2 Chronicles 32
32
King Sennacherib of Assyria invades Judah
(2 Kings 18.13-37; Isaiah 36.1-22)
1After King Hezekiah had faithfully obeyed the LORD's instructions by doing these things, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He attacked the fortified cities and thought he would capture every one of them.
2As soon as Hezekiah learnt that Sennacherib was planning to attack Jerusalem, 3-4he and his officials worked out a plan to cut off the supply of water outside the city, so that the Assyrians would have no water when they came to attack. The officials got together a large work force that stopped up the springs and streams near Jerusalem.
5Hezekiah's workers also repaired the broken sections of the city wall. Then they built defence towers and an outer wall to help protect the one already there. The landfill on the east side of David's City was also strengthened.
He gave orders to make a large supply of weapons and shields, 6and he appointed army commanders over the troops. Then he gathered the troops together in the open area in front of the city gate and said to them:
7Be brave and confident! There's no reason to be afraid of King Sennacherib and his powerful army. We are much more powerful, 8because the LORD our God fights on our side. The Assyrians must rely on human power alone.
These words encouraged the army of Judah.
9When Sennacherib and his troops were camped at the town of Lachish, he sent a message to Hezekiah and the people in Jerusalem. It said:
10I am King Sennacherib of Assyria, and I have Jerusalem surrounded. Do you think you can survive my attack? 11Hezekiah your king is telling you that the LORD your God will save you from me. But he is lying, and you'll die of hunger and thirst. 12Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the LORD's altars and places of worship?#32.12 worship: Hezekiah actually had torn down the places where idols were worshipped, and he had told the people to worship the LORD at the one place of worship in Jerusalem. But the Assyrian leader was confused and thought these were also places where the LORD was supposed to be worshipped. And didn't he tell you people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?
13You've heard what my ancestors and I have done to other nations. Were the gods of those nations able to defend their land against us? 14None of those gods kept their people safe from the kings of Assyria. Do you really think your God can do any better? 15Don't be fooled by Hezekiah! No god of any nation has ever been able to stand up to Assyria. Believe me, your God cannot keep you safe!
16The Assyrian officials said terrible things about the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah. 17Sennacherib's letter even made fun of the LORD. It said, “The gods of other nations could not save their people from Assyria's army, and neither will the God that Hezekiah worships.” 18The officials said all these things in Hebrew, so that everyone listening from the city wall would understand and be terrified and surrender. 19The officials talked about the LORD God as if he were nothing but an ordinary god or an idol that someone had made.
The death of King Sennacherib
(2 Kings 19.14-19,35-37; Isaiah 37.14-20; 37.36-38)
20Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz asked the LORD for help, 21and he sent an angel who killed every soldier and commander in the Assyrian camp.
Sennacherib returned to Assyria, completely disgraced. Then one day he went into the temple of his god where some of his sons killed him.
22The LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from Sennacherib and also protected them from other enemies. 23People brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and expensive gifts for Hezekiah, and from that day on, every nation on earth respected Hezekiah.
Hezekiah gets sick and almost dies
(2 Kings 20.1-11; Isaiah 38.1-8)
24About this same time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. He prayed, and the LORD gave him a sign that he would recover. 25But Hezekiah was so proud that he refused to thank the LORD for everything he had done for him. This made the LORD angry, and he punished Hezekiah and the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 26Hezekiah and the people later felt sorry and asked the LORD to forgive them. So the LORD did not punish them as long as Hezekiah was king.
Hezekiah's wealth
(2 Kings 20.12-19; Isaiah 39.1-8)
27Hezekiah was very rich, and everyone respected him. He built special rooms to store the silver, the gold, the precious stones and spices, the shields, and the other valuable possessions. 28Storehouses were also built for his supply of grain, wine, and olive oil; barns were built for his cattle, and pens were put up for his sheep. 29God made Hezekiah extremely rich, so he bought even more sheep, goats, and cattle. And he built towns where he could keep all these animals.
30It was Hezekiah who built a tunnel that carried the water from Gihon Spring into the city of Jerusalem. In fact, everything he did was successful! 31Even when the leaders of Babylonia sent messengers to ask Hezekiah about the sign God had given him, God let Hezekiah give his own answer to test him and to see if he would remain faithful.
Hezekiah dies
(2 Kings 20.20,21)
32Everything else Hezekiah did while he was king, including how faithful he was to the LORD, is included in the records kept by Isaiah the prophet. These are written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the section of the royal tombs that was reserved for the most respected kings,#32.33 in the section…reserved for the most respected kings: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. and everyone in Judah and Jerusalem honoured him. His son Manasseh then became king.
