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2 Kings 18:9-19:37
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Review of Israel’s Fall

9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.(A) 10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes,(B) 12 because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God but violated His covenant—all He had commanded Moses the servant of the Lord. They did not listen, and they did not obey.(C)

Sennacherib’s Invasion

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(D) 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish,(E) saying, “I have done wrong;(F) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded 11 tons[a] of silver and one ton[b] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.

16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.(G)

17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,(H) the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.(I) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and[c] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the highway to the Fuller’s Field.(J) 18 Then they called for the king, but Eliakim(K) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah(L) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.(M)

The Rabshakeh’s Speech

19 Then(N) the Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[d](O) 20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?(P) 21 Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(Q) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.(R) This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. 22 Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,(S) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?’

23 “So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! 24 How then can you drive back a single officer(T) among the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?(U) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(V) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew[e] within earshot of the people on the wall.”

27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”(W)

28 The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.[f] Then he spoke: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive(X) you; he can’t deliver you from my hand.(Y) 30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’(Z)

31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[g] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(AA) and every one may drink water from his own cistern 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey(AB)—so that you may live(AC) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered(AD) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[h] Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?(AE) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem?’”(AF)

36 But the people kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,(AG) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(AH) and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,(AI) and went into the Lord’s temple.(AJ) 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(AK) and the leading priests, who were wearing sackcloth,(AL) to the prophet Isaiah(AM) son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,(AN) but there is no strength to deliver them. 4 Perhaps Yahweh your God(AO) will hear(AP) all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke(AQ) him for the words that Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(AR)

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6 who said to them, “Tell your master this, ‘The Lord says: Don’t be afraid(AS) because of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria’s attendants(AT) have blasphemed(AU) Me with. 7 I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land(AV) where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(AW)

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

8 When(AX) the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(AY) he returned and found him fighting against Libnah.(AZ) 9 The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust,(BA) deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.(BB) 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations(BC) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan,(BD) Haran,(BE) Rezeph, and the Edenites(BF) in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”(BG)

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah took(BH) the letter(BI) from the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.(BJ) 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:

Lord God of Israel who is enthroned above the cherubim,(BK) You are God—You alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.(BL) 16 Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see.(BM) Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.(BN) 17 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.(BO) 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone.(BP) So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, please save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God—You alone.(BQ)

God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 Then(BR) Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer(BS) to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria.’(BT) 21 This is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion(BU)
despises you and scorns you:
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head behind your back.[i](BV)
22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?(BW)
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!(BX)
23 You have mocked the Lord[j] through[k] your messengers.(BY)
You have said:

With my many chariots(BZ)
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its farthest outpost,
its densest forest.
24 I dug wells,
and I drank foreign waters.
I dried up all the streams of Egypt(CA)
with the soles of my feet.

25 Have you not heard?(CB)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,(CC)
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
26 Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,(CD)
blasted by the east wind.[l]

27 But I know your sitting down,[m](CE)
your going out and your coming in,
and your raging against Me.
28 Because your raging against Me
and your arrogance have reached My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose(CF)
and My bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.

29 “This will be the sign(CG) for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30 The surviving remnant(CH) of the house of Israel will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and survivors, from Mount Zion.(CI) The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.(CJ)

32 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow there
or come before it with a shield
or build up an assault ramp against it.(CK)
33 He will go back
on the road that he came
and he will not enter this city.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

34 I will defend this city and rescue it
for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.”(CL)

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(CM) 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.(CN)

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech(CO) and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.(CP) Then his son Esar-haddon(CQ) became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:14 Lit 300 talents
  2. 2 Kings 18:14 Lit 30 talents
  3. 2 Kings 18:17 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and came and
  4. 2 Kings 18:19 Lit What is this trust which you trust
  5. 2 Kings 18:26 Lit Judahite
  6. 2 Kings 18:28 Lit Judahite
  7. 2 Kings 18:31 Lit a blessing
  8. 2 Kings 18:34 Some LXX mss, Old Lat read Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria?
  9. 2 Kings 19:21 Lit behind you
  10. 2 Kings 19:23 Many mss read Lord
  11. 2 Kings 19:23 Lit by the hand of
  12. 2 Kings 19:26 DSS; MT reads blasted before standing grain; Is 37:27
  13. 2 Kings 19:27 LXX, DSS read your rising up and your sitting down; Is 37:28
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2 Kings 18:9-19:37
New International Version

