Hoshea Reigns over Israel

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^(A)Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for nine years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, only not as the kings of Israel who preceded him. ^3 (B)Shalmaneser the king of Assyria marched ^(C)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had then brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria arrested him and confined him in prison.

⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to ^(D)Samaria and besieged it for three years.

Israel Captive

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(E)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(F)led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and ^(G)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(H)Gozan, and ^(I)in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

⁷ Now ^(J)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, ^(K)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; ^(L)and they had ^[a]feared other gods. ⁸ They also ^[b](M)followed the ^[c]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs ^(N)of the kings of Israel which they had ^[d]introduced. ⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[e]did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^(O)watchtower to fortified city. ¹⁰ And ^(P)they set up for themselves memorial stones and ^[f](Q)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. ¹² They served idols, ^(R)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet the ^(S)Lord warned Israel and Judah ^[g](T)through all His prophets and ^(U)every seer, saying, “^(V)Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you ^[h]through My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(W)stiffened their neck ^[i]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. ^15 (X)They rejected His statutes and ^(Y)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He ^[j]gave them. And ^(Z)they followed ^[k]idols and ^(AA)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the ^(AB)Lord had commanded them not to do as they did. ¹⁶ And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: ^(AC)two calves. And they ^(AD)made an ^[l]Asherah, and ^(AE)worshiped all the heavenly ^[m]lights, and ^(AF)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(AG)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they ^(AH)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and ^(AI)gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. ¹⁸ So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He ^(AJ)removed them from His ^[n]sight; ^(AK)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

^19 (AL)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they ^[o](AM)followed the ^[p]customs ^[q]which Israel had ^[r]introduced. ²⁰ So the Lord rejected all the ^[s]descendants of Israel and afflicted them and ^(AN)handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them ^[t]out of His sight.

²¹ When ^(AO)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(AP)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(AQ)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and misled them into a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed; they did not desist from them ^23 (AR)until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, ^(AS)just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. ^(AT)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers

^24 (AU)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, ^[u](AV)Avva, ^(AW)Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ And at the beginning of their living there, they ^(AX)did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them that were killing some of them. ²⁶ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land; so He has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, “Take one of the priests there whom you led into ^[v]exile, and have ^[w]him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the Lord.

²⁹ But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them ^(AY)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. ^30 (AZ)The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and ^(BA)the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to ^(BB)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of ^(BC)Sepharvaim. ^32 (BD)They also feared the Lord and ^[x](BE)appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They feared the Lord, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.

³⁴ To this day they act in accordance with the earlier customs: they do not fear the Lord, nor do they ^[y]follow their statutes, their ordinances, the Law, or the commandments which the Lord commanded the sons of Jacob, ^(BF)whom He named Israel. ³⁵ The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, “^(BG)You shall not fear other gods, nor ^(BH)bow down to them, nor ^(BI)serve them, nor sacrifice to them. ³⁶ But the Lord, ^(BJ)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with ^(BK)an outstretched arm, ^(BL)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes, the ordinances, the Law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, ^(BM)you shall take care to do always; and you shall not fear other gods. ³⁸ The covenant that I have made with you, ^(BN)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. ³⁹ But you shall fear the Lord your God; and He will save you from the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they did not listen, but they kept acting in accordance with their earlier custom. ^41 (BO)So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their ^[z]idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, just as their fathers did, they do to this day.

Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Now it came about ^(A)in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that ^(B)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. ² He was ^(C)twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ^3 (D)He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father David had done. ^4 (E)He removed the high places and smashed the memorial stones to pieces, and cut down the ^[a]Asherah. He also crushed to pieces ^(F)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel had been burning incense to it; and it was called ^[b]Nehushtan. ^5 (G)He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; and ^(H)after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who came before him. ⁶ For he ^(I)clung to the Lord; he did not desist from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

Hezekiah Victorious

^7 (J)And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he was successful. And ^(K)he revolted against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ^8 (L)He ^[c]defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from ^(M)watchtower to fortified city.

⁹ Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, ^(N)Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was ^(O)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. ¹¹ Then the king of Assyria led Israel into exile to Assyria, and put them in ^(P)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ¹² This happened because they ^(Q)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but violated His covenant, all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.

