2 Kings 15:32-38

Contemporary English Version

King Jotham of Judah

(2 Chronicles 27.1-9)

³²Jotham son of Azariah^[a] became king of Judah in the second year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ³³Jotham was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled 16 years from Jerusalem. His mother Jerusha was the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴Jotham followed the example of his father by obeying the Lord and doing right. ³⁵It was Jotham who rebuilt the Upper Gate that led into the court around the Lord's temple. But the local shrines were not destroyed, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

³⁶Everything else Jotham did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ³⁷During his rule, the Lord let King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel start attacking Judah. ³⁸Jotham died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Ahaz became king.

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Footnotes

15.32 Azariah: See the note at 15.13.

2 Kings 15:32-38

New International Version

Jotham King of Judah^(A)

³²In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham^(B) son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. ³³He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ³⁴He did what was right^(C) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵The high places,^(D) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate^(E) of the temple of the Lord.

³⁶As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ³⁷(In those days the Lord began to send Rezin^(F) king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) ³⁸Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.

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2 Chronicles 27:1-7

Contemporary English Version

King Jotham of Judah

(2 Kings 15.32-38)

27 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. Jerushah his mother was the daughter of Zadok.

²Jotham obeyed the Lord and did right. He followed the example of his father Uzziah, except he never burned incense in the temple as his father had done. But the people of Judah kept sinning against the Lord.

³Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple and did a lot of work to repair the wall near Mount Ophel. ⁴He built towns in the mountains of Judah and built fortresses and defense towers in the forests.

⁵During his rule he attacked and defeated the Ammonites. Then every year for the next three years, he forced them to pay 3.4 tons of silver, 1,000 tons of wheat, and 1,000 tons of barley.

⁶Jotham remained faithful to the Lord his God and became a very powerful king.

⁷Everything else Jotham did while he was king, including the wars he fought, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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2 Chronicles 27:1-7

New International Version

Jotham King of Judah^(A)

27 Jotham^(B) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. ³Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel.^(C) ⁴He built towns in the hill country of Judah and forts and towers in the wooded areas.

⁵Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites^(D) and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents^[a] of silver, ten thousand cors^[b] of wheat and ten thousand cors^[c] of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years.

⁶Jotham grew powerful^(E) because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.

⁷The other events in Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and the other things he did, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 27:5 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
2 Chronicles 27:5 That is, probably about 1,800 tons or about 1,600 metric tons of wheat
2 Chronicles 27:5 That is, probably about 1,500 tons or about 1,350 metric tons of barley

2 Kings 16

Contemporary English Version

King Ahaz of Judah

(2 Chronicles 28.1-27)

16 Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah in the seventeenth year of Pekah's rule in Israel. ²He was 20 years old at the time, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years.

Ahaz wasn't like his ancestor David. Instead, he disobeyed the Lord ³^(A) and was even more sinful than the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. ⁴Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines, as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.

^5-6^(B) While Ahaz was ruling Judah, the king of Edom recaptured the town of Elath from Judah and forced out the people of Judah. Edomites^[a] then moved into Elath, and they still live there.

About the same time, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel marched to Jerusalem and attacked, but they could not capture it.

⁷Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria that said, “Your Majesty, King Rezin and King Pekah are attacking me, your loyal servant. Please come and rescue me.” ⁸Along with the message, Ahaz sent silver and gold from the Lord's temple and from the palace treasury as a gift for the Assyrian king.

⁹As soon as Tiglath Pileser received the message, he and his troops marched to Syria. He captured the capital city of Damascus, then he took the people living there to the town of Kir as prisoners and killed King Rezin.^[b]

¹⁰Later, Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser. And while Ahaz was there, he saw an altar and sent a model of it back to Uriah the priest, along with the plans for building one. ¹¹Uriah followed the plans and built an altar exactly like the one in Damascus, finishing it just before Ahaz came back.

¹²When Ahaz returned, he went to see the altar and to offer sacrifices on it. He walked up to the altar ¹³and poured wine over it. Then he offered sacrifices to please the Lord, to give him thanks, and to ask for his blessings.^[c] ¹⁴^(C) After that, he had the bronze altar moved aside,^[d] so his new altar would be right in front of the Lord's temple. ¹⁵He told Uriah the priest:

From now on, the morning and evening sacrifices as well as all gifts of grain and wine are to be offered on this altar. The sacrifices for the people and for the king must also be offered here. Sprinkle the blood from all the sacrifices on it, but leave the bronze altar for me to use for prayer and finding out what God wants me to do.

¹⁶Uriah did everything Ahaz told him.

¹⁷^(D) Ahaz also had the side panels and the small bowls taken off the movable stands in the Lord's temple. He had the large bronze bowl, called the Sea, removed from the bronze bulls on which it rested and had it placed on a stand made of stone. ¹⁸He took down the special tent that was used for worship on the Sabbath^[e] and closed up the private entrance that the kings of Judah used for going into the temple. He did all these things to please Tiglath Pileser.

¹⁹Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁰^(E) Ahaz died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem,^[f] and his son Hezekiah became king.

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Footnotes

16.5,6 the king of Edom … Edomites: The Hebrew text has “King Rezin of Syria … Syrians”; in Hebrew, there is only one letter difference between “Edom” and “Aram,” which is the usual Hebrew name for Syria in the Bible (see also 2 Chronicles 28.17).
16.9 King Rezin: This probably took place around 734 b.c., before the events in 15.29.
16.13 offered … blessings: In traditional translations, these sacrifices are usually called “whole burnt offerings,” “grain offerings,” and “peace offerings.” These are described in Leviticus 1–3.
16.14 aside: Hebrew “to the north.”
16.18 the special tent … Sabbath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16.20 Jerusalem: See the note at 8.24.

2 Kings 16

New International Version

Ahaz King of Judah^(A)

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz^(B) son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. ²Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right^(C) in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³He followed the ways of the kings of Israel^(D) and even sacrificed his son^(E) in the fire, engaging in the detestable^(F) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ⁴He offered sacrifices and burned incense^(G) at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.^(H)

⁵Then Rezin^(I) king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him. ⁶At that time, Rezin^(J) king of Aram recovered Elath^(K) for Aram by driving out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.

⁷Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser^(L) king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save^(M) me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” ⁸And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift^(N) to the king of Assyria. ⁹The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus^(O) and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir^(P) and put Rezin to death.

¹⁰Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah^(Q) the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. ¹¹So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. ¹²When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings^[a]^(R) on it. ¹³He offered up his burnt offering^(S) and grain offering,^(T) poured out his drink offering,^(U) and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings^(V) against the altar. ¹⁴As for the bronze altar^(W) that stood before the Lord, he brought it from the front of the temple—from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar.

