And Manasseh lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in his own house, and reign doth Amon his son in his stead.

21 A son of twenty and two years [is] Amon in his reigning, and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,

22 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father, and to all the graven images that Manasseh his father had made hath Amon sacrificed, and serveth them,

23 and hath not been humbled before Jehovah, like the humbling of Manasseh his father, for Amon himself hath multiplied guilt.

24 And his servants conspire against him, and put him to death in his own house,

25 and the people of the land smite all those conspiring against king Amon, and the people of the land cause Josiah his son to reign in his stead.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(A)(B)

32 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib(C) king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,(D) he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs(E) and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings[a] of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall(F) and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces[b](G) of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons(H) and shields.

He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: “Be strong and courageous.(I) Do not be afraid or discouraged(J) because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.(K) With him is only the arm of flesh,(L) but with us(M) is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”(N) And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish,(O) he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:

10 “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence,(P) that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11 When Hezekiah says, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,’ he is misleading(Q) you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar(R) and burn sacrifices on it’?

13 “Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand?(S) 14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive(T) you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver(U) his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors.(V) How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!”

16 Sennacherib’s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king also wrote letters(W) ridiculing(X) the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: “Just as the gods(Y) of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.” 18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands.(Z)

20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer(AA) to heaven about this. 21 And the Lord sent an angel,(AB) who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.(AC)

22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them[c] on every side. 23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts(AD) for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.

Hezekiah’s Pride, Success and Death(AE)

24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.(AF) 25 But Hezekiah’s heart was proud(AG) and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath(AH) was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented(AI) of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.(AJ)

27 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor,(AK) and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. 28 He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29 He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.(AL)

30 It was Hezekiah who blocked(AM) the upper outlet of the Gihon(AN) spring and channeled(AO) the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon(AP) to ask him about the miraculous sign(AQ) that had occurred in the land, God left him to test(AR) him and to know everything that was in his heart.

32 The other events of Hezekiah’s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

Manasseh King of Judah(AS)(AT)

33 Manasseh(AU) was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(AV) following the detestable(AW) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles.(AX) He bowed down(AY) to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name(AZ) will remain in Jerusalem forever.” In both courts of the temple of the Lord,(BA) he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his children(BB) in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums(BC) and spiritists.(BD) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple,(BE) of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land(BF) I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.” But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.(BG)

10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner,(BH) put a hook(BI) in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles(BJ) and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled(BK) himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

14 Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon(BL) spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate(BM) and encircling the hill of Ophel;(BN) he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed(BO) the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings(BP) on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

18 The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel.[d] 19 His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled(BQ) himself—all these are written in the records of the seers.[e](BR) 20 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried(BS) in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah(BT)

21 Amon(BU) was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made. 23 But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble(BV) himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.

24 Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 25 Then the people(BW) of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 32:4 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac king
  2. 2 Chronicles 32:5 Or the Millo
  3. 2 Chronicles 32:22 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate He gave them rest
  4. 2 Chronicles 33:18 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles
  5. 2 Chronicles 33:19 One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts of Hozai