Hezekiah Reigns in Judah^(A)

18 Now it came to pass in the third year of ^(B)Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that ^(C)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(D)Abi^[a] the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

^4 (E)He removed the ^[b]high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[c]wooden image and broke in pieces the ^(F)bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it ^[d]Nehushtan. ⁵ He ^(G)trusted in the Lord God of Israel, ^(H)so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. ⁶ For he ^(I)held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁷ The Lord ^(J)was with him; he ^(K)prospered wherever he went. And he ^(L)rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ^8 (M)He ^[e]subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, ^(N)from watchtower to fortified city.

⁹ Now ^(O)it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, ^(P)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ^11 (Q)Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them ^(R)in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they ^(S)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them.

¹³ And ^(T)in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. ¹⁴ Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah ^(U)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 stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave ^[f]it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord^(V)

¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the ^[g]Tartan, the ^[h]Rabsaris, and the ^[i]Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the ^(W)aqueduct from the upper pool, ^(X)which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. ¹⁸ And when they had called to the king, ^(Y)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the ^[j]scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. ¹⁹ Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: ^(Z)“What confidence is this in which you trust? ²⁰ You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are ^[k]mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? ^21 (AA)Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So 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 ^(AB)whose ^[l]high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?” ’ ²³ Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! ²⁴ How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”

^26 (AC)Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in ^(AD)Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in ^[m]Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

²⁷ But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”

²⁸ Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in ^[n]Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! ²⁹ Thus says the king: ^(AE)‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; ³⁰ nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall 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 peace with me ^[o]by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own ^(AF)vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; ³² until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, ^(AG)a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” ^33 (AH)Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of ^(AI)Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and ^(AJ)Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, ^(AK)that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”

³⁶ But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” ³⁷ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah ^(AL)with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Isaiah Assures Deliverance^(AM)

19 And ^(AN)so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with ^(AO)sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. ² Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to ^[p]bring them forth. ^4 (AP)It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to ^(AQ)reproach the living God, and will ^(AR)rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”

⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ^6 (AS)And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be ^(AT)afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the ^(AU)servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. ⁷ Surely I will send ^(AV)a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”

Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer^(AW)

⁸ Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed ^(AX)from Lachish. ⁹ And ^(AY)the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God ^(AZ)in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? ^12 (BA)Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of ^(BB)Eden who were in Telassar? ^13 (BC)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”

^14 (BD)And Hezekiah received the 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 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One ^(BE)who dwells between the cherubim, ^(BF)You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ^16 (BG)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; ^(BH)open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, ^(BI)which he has sent to reproach the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, 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 ^(BJ)not gods, but ^(BK)the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. ¹⁹ Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, ^(BL)that all the kingdoms of the earth may ^(BM)know that You are the Lord God, You alone.”

The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib^(BN)

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

²⁹ ‘This shall be a ^(CC)sign to you:

³² “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death^(CJ)

³⁵ And ^(CK)it came to pass on a certain night that the ^[s]angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at ^(CL)Nineveh. ³⁷ Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons ^(CM)Adrammelech and Sharezer ^(CN)struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then ^(CO)Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah’s Life Extended^(CP)

20 In ^(CQ)those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”

² Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, ^3 (CR)“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁵ “Return and tell Hezekiah ^(CS)the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ^(CT)“I have heard your prayer, I have seen ^(CU)your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. ⁶ And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and ^(CV)I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ”

⁷ Then ^(CW)Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

⁸ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^(CX)“What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?”

⁹ Then Isaiah said, ^(CY)“This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”

¹⁰ And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten ^[t]degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”

¹¹ So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and ^(CZ)He brought the shadow ten ^[u]degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.

The Babylonian Envoys^(DA)

^12 (DB)At that time ^[v]Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ And ^(DC)Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and ^[w]all ^[x]his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”

So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”

¹⁵ And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”

So Hezekiah answered, ^(DD)“They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, ^(DE)shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘And ^(DF)they shall take away some of your sons who will ^[y]descend from you, whom you will beget; ^(DG)and they shall be ^(DH)eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”

¹⁹ So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^(DI)“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”

Death of Hezekiah^(DJ)

^20 (DK)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he ^(DL)made a ^(DM)pool and a ^[z]tunnel and ^(DN)brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²¹ So ^(DO)Hezekiah ^[aa]rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah^(A)

29 Hezekiah ^(B)became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[a]Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^(C)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. ⁴ Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, ⁵ and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now ^[b]sanctify yourselves, ^(D)sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. ⁶ For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have ^(E)turned their faces away from the ^[c]dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. ^7 (F)They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore the ^(G)wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has ^(H)given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to ^(I)jeering, as you see with your ^(J)eyes. ⁹ For indeed, because of this ^(K)our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.

¹⁰ “Now it is in my heart to make ^(L)a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has ^(M)chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”

¹² Then these Levites arose: ^(N)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the ^(O)Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; ¹³ of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵ And they gathered their brethren, ^(P)sanctified^[d] themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, ^(Q)to cleanse the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook ^(R)Kidron.

¹⁷ Now they began to ^[e]sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

¹⁸ Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. ¹⁹ Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had ^(S)cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and ^[f]sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

²⁰ Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. ²¹ And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a ^(T)sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. ²² So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and ^(U)sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. ²³ Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their ^(V)hands on them. ²⁴ And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering ^(W)to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

^25 (X)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, ^(Y)according to the commandment of David, of ^(Z)Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; ^(AA)for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments ^(AB)of David, and the priests with ^(AC)the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, ^(AD)the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ And when they had finished offering, ^(AE)the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. ³⁰ Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and ^(AF)thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a ^(AG)willing heart brought burnt offerings. ³² And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. ³³ The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. ³⁴ But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore ^(AH)their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had ^[g]sanctified themselves, ^(AI)for the Levites were ^(AJ)more diligent in ^(AK)sanctifying themselves than the priests. ³⁵ Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with ^(AL)the fat of the peace offerings and with ^(AM)the drink offerings for every burnt offering.