¹⁵King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: “On the large new altar, offer the morning^(X) burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.”^(Y) ¹⁶And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered.

¹⁷King Ahaz cut off the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the Sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base.^(Z) ¹⁸He took away the Sabbath canopy^[b] that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord, in deference to the king of Assyria.^(AA)

¹⁹As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²⁰Ahaz rested^(AB) with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes

2 Kings 16:12 Or and went up
2 Kings 16:18 Or the dais of his throne (see Septuagint)

2 Chronicles 28

Contemporary English Version

King Ahaz of Judah

(2 Kings 16.1-4)

28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years.

Ahaz was nothing like his ancestor David. Ahaz disobeyed the Lord ²and was as sinful as the kings of Israel. He made idols of the god Baal, ³and he offered sacrifices in Hinnom Valley. Worst of all, Ahaz sacrificed his own sons, which was a disgusting custom of the nations that the Lord had forced out of Israel. ⁴Ahaz offered sacrifices at the local shrines,^[a] as well as on every hill and in the shade of large trees.

Syria and Israel Attack Judah

(2 Kings 16.5,6)

^5-6^(A) Ahaz and the people of Judah sinned and turned away from the Lord, the God their ancestors had worshiped. So the Lord punished them by letting their enemies defeat them.

The king of Syria attacked Judah and took many of its people to Damascus as prisoners. King Pekah^[b] of Israel later defeated Judah and killed 120,000 of its bravest soldiers in one day. ⁷During that battle, an Israelite soldier named Zichri killed three men from Judah: Maaseiah the king's son; Azrikam, the official in charge of the palace; and Elkanah, the king's second in command. ⁸The Israelite troops captured 200,000 women and children and took them back to their capital city of Samaria, along with a large amount of their possessions. They did these things even though the people of Judah were their own relatives.

Oded the Prophet Condemns Israel

⁹Oded lived in Samaria and was one of the Lord's prophets. He met Israel's army on their way back from Judah and said to them:

The Lord God of your ancestors let you defeat Judah's army only because he was angry with them. But you should not have been so cruel! ¹⁰If you make slaves of the people of Judah and Jerusalem, you will be as guilty as they are of sinning against the Lord.

¹¹Send these prisoners back home—they are your own relatives. If you don't, the Lord will punish you in his anger.

¹²About the same time, four of Israel's leaders arrived. They were Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai. They agreed with Oded that the Israelite troops were wrong, ¹³and they said:

If you bring these prisoners into Samaria, that will be one more thing we've done to sin against the Lord. And he is already angry enough with us.

¹⁴So in front of the leaders and the crowd, the troops handed over their prisoners and the property they had taken from Judah. ¹⁵The four leaders took some of the stolen clothes and gave them to the prisoners who needed something to wear. They later gave them all a new change of clothes and shoes, then fixed them something to eat and drink, and cleaned their wounds with olive oil. They gave donkeys to those who were too weak to walk, and led all of them back to Jericho, the city known for its palm trees. The leaders then returned to Samaria.

Ahaz Asks the King of Assyria for Help

(2 Kings 16.7-9)

^16-18Some time later, the Edomites attacked the eastern part of Judah again and carried away prisoners. And at the same time, the Philistines raided towns in the western foothills and in the Southern Desert. They conquered the towns of Beth-Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo, including the villages around them. Then some of the Philistines went to live in these places.

Ahaz sent a message to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria and begged for help. ¹⁹But God was punishing Judah with these disasters, because Ahaz had disobeyed him and refused to stop Judah from sinning. ²⁰So Tiglath Pileser came to Judah, but instead of helping, he made things worse. ²¹Ahaz gave him gifts from the Lord's temple and the king's palace, as well as from the homes of Israel's other leaders. The Assyrian king still refused to help Ahaz.

The Final Sin of Ahaz and His Death

²²Even after all these terrible things happened to Ahaz, he sinned against the Lord even worse than before. ²³He said to himself, “The Syrian gods must have helped their kings defeat me. Maybe if I offer sacrifices to those gods, they will help me.” That was the sin that finally led to the downfall of Ahaz, as well as to the destruction of Judah.

²⁴Ahaz collected all the furnishings of the temple and smashed them to pieces. Then he locked the doors to the temple and set up altars to foreign gods on every street corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵In every city and town in Judah he built local shrines^[c] to worship foreign gods. All of this made the Lord God of his ancestors very angry.

²⁶Everything else Ahaz did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷^(B) Ahaz died and was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs. His son Hezekiah then became king.

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Footnotes

28.4 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
28.5,6 Pekah: Hebrew “Pekah son of Remaliah.”
28.25 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.

2 Chronicles 28

New International Version

Ahaz King of Judah^(A)

28 Ahaz^(B) was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ²He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and also made idols^(C) for worshiping the Baals. ³He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(D) and sacrificed his children^(E) in the fire, engaging in the detestable^(F) practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ⁴He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

⁵Therefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Aram.^(G) The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus.

He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him. ⁶In one day Pekah^(H) son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah^(I)—because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁷Zikri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king. ⁸The men of Israel took captive from their fellow Israelites who were from Judah^(J) two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.^(K)

⁹But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry^(L) with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.^(M) ¹⁰And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves.^(N) But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God? ¹¹Now listen to me! Send back your fellow Israelites you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord’s fierce anger rests on you.^(O)”

¹²Then some of the leaders in Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—confronted those who were arriving from the war. ¹³“You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord. Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”

¹⁴So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly. ¹⁵The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink,^(P) and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow Israelites at Jericho, the City of Palms,^(Q) and returned to Samaria.^(R)

¹⁶At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings^[a] of Assyria^(S) for help. ¹⁷The Edomites^(T) had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,^(U) ¹⁸while the Philistines^(V) had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon^(W) and Gederoth,^(X) as well as Soko,^(Y) Timnah^(Z) and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages. ¹⁹The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel,^[b] for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful^(AA) to the Lord. ²⁰Tiglath-Pileser^[c]^(AB) king of Assyria^(AC) came to him, but he gave him trouble^(AD) instead of help.^(AE) ²¹Ahaz^(AF) took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the officials and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.^(AG)

²²In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful^(AH) to the Lord. ²³He offered sacrifices to the gods^(AI) of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.”^(AJ) But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.^(AK)

²⁴Ahaz gathered together the furnishings^(AL) from the temple of God^(AM) and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors^(AN) of the Lord’s temple and set up altars^(AO) at every street corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

²⁶The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷Ahaz rested^(AP) with his ancestors and was buried^(AQ) in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 28:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Kings 16:7) king
2 Chronicles 28:19 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser

2 Kings 18-20

Contemporary English Version

King Hezekiah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 29.1,2; 31.1)

18 Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah in the third year of Hoshea's rule in Israel. ²Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled 29 years from Jerusalem. His mother Abi was the daughter of Zechariah.