Currently Selected:
2 Chronicles 32: CEVUK
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
2 Chronicles 32
32
1 After these things, and after this manner of truth, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians arrived. And entering Judah, he besieged the fortified cities, desiring to seize them.
2 And when Hezekiah had seen this, specifically that Sennacherib had arrived, and that the entire force of the war was turning against Jerusalem,
3 he took counsel with the rulers and with the most valiant men, so that they might obstruct the heads of the springs which were beyond the city. And with everyone discerning the same judgment about this,
4 he gathered together a great multitude, and they obstructed all the springs, and the brook which was flowing through the midst of the land, saying: "Otherwise, the kings of the Assyrians might arrive and find an abundance of water."
5 Also, acting industriously, he built up the entire wall that had been broken apart. And he constructed towers upon it, and another wall outside it. And he repaired Millo, in the City of David. And he made all kinds of weapons and shields.
6 And he appointed leaders of the warriors within the army. And he summoned them all to the wide street of the gate of the city. And he spoke to their heart, saying:
7 "Act manfully and be strengthened. Do not be afraid. Neither should you dread the king of the Assyrians and the entire multitude that is with him. For many more are with us than with him.
8 For with him is an arm of flesh; with us is the Lord our God, who is our helper, and who fights for us." And the people were strengthened by this type of words from Hezekiah, the king of Judah.
9 After these things, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, sent his servants to Jerusalem, (for he and his entire army were besieging Lachish) to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and to all the people who were in the city, saying:
10 "Thus says Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians: In whom do you have faith, as you sit besieged in Jerusalem?
11 Does not Hezekiah deceive you, so that he would deliver you to die from hunger and thirst, by affirming that the Lord your God will free you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians?
12 Is this not the same Hezekiah who destroyed his own high places and altars, and who instructed Judah and Jerusalem, saying: 'You shall worship before one altar, and you shall burn incense upon it?'
13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have the gods of the nations and all the lands prevailed so as to free their region from my hand?
14 Who is there, out of all the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed, who is able to rescue his people from my hand, so that now also your God would be able to rescue you from this hand?
15 Therefore, let not Hezekiah deceive or delude you with vain persuasion. And you should not believe him. For if no god out of all the nations and kingdoms was able to free his people from my hand, and from the hand of my fathers, consequently neither will your God be able to rescue you from my hand."
16 Then too, his servants were speaking many other things against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah.
17 Also, he wrote letters full of blasphemy against the Lord God of Israel. And against him he said: "Just as the gods of other nations were unable to free their people from my hand, so also is the God of Hezekiah unable to rescue his people from this hand."
18 Moreover, he also shouted with a great clamor, in the language of the Jews, toward the people who were sitting upon the walls of Jerusalem, so that he might frighten them and so seize the city.
19 And he was speaking against the God of Jerusalem, just as against the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are works of the hands of men.
20 And Hezekiah the king, and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed against this blasphemy, and they cried out to heaven.
21 And the Lord sent an Angel, who struck all the experienced men and warriors, and the leaders of the army of the king of the Assyrians. And he returned in disgrace to his own land. And when he had entered the house of his god, the sons who had gone forth from his loins killed him with the sword.
22 And the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, and from the hand of all. And he presented to them peace on every side.
23 And now many were bringing victims and sacrifices to the Lord in Jerusalem, and gifts to Hezekiah, the king of Judah. And after these things, he was exalted before all the nations.
24 In those days, Hezekiah was sick, even unto death, and he prayed to the Lord. And he heeded him, and gave to him a sign.
25 But he did not repay according to the benefits which he had received, for his heart was lifted up. And so wrath was brought against him, and against Judah and Jerusalem.
26 And after this, he was humbled, because he had exalted his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And therefore the wrath of the Lord did not overwhelm them in the days of Hezekiah.
27 Now Hezekiah was wealthy and very famous. And he gathered for himself many treasures of silver and gold and precious stones, of aromatics, and all kinds of weapons, and vessels of great price,
28 and also repositories of grain, wine, and oil, and stalls for every beast of burden, and fencing for cattle.
29 And he built for himself cities. For indeed, he had innumerable herds and flocks of sheep. For the Lord had given to him an exceedingly great substance.
30 This same Hezekiah was the one who blocked the upper font of the waters of Gihon, and who diverted them down to the western part of the City of David. In all his works, he prosperously accomplished whatever he willed.
31 Yet still, concerning the legates from the leaders of Babylon, who had been sent to him so that they might inquire about the portent which had happened upon the earth, God permitted him to be tempted, so that everything might be made known which was in his heart.
32 Now the rest of the words of Hezekiah, and his mercies, have been written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers. And they buried him above the sepulchers of the sons of David. And all of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, celebrated his funeral. And his son, Manasseh, reigned in his place.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in