2 Chronicles 32

After these deeds and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He encamped against the fortified cities, intending to capture them for himself. When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to wage war against Jerusalem, he consulted his officials and his warriors about blocking the springs outside the city, and they helped him. A large number of people gathered and blocked all the springs and the stream flowing through the land. They said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find so much water?” Hezekiah took courage and rebuilt the entire broken wall, raising it up to the towers, and built another wall outside it. He strengthened the Millo in the City of David and made weapons and shields in abundance. He appointed military commanders over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, saying, “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria or the whole multitude with him, for we have more with us than he has with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and fight our battles.” The people took confidence in the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem with a message for Hezekiah king of Judah and all the people of Judah in Jerusalem. Sennacherib himself was at Lachish with all his forces. “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? Isn't Hezekiah misleading you, handing you over to die of hunger and thirst when he says, ‘The LORD our God will rescue us from the hand of the king of Assyria’? Wasn't it Hezekiah who removed his high places and altars and told Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must bow down before one altar and burn offerings on it’? Don't you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations in those lands able to rescue their lands from my hand? Which of all the gods of those nations my fathers utterly destroyed was able to rescue his people from my hand? How, then, can your God rescue you from my hand? Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my hand!” His servants said still more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah. Sennacherib also wrote letters insulting the LORD, the God of Israel, and speaking against him: “Just as the gods of the nations of the lands did not rescue their people from my hand, neither will Hezekiah's God rescue his people from my hand.” They called out loudly in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them so that they could capture the city. They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands. Because of this, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed and cried out to heaven. The LORD sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king returned to his land in shame. When he entered the house of his god, his own offspring struck him down there with the sword. So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of everyone else, and he guided them on every side. Many brought offerings to the LORD in Jerusalem and precious gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations. In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. He prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not respond in keeping with the good done to him, for his heart grew proud. So wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, as did the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the LORD's wrath did not come upon them in Hezekiah's days. Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. He made treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and every kind of valuable article. He also made storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil, stalls for every kind of livestock, and pens for flocks. He built cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah prospered in all he did. But when the envoys of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him, to know everything in his heart. The rest of Hezekiah's deeds and his acts of faithful love are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and they buried him on the ascent to the tombs of David's sons. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. His son Manasseh reigned in his place.

Rights and attribution