³Hezekiah obeyed the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done. ⁴^(A) He destroyed the local shrines, then tore down the images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole for worshiping the goddess Asherah. He also smashed the bronze snake Moses had made. The people had named it Nehushtan^[a] and had been offering sacrifices to it.

⁵Hezekiah trusted the Lord God of Israel. No other king of Judah was like Hezekiah, either before or after him. ⁶He was completely faithful to the Lord and obeyed the laws the Lord had given to Moses for the people. ⁷The Lord helped Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. He even rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to be his servant. ⁸Hezekiah defeated the Philistine towns as far away as Gaza—from the smallest towns to the large, walled cities.

⁹During the fourth year of Hezekiah's rule, which was the seventh year of Hoshea's rule in Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria led his troops to Samaria, the capital city of Israel. They attacked ¹⁰and captured it three years later,^[b] in the sixth year of Hezekiah's rule and the ninth year of Hoshea's rule. ¹¹The king of Assyria^[c] took the Israelites away as prisoners; he forced some of them to live in the town of Halah, others to live near the Habor River in the territory of Gozan, and still others to live in towns where the Median people lived. ¹²All of that happened because the people of Israel had not obeyed the Lord their God. They rejected the solemn agreement he had made with them, and they ignored everything that the Lord's servant Moses had told them.

King Sennacherib of Assyria Invades Judah

(2 Chronicles 32.1-19; Isaiah 36.1-22)

¹³^(B) In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's rule in Judah, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded the country and captured every walled city,^[d] except Jerusalem. ¹⁴Hezekiah sent this message to Sennacherib, who was in the town of Lachish: “I know I am guilty of rebellion. But I will pay you whatever you want, if you stop your attack.”

Sennacherib told Hezekiah to pay ten tons of silver and one ton of gold. ¹⁵So Hezekiah collected all the silver from the Lord's temple and the royal treasury. ¹⁶He even stripped the gold that he had used to cover the doors and doorposts^[e] in the temple. He gave it all to Sennacherib.

¹⁷The king of Assyria ordered his three highest military officers to leave Lachish and take a large army to Jerusalem. When they arrived, the officers stood on the road near the cloth makers' shops along the canal from the upper pool. ¹⁸They called out to Hezekiah, and three of his highest officials came out to meet them. One of them was Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was the prime minister. The other two were Shebna, assistant to the prime minister, and Joah son of Asaph, keeper of the government records.

¹⁹One of the Assyrian commanders told them:

I have a message for Hezekiah from the great king of Assyria. Ask Hezekiah why he feels so sure of himself. ²⁰Does he think he can plan and win a war with nothing but words? Who is going to help him, now that he has turned against the king of Assyria? ²¹Is he depending on Egypt and its king? That's the same as leaning on a broken stick, and it will go right through his hand.

²²Is Hezekiah now depending on the Lord your God? Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the Lord's altars and places of worship?^[f] Didn't he tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?

²³The king of Assyria wants to make a bet with you people. He will give you 2,000 horses, if you have enough troops to ride them. ²⁴How could you even defeat our lowest ranking officer, when you have to depend on Egypt for chariots and cavalry? ²⁵Don't forget that it was the Lord who sent me here with orders to destroy your nation!

²⁶Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said, “Sir, we don't want the people listening from the city wall to understand what you are saying. So please speak to us in Aramaic instead of Hebrew.”

²⁷The Assyrian army commander answered, “My king sent me to speak to everyone, not just to you leaders. These people will soon have to eat their own body waste and drink their own urine! And so will the three of you.”

²⁸Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he shouted in Hebrew:

Listen to what the great king of Assyria says! ²⁹Don't be fooled by Hezekiah. He can't save you. ³⁰Don't trust him when he tells you that the Lord will protect you from the king of Assyria. ³¹Stop listening to Hezekiah! Pay attention to my king. Surrender to him. He will let you keep your own vineyards, fig trees, and cisterns ³²for a while. Then he will come and take you away to a country just like yours, where you can plant vineyards, raise your own grain, and have plenty of olive oil and honey. Believe me, you won't starve there.

Hezekiah claims the Lord will save you. But don't be fooled by him. ³³Were any other gods able to defend their land against the king of Assyria? ³⁴What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? What about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Were the gods of Samaria able to protect their land against the Assyrian forces? ³⁵None of these gods kept their people safe from the king of Assyria. Do you think the Lord your God can do any better?

^36-37Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah had been warned by King Hezekiah not to answer the Assyrian commander. So they tore their clothes in sorrow and reported to Hezekiah everything the commander had said.

Hezekiah Asks Isaiah the Prophet for Advice

(Isaiah 37.1-13)

19 As soon as Hezekiah heard the news, he tore off his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. Then he went into the temple of the Lord. ²He told Prime Minister Eliakim, Assistant Prime Minister Shebna, and the senior priests to dress in sackcloth and tell the prophet Isaiah:

³These are difficult and disgraceful times. Our nation is like a woman too weak to give birth, when it's time for her baby to be born. ⁴Please pray for those of us who are left alive. The king of Assyria sent his army commander to insult the living God. Perhaps the Lord heard what he said and will do something, if you will pray.

⁵When these leaders went to Isaiah, ⁶he told them that the Lord had this message for Hezekiah:

I am the Lord. Don't worry about the insulting things that have been said about me by these messengers from the king of Assyria. ⁷I will upset him with rumors about what's happening in his own country. He will go back, and there I will make him die a violent death.

⁸Meanwhile, the commander of the Assyrian forces heard that his king had left the town of Lachish and was now attacking Libnah. So he went there.

⁹About this same time the king of Assyria learned that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia^[g] was on his way to attack him. Then the king of Assyria sent some messengers with this note for Hezekiah:

¹⁰Don't trust your God or be fooled by his promise to defend Jerusalem against me. ¹¹You have heard how we Assyrian kings have completely wiped out other nations. What makes you feel so safe? ¹²The Assyrian kings before me destroyed the towns of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and everyone from Eden who lived in Telassar. What good did their gods do them? ¹³The kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah have all disappeared.

Hezekiah Prays

(Isaiah 37.14-20)

¹⁴After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the Lord to see. ¹⁵^(C) He prayed:

Lord God of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures.^[h] You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world. ¹⁶But just look how Sennacherib has insulted you, the living God.

¹⁷It is true, our Lord, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. ¹⁸They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. ¹⁹But you are our Lord and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God.

The Lord's Answer to Hezekiah

(Isaiah 37.21-35)

²⁰Isaiah went to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord God of Israel had said:

Hezekiah, I heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria. ²¹Now this is what I say to that king:

The people of Jerusalem
hate and make fun of you;
they laugh
behind your back.

