2Ki 18-20 | ESV | STEP | In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah , king of Israel , Hezekiah the son of Ahaz , king of Judah , began to reign .

1 ^aIn the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^bHezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was ^ctwenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^dAbi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 ^eAnd he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 ^fHe removed the high places and broke the ^gpillars and cut down ^hthe Asherah. And he broke in pieces ⁱthe bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). ^{▼▼ Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and serpent} 5 ^kHe trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, ^lso that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 ^mFor he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. 7 ⁿAnd the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, ^ohe prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. 8 ^pHe struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, ^qfrom watchtower to fortified city.

9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^rShalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in ^sHalah, and on the ^tHabor, ^uthe river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.

Sennacherib Attacks Judah

13 ^vIn the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear.” ^wAnd the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents ^{▼▼A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms} of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezekiah ^ygave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. 17 And the king of Assyria sent the ^zTartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by ^aathe conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 18 And when they called for the king, there came out to them ^abEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and ^acShebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

19 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 20 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of ^ada staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he ^aewhose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, "Go up against this land, and destroy it."’”

26 Then ^afEliakim the son of Hilkiah, and ^agShebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in ^ahAramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”

28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my ^{▼▼Hebrew his} hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me ^{▼▼Hebrew Make a blessing with me} and come out to me. Then ^akeach one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, ^ala land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and ^amhoney, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” 33 ^anHas any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 ^aoWhere are the gods of ^apHamath and ^aqArpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^arIvvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, ^asthat the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then ^atEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah ^auwith their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

‏ 2 Kings 19

Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah

1 ^avAs soon as King Hezekiah heard it, ^awhe tore his clothes and ^axcovered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, ^aycovered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 ^azIt may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^bato mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^bbthe remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which ^bcthe servants of the king of Assyria have ^bdreviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that ^behe shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him ^bffall by the sword in his own land.’”

Sennacherib Defies the Lord

8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^bgLibnah, for he heard that the king had left ^bhLachish. 9 ^biNow the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God ^bjin whom you trust deceive you by promising that ^bkJerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 ^blHave the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^bmGozan, ^bnHaran, Rezeph, and the people of ^boEden who were in Telassar? 13 ^bpWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received ^bqthe letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, ^brenthroned above the cherubim, ^bsyou are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 ^btIncline your ear, O Lord, and hear; ^buopen your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^bvto mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, ^bwbut the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, ^bxthat all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ^byyou, O Lord, are God alone.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria ^bzI have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“She despises you, she scorns you—
^cathe virgin daughter of Zion;
she ^cbwags her head behind you—
the daughter of Jerusalem.
22 “Whom have you ^ccmocked and ^cdreviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
Against ^cethe Holy One of Israel!
23 ^cfBy your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, ^cg‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of ^chLebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest lodging place,
its most ^cifruitful forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams ^cjof Egypt.’
25 “Have you not heard
that ^ckI determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what ^clnow I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
into heaps of ruins,
26 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become ^cmlike plants of the field
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
blighted before it is grown.
27 “But I know your sitting down
^cnand your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because you have raged against me
and your complacency has come into my ears,
I will ^coput my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and ^cpI will turn you back on the way
by which you came.

29 “And this shall be ^cqthe sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 ^crAnd the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion ^csa band of survivors. ^ctThe zeal of the Lord will do this.

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or ^cucast up a siege mound against it. 33 ^cvBy the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 ^cwFor I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake ^cxand for the sake of my servant David.”

35 And that night ^cythe angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at ^czNineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, ^daAdrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

‏ 2 Kings 20

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

1 ^dbIn those days ^dcHezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^dd‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, ^deplease remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and ^dfwith a whole heart, ^dgand have done what is good in your sight.” ^dhAnd Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah ^dithe leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ^djI have heard your prayer; ^dkI have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, ^dland I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be ^dmthe sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow ^dnto lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, ^doand he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys

12 ^dpAt that time ^dqMerodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, ^drsent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them ^dsall his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when ^dtall that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 ^duAnd some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, ^dvand they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^dw“The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

20 ^dxThe rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made ^dythe pool and the conduit ^dzand brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 ^eaAnd Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.