9 In King Hezekiah’s fourth year,(A) which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. 10 At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. 11 The king(B) of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.(C) 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant(D)—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.(E) They neither listened to the commands(F) nor carried them out.

13 In the fourteenth year(G) of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah(H) and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish:(I) “I have done wrong.(J) Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents[a] of silver and thirty talents[b] of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave(K) him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

16 At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors(L) and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(M)(N)

17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander,(O) his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool,(P) on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 18 They called for the king; and Eliakim(Q) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna(R) the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

19 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence(S) of yours? 20 You say you have the counsel and the might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 21 Look, I know you are depending on Egypt,(T) that splintered reed of a staff,(U) which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 22 But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?

23 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer(V) of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen[c]? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord?(W) The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(X) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

27 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive(Y) you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree(Z) and drink water from your own cistern,(AA) 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life(AB) and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god(AC) of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath(AD) and Arpad?(AE) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(AF)

36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim(AG) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,(AH) and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(AI)

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore(AJ) his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim(AK) the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,(AL) all wearing sackcloth,(AM) to the prophet Isaiah(AN) son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment(AO) of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(AP) the living God, and that he will rebuke(AQ) him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant(AR) that still survives.”

5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(AS) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(AT) me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report,(AU) I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.(AV)’”

8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(AW) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.(AX)

9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[d] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend(AY) on deceive(AZ) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver(BA) them—the gods of Gozan,(BB) Harran,(BC) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”(BD)

Hezekiah’s Prayer(BE)

14 Hezekiah received the letter(BF) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(BG) you alone(BH) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear,(BI) Lord, and hear;(BJ) open your eyes,(BK) Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods(BL) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(BM) 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver(BN) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms(BO) of the earth may know(BP) that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall(BQ)(BR)

20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard(BS) your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against(BT) him:

“‘Virgin Daughter(BU) Zion
    despises(BV) you and mocks(BW) you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(BX) as you flee.
22 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(BY)
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
    Against the Holy One(BZ) of Israel!
23 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,(CA)
    “With my many chariots(CB)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down(CC) its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest parts,
    the finest of its forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign lands
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

25 “‘Have you not heard?(CD)
    Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned(CE) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(CF)
26 Their people, drained of power,(CG)
    are dismayed(CH) and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,(CI)
like grass sprouting on the roof,
    scorched(CJ) before it grows up.

27 “‘But I know(CK) where you are
    and when you come and go
    and how you rage against me.
28 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(CL) in your nose
    and my bit(CM) in your mouth,
and I will make you return(CN)
    by the way you came.’

29 “This will be the sign(CO) for you, Hezekiah:

“This year you will eat what grows by itself,(CP)
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
    plant vineyards(CQ) and eat their fruit.
30 Once more a remnant(CR) of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root(CS) below and bear fruit above.
31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(CT)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(CU)

“The zeal(CV) of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“‘He will not enter this city
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return;(CW)
    he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
34 I will defend(CX) this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David(CY) my servant.’”

35 That night the angel of the Lord(CZ) went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(DA) 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.(DB) He returned to Nineveh(DC) and stayed there.

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek(DD) and Sharezer killed him with the sword,(DE) and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(DF) And Esarhaddon(DG) his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  2. 2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 1 ton or about 1 metric ton
  3. 2 Kings 18:24 Or charioteers
  4. 2 Kings 19:9 That is, the upper Nile region
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2 Kings 17
2 Kings 20
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