²²Sennacherib, you cursed,
shouted, and sneered at me,
    the holy God of Israel.
²³You let your officials
    insult me, the Lord.
And this is how you
    bragged about yourself:
“I led my chariots
to the highest heights
    of Lebanon's mountains.
I went deep into its forest,
cutting down the best cedar
    and cypress trees.
²⁴I dried up every stream
    in the land of Egypt,
and I drank water
    from wells I had dug.”

²⁵Sennacherib, now listen
    to me, the Lord.
I planned all this long ago.
And you don't even realize
    that I alone am the one
who decided that you
    would do these things.
I let you make ruins
    of fortified cities.
²⁶Their people became weak,
    terribly confused.
They were like wild flowers
or tender young grass
    growing on a flat roof,
scorched before it matures.^[i]

²⁷I know all about you,
even how fiercely angry
    you are with me.
²⁸I have seen your pride
and the tremendous hatred
    you have for me.
Now I will put a hook
in your nose,
    a bit in your mouth,^[j]
then I will send you back
    to where you came from.

²⁹Hezekiah, I will tell you what's going to happen. This year you will eat crops that grow on their own, and the next year you will eat whatever springs up where those crops grew. But the third year you will plant grain and vineyards, and you will eat what you harvest. ³⁰Those who survive in Judah will be like a vine that puts down deep roots and bears fruit. ³¹I, the Lord All-Powerful, will see to it that some who live in Jerusalem will survive.

³²I promise that the king of Assyria won't get into Jerusalem, or shoot an arrow into the city, or even surround it and prepare to attack. ³³As surely as I am the Lord, he will return by the way he came and will never enter Jerusalem. ³⁴I will protect it for myself and for my servant David.

The Death of King Sennacherib

(Isaiah 37.36-38)

³⁵^(D) That same night the Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed 185,000 of them. And so the next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies. ³⁶After this King Sennacherib went back to Assyria and lived in the city of Nineveh. ³⁷One day he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, when his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. They escaped to the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon became king.^[k]

Hezekiah Gets Sick and Almost Dies

(2 Chronicles 32.24-26; Isaiah 38.1-8,21,22)

20 About this time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. Isaiah the prophet went in and told him, “The Lord says you won't ever get well. You are going to die, so you had better start doing what needs to be done.”

²Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed, ³“Don't forget that I have been faithful to you, Lord. I have obeyed you with all my heart, and I do whatever you say is right.” After this, he cried bitterly.

⁴Before Isaiah got to the middle court of the palace, ⁵the Lord sent him back to Hezekiah with this message:

Hezekiah, you are the ruler of my people, and I am the Lord God, who was worshiped by your ancestor David. I heard you pray, and I saw you cry. I will heal you, so that three days from now you will be able to worship in my temple. ⁶I will let you live 15 years more, while I protect you and your city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city as an honor to me and to my servant David.

⁷Then Isaiah said to the king's servants, “Bring some mashed figs and place them on the king's open sore. He will then get well.”

⁸Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “Can you prove that the Lord will heal me, so that I can worship in his temple in three days?”

⁹Isaiah replied, “The Lord will prove to you that he will keep his promise. Will the shadow made by the setting sun on the stairway go forward ten steps or back ten steps?”^[l]

¹⁰“It's normal for the sun to go forward,” Hezekiah answered. “But how can it go back?”

¹¹Isaiah prayed, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairway built for King Ahaz.^[m]

The Lord Is Still with Hezekiah

(Isaiah 39.1-8)

¹²Merodach^[n] Baladan, the son of Baladan, was now king of Babylonia.^[o] And when he learned that Hezekiah had been sick, he sent messengers with letters and a gift for him. ¹³Hezekiah welcomed^[p] the messengers and showed them all the silver, the gold, the spices, and the fine oils that were in his storehouse. He even showed them where he kept his weapons. Nothing in his palace or in his entire kingdom was kept hidden from them.

¹⁴Isaiah asked Hezekiah, “Where did these men come from? What did they want?”

“They came all the way from Babylonia,” Hezekiah answered.

¹⁵“What did you show them?” Isaiah asked.

Hezekiah answered, “I showed them everything in my kingdom.”

¹⁶Then Isaiah told Hezekiah:

I have a message for you from the Lord. ¹⁷^(E) One day everything you and your ancestors have stored up will be taken to Babylonia. The Lord has promised that nothing will be left. ¹⁸^(F) Some of your own sons will be taken to Babylonia, where they will be disgraced and made to serve in the king's palace.

¹⁹Hezekiah thought, “At least our nation will be at peace for a while.” So he told Isaiah, “The message you brought me from the Lord is good.”

Hezekiah Dies

(2 Chronicles 32.32,33)

²⁰Everything else Hezekiah did while he was king, including his brave deeds and how he made the upper pool and tunnel bring water into Jerusalem, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²¹Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became king.

Footnotes

18.4 the bronze snake … Nehushtan: See Numbers 21.8,9. “Nehushtan” is a nickname that sounds like the Hebrew words for “snake” and “bronze.”
18.10 three years later: When the Israelites measured time, part of a year could be counted as a whole year.
18.11 The king of Assyria: Probably Sargon, Shalmaneser's successor (see the note at 17.6).
18.13 King Sennacherib … walled city: Sennacherib ruled Assyria 705–681 b.c., and this event probably took place in 701 b.c.
18.16 doorposts: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
18.22 worship: Hezekiah actually had torn down the places where idols were worshiped, 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 worshiped.
19.9 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
19.15 winged creatures: Two winged creatures made of gold were on the top of the sacred chest and were symbols of the Lord's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18; 2 Samuel 6.2).
19.26 tender young grass … matures: Many of the houses had roofs made of packed earth. Grass would sometimes grow out of the roof, but would die quickly because of the sun and hot winds.
19.28 I will put … your mouth: This is how the Assyrians treated their prisoners, and now the Lord will treat Sennacherib the same way.
19.37 Esarhaddon became king: Ruled Assyria 681–669 b.c.
20.9 Will … steps: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
20.11 the shadow … Ahaz: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
20.12 Merodach: The Hebrew text has “Berodach,” another spelling of the name.
20.12 Merodach Baladan … Babylonia: Ruled Babylonia 722–710 and 704–703 b.c.
20.13 welcomed: Or “listened to.”