Invasion of Judah

^13 (R)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. ¹⁴ Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent messengers to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “^(S)I have done wrong. ^[d]Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will endure.” So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah the payment of three hundred ^[e]talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ^15 (T)Hezekiah then gave 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 cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent ^(U)Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the ^(V)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the road of the ^[f]fuller’s field. ¹⁸ Then they called to the king, and ^(W)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, ^(X)Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, went out to them.

¹⁹ And Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “^(Y)What is this confidence that you ^[g]have? ²⁰ You say—but they are only ^[h]empty words—‘I have a plan and strength for the war.’ Now on whom have you relied, ^(Z)that you have revolted against me? ²¹ Now behold, you have ^[i](AA)relied on the ^[j]support of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^[k]hand and pierce it. That is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. ²² However, if you say to me, ‘We have trusted in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and ^(AB)whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? ²³ Now then, ^[l]come 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 put riders on them! ²⁴ How then can you drive back even ^[m]one ^[n]official of the least of my master’s servants, and ^[o]rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Have I now come up without ^[p]the Lord’s approval against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

²⁶ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, because we ^[q]understand it; and do not speak with us in ^[r](AC)Judean ^[s]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” ²⁷ But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

²⁸ Then Rabshakeh stood up and shouted with a loud voice in Judean, ^[t]saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! ²⁹ This is what the king says: ‘^(AD)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you from ^[u]my hand. ³⁰ And do not let Hezekiah lead you to trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly save us, and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make ^[v]your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, ^(AE)each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern, ³² until I come and take you ^(AF)to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees producing oil, and of honey, so that you will live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah, because he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will save us.” ^33 (AG)Has any of the gods of the nations actually saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ^34 (AH)Where are the gods of Hamath and ^(AI)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^[w](AJ)Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands are there who have saved their land from my hand, ^(AK)that the Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”

³⁶ But the people were silent and did not answer him with even a word, because it was the king’s ^[x]command: “Do not answer him.” ³⁷ Then ^(AL)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah ^(AM)with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.

Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah

19 ^(A)Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he ^(B)tore his clothes, ^(C)covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. ² Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^(D)covered with sackcloth, to ^(E)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. ^4 (F)Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^(G)to taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^(H)the remnant that is ^[a]left.’” ⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘The Lord says this: “Do not be fearful because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^(I)servants of the king of Assyria ^(J)have blasphemed Me. ⁷ Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that ^(K)he will hear news and return to his own land. And ^(L)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Sennacherib Defies God

⁸ Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^(M)Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left ^(N)Lachish. ⁹ When he heard them say about Tirhakah king of ^[b]Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of ^[c]Judah: ‘Do not ^(O)let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “^(P)Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? ^12 (Q)Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: ^(R)Gozan, ^(S)Haran, Rezeph, and ^(T)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? ^13 (U)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

¹⁴ Then ^(V)Hezekiah took the ^[d]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and ^[e]spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^[f](W)enthroned above the cherubim, ^(X)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ^16 (Y)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; ^(Z)open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^(AA)to taunt the living God. ¹⁷ It is true, Lord; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, ¹⁸ and have ^[g]hurled their gods into the fire; ^(AB)for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. ¹⁹ But now, Lord our God, please, save us from his hand, ^(AC)so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, ^(AD)Lord, are God.”

God’s Answer through Isaiah

²⁰ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^(AE)I have heard you.’ ²¹ This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

²⁹ ‘Then this shall be ^(AT)the sign for you: ^[j]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. ^30 (AU)The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. ³¹ For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors ^(AV)out of Mount Zion. ^(AW)The zeal of ^[k]the Lord will perform this.

³² ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “^(AX)He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it. ^33 (AY)By the way that he came, by ^[l]the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord. ³⁴ ‘^(AZ)For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and ^(BA)for My servant David’s sake.’”

^35 (BB)Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of ^[m]the 185,000 were ^[n]dead. ³⁶ So ^(BC)Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and ^[o]returned home, and lived at ^(BD)Nineveh. ³⁷ Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that ^[p](BE)Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to ^(BF)the land of Ararat. And his son ^(BG)Esarhaddon became king in his place.