2 Chronicles 32

Revised Geneva Translation

32 After these faithful acts, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah and besieged the strong cities and thought to win them for himself.

² When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to fight against Jerusalem,

³ he took counsel with his princes and his nobles to stop the water of the fountains outside the city. And they helped him.

⁴ So, many of the people assembled themselves and stopped all the fountains and the river that ran through the midst of the country, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”

⁵ And he took courage and rebuilt the entire broken wall and erected towers and another outside wall and repaired Millo in the City of David and made many weapons and shields.

⁶ And he set captains of war over the people and assembled them to him in the broad place of the gate of the city and spoke encouragement to them, saying,

⁷ “Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or be afraid of the king of Assyria, or of all the multitude that is with him! For there are more with us than are with him!

⁸ “With him is an arm of flesh! But with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles!” Then the people were sustained by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

⁹ After this, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem (while he and all his dominion with him were besieging Lachish) to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and to all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying,

¹⁰ “Thus says Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, ‘In what do you trust, that you would remain in Jerusalem during a siege?

¹¹ ‘Does not Hezekiah entice you to give yourselves over to death by famine and by thirst, saying, “The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?”

¹² ‘Has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one Altar and burn incense upon it?”

¹³ ‘Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the people of other countries? Were the gods of the nations of other lands able to deliver their land out of my hand?

¹⁴ ‘Who is He — among all the gods of those nations that my fathers have destroyed that could not deliver their people out of my hand — that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand?

¹⁵ ‘Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or seduce you in this way or believe him. For none of all the gods of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less shall your gods deliver you out of my hand?’”

¹⁶ And his servants spoke even more against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷ He wrote also letters blaspheming the LORD God of Israel and speaking against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of other countries could not deliver their people out of my hand, so shall the God of Hezekiah not deliver His people out of my hand.”

¹⁸ Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to scare them and to astonish them, so that they might take the city.

¹⁹ Thus they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, the works of man’s hands.

²⁰ But Hezekiah the king and the Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed against this and cried to Heaven.

²¹ And the LORD sent an Angel which destroyed all the valiant men and the princes and captains of the army of the king of Assyria. So, he returned with shame to his own land. And when he had come into the house of his god, those of his own offspring killed him there with the sword.

²² So, the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others and guided them on every side.

²³ And many brought offerings to the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah, king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations thereafter.

²⁴ In those days, Hezekiah was sick to the death and prayed to the LORD, Who spoke to him and gave him a sign.

²⁵ But Hezekiah did not repay according to the reward bestowed upon him; for his heart was lifted up. And wrath came upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶ Nevertheless, Hezekiah humbled himself (after his heart had been lifted up), he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ Hezekiah also had abundant riches and honor. And he acquired treasures of silver, and of gold, and of precious stones, and of sweet odors, and of shields, and of all pleasant vessels,

²⁸ and of store houses for the increase of wheat and wine and oil, and stalls for all beasts, and rows for the stables.

²⁹ And he made cities for himself and had possession of sheep and oxen in abundance. For God had given him a large amount of substance.

³⁰ This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper water springs of Gihon and led them straight underneath toward the City of David, westward. So, Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

³¹ But because of the ambassadors of the princes of Babel, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to test him, to know all that was in his heart.

³² Concerning the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the Prophet, the son of Amoz, in the book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

³³ So, Hezekiah slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the highest sepulcher of the sons of David. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And Manasseh, his son, reigned in his place.