2 Kings 18-20

New International Version

Hezekiah King of Judah^(A)^(B)^(C)

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah^(D) son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. ²He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years.^(E) His mother’s name was Abijah^[a] daughter of Zechariah. ³He did what was right^(F) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David^(G) had done. ⁴He removed^(H) the high places,^(I) smashed the sacred stones^(J) and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake^(K) Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.^[b])

⁵Hezekiah trusted^(L) in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. ⁶He held fast^(M) to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. ⁷And the Lord was with him; he was successful^(N) in whatever he undertook. He rebelled^(O) against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸From watchtower to fortified city,^(P) he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

⁹In King Hezekiah’s fourth year,^(Q) 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. ¹⁰At 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. ¹¹The king^(R) of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.^(S) ¹²This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant^(T)—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.^(U) They neither listened to the commands^(V) nor carried them out.

¹³In the fourteenth year^(W) of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah^(X) and captured them. ¹⁴So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish:^(Y) “I have done wrong.^(Z) 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^[c] of silver and thirty talents^[d] of gold. ¹⁵So Hezekiah gave^(AA) him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

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

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(AC)^(AD)

¹⁷The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander,^(AE) 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,^(AF) on the road to the Washerman’s Field. ¹⁸They called for the king; and Eliakim^(AG) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna^(AH) the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

¹⁹The 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^(AI) of yours? ²⁰You 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? ²¹Look, I know you are depending on Egypt,^(AJ) that splintered reed of a staff,^(AK) which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. ²²But 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! ²⁴How can you repulse one officer^(AL) of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen^[e]? ²⁵Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord?^(AM) The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

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

²⁷But 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?”

²⁸Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! ²⁹This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive^(AO) you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. ³⁰Do 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^(AP) and drink water from your own cistern,^(AQ) ³²until 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^(AR) and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ ³³Has the god^(AS) of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴Where are the gods of Hamath^(AT) and Arpad?^(AU) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? ³⁵Who 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?”^(AV)

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

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

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold^(AY)

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore^(AZ) his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. ²He sent Eliakim^(BA) the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,^(BB) all wearing sackcloth,^(BC) to the prophet Isaiah^(BD) son of Amoz. ³They 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^(BE) of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴It 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^(BF) the living God, and that he will rebuke^(BG) him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant^(BH) that still survives.”

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

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

⁹Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,^[f] 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^(BO) on deceive^(BP) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ ¹¹Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ¹²Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver^(BQ) them—the gods of Gozan,^(BR) Harran,^(BS) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? ¹³Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”^(BT)

Hezekiah’s Prayer^(BU)

¹⁴Hezekiah received the letter^(BV) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,^(BW) you alone^(BX) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶Give ear,^(BY) Lord, and hear;^(BZ) open your eyes,^(CA) 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. ¹⁸They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods^(CB) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.^(CC) ¹⁹Now, Lord our God, deliver^(CD) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms^(CE) of the earth may know^(CF) that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall^(CG)^(CH)

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

“‘Virgin Daughter^(CK) Zion
    despises^(CL) you and mocks^(CM) you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head^(CN) as you flee.
²²Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?^(CO)
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
    Against the Holy One^(CP) of Israel!
²³By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,^(CQ)
    “With my many chariots^(CR)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down^(CS) its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest parts,
    the finest of its forests.
²⁴I 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?^(CT)
    Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned^(CU) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.^(CV)
²⁶Their people, drained of power,^(CW)
    are dismayed^(CX) and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,^(CY)
like grass sprouting on the roof,
    scorched^(CZ) before it grows up.

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

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

“This year you will eat what grows by itself,^(DF)
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
    plant vineyards^(DG) and eat their fruit.
³⁰Once more a remnant^(DH) of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root^(DI) below and bear fruit above.
³¹For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,^(DJ)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.^(DK)

“The zeal^(DL) 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.
³³By the way that he came he will return;^(DM)
    he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
³⁴I will defend^(DN) this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David^(DO) my servant.’”

³⁵That night the angel of the Lord^(DP) 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!^(DQ) ³⁶So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.^(DR) He returned to Nineveh^(DS) and stayed there.

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

Hezekiah’s Illness^(DX)

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

²Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³“Remember,^(DY) Lord, how I have walked^(DZ) before you faithfully^(EA) and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ⁵“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard^(EB) your prayer and seen your tears;^(EC) I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. ⁶I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend^(ED) this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

⁷Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,^(EE) and he recovered.

⁸Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

⁹Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign^(EF) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

¹⁰“It is a simple^(EG) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

¹¹Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back^(EH) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Envoys From Babylon^(EI)^(EJ)

¹²At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. ¹³Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”

¹⁵The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

¹⁶Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.^(EK) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸And some of your descendants,^(EL) your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”^(EM)

¹⁹“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

²⁰As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool^(EN) and the tunnel^(EO) by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²¹Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

2 Kings 18:2 Hebrew Abi, a variant of Abijah
2 Kings 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and snake.
2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
2 Kings 18:14 That is, about 1 ton or about 1 metric ton
2 Kings 18:24 Or charioteers
2 Kings 19:9 That is, the upper Nile region

2 Chronicles 29-32

Contemporary English Version

King Hezekiah of Judah

(2 Kings 18.1-3)

29 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 29 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. ²Hezekiah obeyed the Lord by doing right, just as his ancestor David had done.

The Temple Is Purified

³In the first month^[a] of the first year of Hezekiah's rule, he unlocked the doors to the Lord's temple and had them repaired.^[b] ⁴Then he called the priests and Levites to the east courtyard of the temple ⁵and said:

It's time to purify the temple of the Lord God of our ancestors. You Levites must first go through the ceremony to make yourselves clean, then go into the temple and bring out everything that is unclean and unacceptable to the Lord. ⁶Some of our ancestors were unfaithful and disobeyed the Lord our God. Not only did they turn their backs on the Lord, but they also completely ignored his temple. ⁷They locked the doors, then let the lamps go out and stopped burning incense and offering sacrifices to him. ⁸The Lord became terribly angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and everyone was shocked and horrified at what he did to punish them. Not only were ⁹our ancestors killed in battle, but our own children and wives were taken captive.

¹⁰So I have decided to renew our agreement with the Lord God of Israel. Maybe then he will stop being so angry with us. ¹¹Let's not waste any time, my friends. You are the ones who were chosen to be the Lord's priests and to offer him sacrifices.

^12-14When Hezekiah finished talking, the following Levite leaders went to work:

Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohath clan; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merari clan; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershon clan; Shimri and Jeuel from the Elizaphan clan; Zechariah and Mattaniah from the Asaph clan; Jehuel and Shimei from the Heman clan; Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthun clan.

¹⁵These leaders gathered together the rest of the Levites, and they all went through the ceremony to make themselves clean. Then they began to purify the temple according to the Law of the Lord, just as Hezekiah had commanded.

¹⁶The priests went into the temple and carried out everything that was unclean. They put these things in the courtyard, and from there, the Levites carried them outside the city to Kidron Valley.

