32After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls.H310H1697H571H5576H4428H804H935H935H3063H2583H1219H5892H559H12342When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem,H3169H7200H5576H935H6440H4421H33893he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city.H3289H8269H1368H5640H4325H5869H2351H5892H58264They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, "Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?"H6908H7227H5971H6908H5640H4599H5158H7857H8432H776H559H4428H804H935H4672H7227H43255Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the supporting terraces in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields.H2388H1129H2346H6555H5927H4026H312H2346H2351H2388H4407H5892H1732H6213H7973H4043H72306He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying.H5414H8269H4421H5971H6908H7339H8179H5892H1696H3824H5597"Be strong and courageous! Don't be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!H2388H553H3372H2865H6440H4428H804H1995H72278He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!" Hezekiah's words greatly encouraged the people.H2220H1320H3068H430H5826H3898H4421H5971H5564H1697H3169H4428H3063
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
9While King Sennacherib of Assyria was still besieging the town of Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah and all the people in the city.H310H5576H4428H804H7971H5650H3389H3923H4475H3169H4428H3063H3063H3389H55910"This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege of Jerusalem?H559H5576H4428H804H982H3427H4692H338911Hezekiah has said, 'The LORD our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria.' Surely Hezekiah is misleading you, sentencing you to death by famine and thirst!H3169H5496H5414H4191H7458H6772H559H3068H430H5337H3709H4428H80412Don't you realize that Hezekiah is the very person who destroyed all the LORD's shrines and altars? He commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar at the Temple and to offer sacrifices on it alone.H3169H5493H1116H4196H559H3063H3389H559H7812H6440H259H4196H699913"Surely you must realize what I and the other kings of Assyria before me have done to all the people of the earth! Were any of the gods of those nations able to rescue their people from my power?H3045H1H6213H5971H776H430H1471H776H3201H3201H5337H776H302714Which of their gods was able to rescue its people from the destructive power of my predecessors? What makes you think your God can rescue you from me?H430H1471H1H2763H3201H5337H5971H3027H430H3201H5337H302715Don't let Hezekiah deceive you! Don't let him fool you like this! I say it again—no god of any nation or kingdom has ever yet been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!"H3808H2396H5377H5496H539H433H1471H4467H3201H5337H5971H3027H3027H1H430H5337H302716And Sennacherib's officers further mocked the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah, heaping insult upon insult.H5650H1696H3068H430H5650H316917The king also sent letters scorning the LORD, the God of Israel. He wrote, "Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail."H3789H5612H2778H3068H430H3478H559H559H430H1471H776H5337H5971H3027H430H3169H5337H5971H302718The Assyrian officials who brought the letters shouted this in Hebrew to the people gathered on the walls of the city, trying to terrify them so it would be easier to capture the city.H7121H1419H6963H3066H5971H3389H2346H3372H926H3920H589219These officers talked about the God of Jerusalem as though he were one of the pagan gods, made by human hands.H1696H5921H430H3389H430H5971H776H4639H3027H12020Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven.H3169H4428H5030H3470H1121H531H6419H2199H806421And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.H3068H7971H4397H3582H1368H2428H5057H8269H4264H4428H804H7725H1322H6440H776H935H1004H430H3329H4578H5307H271922That is how the LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land.H3068H3467H3169H3427H3389H3027H5576H4428H804H3027H5095H543923From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the LORD arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too.H7227H935H4503H3068H3389H4030H3169H4428H3063H5375H5869H1471H310
Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery
24About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed to the LORD, who healed him and gave him a miraculous sign.H3117H3169H2470H4191H6419H3068H559H5414H415925But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the LORD's anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.H3169H7725H1576H3820H1361H7110H3063H338926Then Hezekiah humbled himself and repented of his pride, as did the people of Jerusalem. So the LORD's anger did not fall on them during Hezekiah's lifetime.H3169H3665H1363H3820H3427H3389H7110H3068H935H3117H316927Hezekiah was very wealthy and highly honored. He built special treasury buildings for his silver, gold, precious stones, and spices, and for his shields and other valuable items.H3169H3966H7235H6239H3519H6213H214H3701H2091H3368H68H1314H4043H2532H362728He also constructed many storehouses for his grain, new wine, and olive oil; and he made many stalls for his cattle and pens for his flocks of sheep and goats.H4543H8393H1715H8492H3323H723H929H220H573929He built many towns and acquired vast flocks and herds, for God had given him great wealth.H6213H5892H4735H6629H1241H7230H430H5414H7399H3966H722730He blocked up the upper spring of Gihon and brought the water down through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David. And so he succeeded in everything he did.H3169H5640H5945H4161H4325H1521H3474H4295H4628H5892H1732H3169H6743H463931However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart.H3651H3887H8269H894H7971H1875H4159H776H430H5800H5254H3045H3824
Summary of Hezekiah’s Reign
32The rest of the events in Hezekiah's reign and his acts of devotion are recorded in The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah Son of Amoz, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.H3499H1697H3169H2617H3789H2377H3470H5030H1121H531H5612H4428H3063H347833When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the upper area of the royal cemetery, and all Judah and Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became the next king.H3169H7901H1H6912H4608H6913H1121H1732H3063H3427H3389H6213H3519H4194H4519H1121H4427
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in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields.H2388