So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. ³⁶ Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.

Hezekiah Keeps the Passover

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. ² For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second ^(AN)month. ³ For they could not keep it ^(AO)at ^[h]the regular time, ^(AP)because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁴ And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. ⁵ So they ^[i]resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.

⁶ Then the ^(AQ)runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: “Children of Israel, ^(AR)return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^(AS)the kings of ^(AT)Assyria. ⁷ And do not be ^(AU)like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He ^(AV)gave them up to ^(AW)desolation, as you see. ⁸ Now do not be ^(AX)stiff-necked,^[j] as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^(AY)that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. ⁹ For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with ^(AZ)compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is ^(BA)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you ^(BB)return to Him.”

¹⁰ So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but ^(BC)they laughed at them and mocked them. ¹¹ Nevertheless ^(BD)some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² Also ^(BE)the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, ^(BF)at the word of the Lord.

¹³ Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of ^(BG)Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They arose and took away the ^(BH)altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook ^(BI)Kidron. ¹⁵ Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites ^[k]were ^(BJ)ashamed, and ^[l]sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ They stood in their ^(BK)place ^[m]according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not ^[n]sanctified themselves; ^(BL)therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a multitude of the people, ^(BM)many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ^(BN)yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone ¹⁹ who ^(BO)prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(BP)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. ²² And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites ^(BQ)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and ^(BR)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast ^(BS)another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(BT)gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests ^(BU)sanctified^[o] themselves. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners ^(BV)who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. ²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of ^(BW)Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites, arose and ^(BX)blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to ^(BY)His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

The Reforms of Hezekiah^(BZ)

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(CA)broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the ^[p]high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.

² And Hezekiah appointed ^(CB)the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites ^(CC)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the ^[q]camp of the Lord. ³ The king also appointed a ^[r]portion of his ^(CD)possessions^[s] for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the ^(CE)Law of the Lord.

⁴ Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute ^(CF)support^[t] for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to ^(CG)the Law of the Lord.

⁵ As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance ^(CH)the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the ^(CI)tithe of everything. ⁶ And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the ^(CJ)tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord their God they laid in heaps.

⁷ In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸ And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest, from the ^(CK)house of Zadok, answered him and said, ^(CL)“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great ^(CM)abundance.”

¹¹ Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(CN)rooms^[u] in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; ^(CO)Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ^(CP)ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴ Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the ^(CQ)freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And under him were ^(CR)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in ^(CS)the cities of the priests, to distribute ^(CT)allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.

¹⁶ Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, ¹⁷ and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites ^(CU)from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, ¹⁸ and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they ^[v]sanctified themselves in holiness.

¹⁹ Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in ^(CV)the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were ^(CW)designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites.

²⁰ Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he ^(CX)did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. ²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he ^(CY)prospered.

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord^(CZ)

32 After ^(DA)these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. ² And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, ³ he consulted with his leaders and ^[w]commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him. ⁴ Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the ^(DB)springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the ^[x]kings of Assyria come and find much water?” ⁵ And ^(DC)he strengthened himself, ^(DD)built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired ^[y]the ^(DE)Millo in the City of David, and made ^[z]weapons and shields in abundance. ⁶ Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and ^(DF)gave them encouragement, saying, ^7 (DG)“Be strong and courageous; ^(DH)do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for ^(DI)there are more with us than with him. ⁸ With him is an ^(DJ)arm of flesh; but ^(DK)with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

^9 (DL)After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, ^10 (DM)“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, ^(DN)“The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? ^12 (DO)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 on ^(DP)it”? ¹³ Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? ^(DQ)Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? ¹⁴ Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my ^(DR)hand? ¹⁵ Now therefore, ^(DS)do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ”

¹⁶ Furthermore, his servants spoke against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷ He also wrote letters to revile the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, ^(DT)“As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my ^(DU)hand.” ^18 (DV)Then they called out with a loud voice in ^[aa]Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, that they might take the city. ¹⁹ And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—^(DW)the work of men’s hands.

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death^(DX)

^20 (DY)Now because of this King Hezekiah and ^(DZ)the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. ^21 (EA)Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^(EB)shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.

²² Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and ^[ab]guided them on every side. ²³ And many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and ^(EC)presents^[ac] to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was ^(ED)exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

Hezekiah Humbles Himself^(EE)

^24 (EF)In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah ^(EG)did not repay according to the favor shown him, for ^(EH)his heart was lifted up; ^(EI)therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. ^26 (EJ)Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them ^(EK)in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor^(EL)

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; ²⁸ storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and ^[ad]folds for flocks. ²⁹ Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for ^(EM)God had given him very much property. ^30 (EN)This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and ^[ae]brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah ^(EO)prospered in all his works.

³¹ However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they ^(EP)sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to ^(EQ)test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

Death of Hezekiah

³² Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in ^(ER)the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the ^(ES)book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ^33 (ET)So Hezekiah ^[af]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(EU)honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Judgment on Israel and Judah

1 The word of the Lord that came to ^(A)Micah of Moresheth in the days of ^(B)Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.