¹⁷The priests and Levites began their work on the first day of the first month.^[c] It took them one week to purify the courtyards of the temple and another week to purify the temple. So on the sixteenth day of that same month ¹⁸they went back to Hezekiah and said:

Your Majesty, we have finished our work. The entire temple is now pure again, and so is the altar and its utensils, as well as the table for the sacred loaves of bread and its utensils. ¹⁹And we have brought back all the things that King Ahaz took from the temple during the time he was unfaithful to God. We purified them and put them back in front of the altar.

Worship in the Temple

²⁰At once, Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem, and they went to the temple. ²¹They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats^[d] as sacrifices to take away the sins of Hezekiah's family and of the people of Judah, as well as to purify the temple. Hezekiah told the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice these animals on the altar.

²²The priests killed the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, then splattered the blood on the altar. ²³They took the goats to Hezekiah and the worshipers, and they laid their hands on the animals. ²⁴The priests then killed the goats and splattered the blood on the altar as a sacrifice to take away the sins of everyone in Israel, because Hezekiah had commanded that these sacrifices be made for all the people of Israel.

²⁵Next, Hezekiah assigned the Levites to their places in the temple. He gave them cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments, according to the instructions that the Lord had given King David and the two prophets, Gad and Nathan. ²⁶^(A) The Levites were ready to play the instruments that had belonged to David; the priests were ready to blow the trumpets.

²⁷As soon as Hezekiah gave the signal for the sacrifices to be burned on the altar, the musicians began singing praises to the Lord and playing their instruments, ²⁸and everyone worshiped the Lord. This continued until the last animal was sacrificed.

²⁹After that, Hezekiah and the crowd of worshipers bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ³⁰Then Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing the songs of praise that David and Asaph the prophet had written. And so they bowed down and joyfully sang praises to the Lord.

³¹Hezekiah said to the crowd, “Now that you are once again acceptable to the Lord, bring sacrifices and offerings to give him thanks.”

The people did this, and some of them voluntarily brought animals to be offered as sacrifices. ³²Seventy bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs were brought as sacrifices to please the Lord;^[e] ³³600 bulls and 3,000 sheep were brought as sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.^[f] ³⁴There were not enough priests to skin all these animals, because many of the priests had not taken the time to go through the ceremony to make themselves clean. However, since all the Levites had made themselves clean, they helped the priests until the last animal was skinned. ³⁵Besides all the sacrifices that were burned on the altar, the fat from the other animal sacrifices was burned, and the offerings of wine were poured over the altar.

So the temple was once again used for worshiping the Lord. ³⁶Hezekiah and the people of Judah celebrated, because God had helped them make this happen so quickly.

Hezekiah Prepares To Celebrate Passover

30 ^1-4^(B) Passover wasn't celebrated in the first month,^[g] which was the usual time, because many of the priests were still unclean and unacceptable to serve, and because not everyone in Judah had come to Jerusalem for the festival. So Hezekiah, his officials, and the people agreed to celebrate Passover in the second month.^[h]

Hezekiah sent a message to everyone in Israel and Judah, including those in the territories of Ephraim and West Manasseh, inviting them to the temple in Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover in honor of the Lord God of Israel. ⁵Everyone from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north was invited. This was the largest crowd of people that had ever celebrated Passover, according to the official records.

⁶Hezekiah's messengers went everywhere in Israel and Judah with the following letter:

People of Israel, now that you have survived the invasion of the Assyrian kings,^[i] it's time for you to turn back to the Lord God our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped. If you do this, he will stop being angry. ⁷Don't follow the example of your ancestors and your Israelite relatives in the north. They were unfaithful to the Lord, and he punished them horribly. ⁸Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. Decide now to obey the Lord our God! Come to Jerusalem and worship him in the temple that will belong to him forever. Then he will stop being angry, ⁹and the enemies that have captured your families will show pity and send them back home. The Lord God is kind and merciful, and if you turn back to him, he will no longer turn his back on you.

¹⁰The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and West Manasseh as far north as the territory of Zebulun, but people laughed and insulted them. ¹¹Only a few people from the tribes of Asher, West Manasseh, and Zebulun were humble and went to Jerusalem. ¹²God also made everyone in Judah eager to do what Hezekiah and his officials had commanded.

Passover Is Celebrated

¹³In the second month,^[j] a large crowd of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Thin Bread.^[k] ¹⁴They took all the foreign altars and incense altars in Jerusalem and threw them into Kidron Valley.

^15-17Then, on the fourteenth day of that same month, the Levites began killing the lambs for Passover, because many of the worshipers were unclean and were not allowed to kill their own lambs. Meanwhile, some of the priests and Levites felt ashamed because they had not gone through the ceremony to make themselves clean. They immediately went through that ceremony and went to the temple, where they offered sacrifices to please the Lord.^[l] Then the priests and Levites took their positions, according to the Law of Moses, the servant of God.

As the Levites killed the lambs, they handed some of the blood to the priests, who splattered it on the altar.

^18-19Most of the people that came from Ephraim, West Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean, but they ignored God's Law and ate the Passover lambs anyway. Hezekiah found out what they had done and prayed, “Lord God, these people are unclean according to the laws of holiness. But they are worshiping you, just as their ancestors did. So, please be kind and forgive them.” ²⁰The Lord answered Hezekiah's prayer and did not punish them.

²¹The worshipers in Jerusalem were very happy and celebrated the Festival for seven days. The Levites and priests sang praises to the Lord every day and played their instruments. ²²Hezekiah thanked the Levites for doing such a good job, leading the celebration.

The worshipers celebrated for seven days by offering sacrifices, by eating the sacred meals, and by praising the Lord God of their ancestors. ²³Everyone was so excited that they agreed to celebrate seven more days.

²⁴So Hezekiah gave the people 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep to be offered as sacrifices and to be used as food for the sacred meals. His officials gave 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep, and many more priests agreed to go through the ceremony to make themselves clean. ²⁵Everyone was very happy, including those from Judah and Israel, the priests and Levites, and the foreigners living in Judah and Israel. ²⁶It was the biggest celebration in Jerusalem since the days of King Solomon, the son of David. ²⁷The priests and Levites asked God to bless the people, and from his home in heaven, he did.

The People Destroy the Local Shrines

(2 Kings 18.4)

31 After the Festival, the people went to every town in Judah and smashed the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred poles^[m] for worshiping the goddess Asherah. They destroyed all the local shrines^[n] and foreign altars in Judah, as well as those in the territories of Benjamin, Ephraim, and West Manasseh. Then everyone went home.

Offerings for the Priests and Levites

²Hezekiah divided the priests and Levites into groups, according to their duties. Then he assigned them the responsibilities of offering sacrifices to please the Lord^[o] and sacrifices to ask his blessing.^[p] He also appointed people to serve at the temple and to sing praises at the temple gates. ³^(C) Hezekiah provided animals from his own herds and flocks to use for the morning and evening sacrifices, as well as for the sacrifices during the Sabbath celebrations, the New Moon Festivals, and the other religious feasts required by the Law of the Lord.

⁴^(D) He told the people of Jerusalem to bring the offerings that were to be given to the priests and Levites, so that they would have time to serve the Lord with their work. ⁵As soon as the people heard what the king wanted, they brought a tenth of everything they owned, including their best grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and other crops. ⁶The people from the other towns of Judah brought a tenth of their herds and flocks, as well as a tenth of anything they had dedicated to the Lord. ⁷The people started bringing their offerings to Jerusalem in the third month,^[q] and the last ones arrived four months later. ⁸When Hezekiah and his officials saw these offerings, they thanked the Lord and the people.

⁹Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the large amount of offerings. ¹⁰The high priest at the time was Azariah, a descendant of Zadok, and he replied, “Ever since the people have been bringing us their offerings, we have had more than enough food and supplies. The Lord has certainly blessed his people. Look at how much is left over!”

¹¹So the king gave orders for storerooms to be built in the temple, and when they were completed, ^12-13all the extra offerings were taken there. Hezekiah and Azariah then appointed Conaniah the Levite to be in charge of these storerooms. His brother Shimei was his assistant, and the following Levites worked with them: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah. ¹⁴Kore son of Imnah was assigned to guard the East Gate, and he was put in charge of receiving the offerings voluntarily given to God and of dividing them among the priests and Levites. ^15-16He had six assistants who were responsible for seeing that all the priests in the other towns of Judah also got their share of these offerings. They were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah.

Every priest and every Levite over 30^[r] years old who worked daily in the temple received part of these offerings, according to their duties. ¹⁷The priests were listed in the official records by clans, and the Levites 20 years old and older were listed by their duties. ¹⁸The official records also included their wives and children, because they had also been faithful in keeping themselves clean and acceptable to serve the Lord.

¹⁹Hezekiah also appointed other men to take food and supplies to the priests and Levites whose homes were in the pastureland around the towns of Judah. But the priests had to be descendants of Aaron, and the Levites had to be listed in the official records.

^20-21Everything Hezekiah did while he was king of Judah, including what he did for the temple in Jerusalem, was right and good. He was a successful king, because he obeyed the Lord God with all his heart.

King Sennacherib of Assyria Invades Judah

(2 Kings 18.13-37; Isaiah 36.1-22)

32 After 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 learned 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 defense 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?^[s] 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 begged the Lord for help, ²¹and he sent an angel that 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,^[t] and everyone in Judah and Jerusalem honored him. His son Manasseh then became king.

Footnotes

29.3 first month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
29.3 he unlocked the doors … repaired: King Ahaz had locked the doors and stopped everyone from worshiping the Lord (see 28.24,25).
29.17 first month: See the note at 29.3.
29.21 goats: Hebrew “male goats.”
29.32 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 1.6.
29.33 sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “peace offerings” or “offerings of well-being.” A main purpose was to ask for the Lord's blessing, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing.”
30.1-4 first month: See the note at 29.3.
30.1-4 second month: See the note at 3.1,2.
30.6 the invasion of the Assyrian kings: See 2 Kings 17.1-22.
30.13 second month: See the note at 3.1,2.
30.13 the Festival of Thin Bread: The celebration of this Festival began one day after Passover. And so these two festivals were often referred to as one.
30.15-17 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 1.6.
31.1 sacred poles: See the note at 14.3.
31.1 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
31.2 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 1.6.
31.2 sacrifices to ask his blessing: See the note at 29.33.
31.7 third month: Sivan, the third month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-May to mid-June.
31.15,16 30: The Hebrew text has “3” instead of “30”; in Hebrew, these two words look almost exactly the same (see also Numbers 4.3; 1 Chronicles 23.3).
32.12 worship: Hezekiah actually had torn down the places where idols were worshiped, 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 worshiped.
32.33 in the section … reserved for the most respected kings: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

2 Chronicles 29:1-32:10

New International Version

Hezekiah Purifies the Temple^(A)

29 Hezekiah^(B) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. ²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David^(C) had done.

³In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired^(D) them. ⁴He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side ⁵and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate^(E) yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. ⁶Our parents^(F) were unfaithful;^(G) they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. ⁷They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense^(H) or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. ⁸Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror^(I) and scorn,^(J) as you can see with your own eyes. ⁹This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.^(K) ¹⁰Now I intend to make a covenant^(L) with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger^(M) will turn away from us. ¹¹My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him,^(N) to minister^(O) before him and to burn incense.”

¹²Then these Levites^(P) set to work:

from the Kohathites,

Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;

from the Merarites,

Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;

from the Gershonites,

Joah son of Zimmah and Eden^(Q) son of Joah;

¹³from the descendants of Elizaphan,^(R)

Shimri and Jeiel;

from the descendants of Asaph,^(S)

Zechariah and Mattaniah;

¹⁴from the descendants of Heman,

Jehiel and Shimei;

from the descendants of Jeduthun,

Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify^(T) the temple of the Lord, as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord. ¹⁶The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.^(U) ¹⁷They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. ¹⁹We have prepared and consecrated all the articles^(V) that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”

²⁰Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord. ²¹They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats^(W) as a sin offering^[a]^(X) for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord. ²²So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and splashed their blood^(Y) against the altar. ²³The goats^(Z) for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands^(AA) on them. ²⁴The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone^(AB) for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.^(AC)

²⁵He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David^(AD) and Gad^(AE) the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments,^(AF) and the priests with their trumpets.^(AG)

²⁷Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments^(AH) of David king of Israel. ²⁸The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering^(AI) was completed.

²⁹When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped.^(AJ) ³⁰King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.

³¹Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices^(AK) and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing^(AL) brought burnt offerings.

³²The number of burnt offerings^(AM) the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs—all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord. ³³The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. ³⁴The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings;^(AN) so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated,^(AO) for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. ³⁵There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat^(AP) of the fellowship offerings^(AQ) and the drink offerings^(AR) that accompanied the burnt offerings.

So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. ³⁶Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.^(AS)

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel^(AT) and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh,^(AU) inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover^(AV) to the Lord, the God of Israel. ²The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate^(AW) the Passover in the second month. ³They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated^(AX) themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. ⁴The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly. ⁵They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan,^(AY) calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.

⁶At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:

“People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. ⁷Do not be like your parents^(AZ) and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful^(BA) to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror,^(BB) as you see. ⁸Do not be stiff-necked,^(BC) as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger^(BD) will turn away from you. ⁹If you return^(BE) to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion^(BF) by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.^(BG) He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed^(BH) them. ¹¹Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled^(BI) themselves and went to Jerusalem.^(BJ) ¹²Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity^(BK) of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.

¹³A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread^(BL) in the second month. ¹⁴They removed the altars^(BM) in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.^(BN)

¹⁵They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated^(BO) themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. ¹⁶Then they took up their regular positions^(BP) as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. ¹⁷Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill^(BQ) the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs^[b] to the Lord. ¹⁸Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,^(BR) yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone ¹⁹who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰And the Lord heard^(BS) Hezekiah and healed^(BT) the people.^(BU)

²¹The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread^(BV) for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with resounding instruments dedicated to the Lord.^[c]

²²Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord. For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised^[d] the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

²³The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate^(BW) the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. ²⁴Hezekiah king of Judah provided^(BX) a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves. ²⁵The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel^(BY), including the foreigners who had come from Israel and also those who resided in Judah. ²⁶There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon^(BZ) son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷The priests and the Levites stood to bless^(CA) the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

31 When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down^(CB) the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.

Contributions for Worship^(CC)

²Hezekiah^(CD) assigned the priests and Levites to divisions^(CE)—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister,^(CF) to give thanks and to sing praises^(CG) at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.^(CH) ³The king contributed^(CI) from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord.^(CJ) ⁴He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion^(CK) due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. ⁵As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits^(CL) of their grain, new wine,^(CM) olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. ⁶The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe^(CN) of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps.^(CO) ⁷They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.^(CP) ⁸When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed^(CQ) his people Israel.

⁹Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; ¹⁰and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok,^(CR) answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”^(CS)

¹¹Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done. ¹²Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Konaniah,^(CT) a Levite, was the overseer in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank. ¹³Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad,^(CU) Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were assistants of Konaniah and Shimei his brother. All these served by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God.

¹⁴Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts. ¹⁵Eden,^(CV) Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns^(CW) of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.

¹⁶In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records^(CX)—all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. ¹⁷And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. ¹⁸They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.

¹⁹As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around their towns or in any other towns,^(CY) men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites.

²⁰This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful^(CZ) before the Lord his God. ²¹In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.^(DA)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(DB)^(DC)

32 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib^(DD) king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. ²When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,^(DE) ³he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs^(DF) and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings^[e] of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. ⁵Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall^(DG) and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces^[f]^(DH) of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons^(DI) and shields.

⁶He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: ⁷“Be strong and courageous.^(DJ) Do not be afraid or discouraged^(DK) because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.^(DL) ⁸With him is only the arm of flesh,^(DM) but with us^(DN) is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”^(DO) And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

⁹Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish,^(DP) 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,^(DQ) that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 29:21 Or purification offering; also in verses 23 and 24
2 Chronicles 30:17 Or consecrate themselves
2 Chronicles 30:21 Or priests sang to the Lord every day, accompanied by the Lord’s instruments of praise
2 Chronicles 30:22 Or and confessed their sins to
2 Chronicles 32:4 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac king
2 Chronicles 32:5 Or the Millo

2 Kings 15:32-38 Contemporary English Version

King Jotham of Judah

(2 Chronicles 27.1-9)

Footnotes

2 Kings 15:32-38 New International Version

Jotham King of Judah(A)

Cross references

2 Chronicles 27:1-7 Contemporary English Version

King Jotham of Judah

(2 Kings 15.32-38)

2 Chronicles 27:1-7 New International Version

Jotham King of Judah(A)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Kings 16 Contemporary English Version

King Ahaz of Judah

(2 Chronicles 28.1-27)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Kings 16 New International Version

Ahaz King of Judah(A)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Chronicles 28 Contemporary English Version

King Ahaz of Judah

(2 Kings 16.1-4)

Syria and Israel Attack Judah

(2 Kings 16.5,6)

Oded the Prophet Condemns Israel

Ahaz Asks the King of Assyria for Help

(2 Kings 16.7-9)

The Final Sin of Ahaz and His Death

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Chronicles 28 New International Version

Ahaz King of Judah(A)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Kings 18-20 Contemporary English Version

King Hezekiah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 29.1,2; 31.1)

King Sennacherib of Assyria Invades Judah

(2 Chronicles 32.1-19; Isaiah 36.1-22)

Hezekiah Asks Isaiah the Prophet for Advice

(Isaiah 37.1-13)

Hezekiah Prays

(Isaiah 37.14-20)

The Lord's Answer to Hezekiah

(Isaiah 37.21-35)

The Death of King Sennacherib

(Isaiah 37.36-38)

Hezekiah Gets Sick and Almost Dies

(2 Chronicles 32.24-26; Isaiah 38.1-8,21,22)

The Lord Is Still with Hezekiah

(Isaiah 39.1-8)

Hezekiah Dies

(2 Chronicles 32.32,33)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Kings 18-20 New International Version

Hezekiah King of Judah(A)(B)(C)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(AC)(AD)

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(AY)

Hezekiah’s Prayer(BU)

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall(CG)(CH)

Hezekiah’s Illness(DX)

Envoys From Babylon(EI)(EJ)

Footnotes

Cross references

2 Chronicles 29-32 Contemporary English Version

King Hezekiah of Judah

(2 Kings 18.1-3)

The Temple Is Purified

Worship in the Temple

Hezekiah Prepares To Celebrate Passover

Passover Is Celebrated

The People Destroy the Local Shrines

(2 Kings 18.4)

Offerings for the Priests and Levites

King Sennacherib of Assyria Invades Judah

2 Kings 15:32-38

Contemporary English Version

2 Kings 15:32-38

New International Version

Jotham King of Judah^(A)

2 Chronicles 27:1-7

Contemporary English Version

2 Chronicles 27:1-7

New International Version

Jotham King of Judah^(A)

2 Kings 16

Contemporary English Version

2 Kings 16

New International Version

Ahaz King of Judah^(A)

2 Chronicles 28

Contemporary English Version

2 Chronicles 28

New International Version

Ahaz King of Judah^(A)

2 Kings 18-20

Contemporary English Version

2 Kings 18-20

New International Version

Hezekiah King of Judah^(A)^(B)^(C)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(AC)^(AD)

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold^(AY)

Hezekiah’s Prayer^(BU)

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall^(CG)^(CH)

Hezekiah’s Illness^(DX)

Envoys From Babylon^(EI)^(EJ)

2 Chronicles 29-32

Contemporary English Version

2 Chronicles 29:1-32:10

New International Version

Hezekiah Purifies the Temple^(A)

Contributions for Worship^(CC)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(DB)^(DC)