2 Chronicles 32
1 After King Hezekiah had obeyed Yahweh’s instructions and had done all those things, King Sennacherib of Assyria came [with his army] and invaded Judah. He commanded his soldiers to surround the cities that had walls around them, thinking that they would [break through those walls and] conquer those cities.
After Hezekiah's faithful work, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah and attacked its fortified towns, planning to conquer them for himself.
2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come [with his army] and that they intended to attack Jerusalem,
When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to attack Jerusalem,
3 he consulted with his officials and army leaders. They said among themselves, “Why should we allow the king of Assyria [and his army] to come and find plenty of water to drink?” So they decided to stop the water from flowing outside the city. So a large group of men gathered together and blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through that area.
he talked with his army commanders about blocking up the water sources that lay outside the city. This is what they did.
They directed a large group of workers to block all the springs as well as the stream flowing nearby. “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?” they asked.
5 Then they worked hard to repair all the sections of the city wall that had been broken, and they built watchtowers on the walls. They built another wall outside/around the wall that was already outside the city, and they strengthened the defenses on the sloping terraces [on the east side of the area called ‘The City of David’]. They also made a large number of weapons and shields.
Hezekiah set to work and rebuilt all the parts of the wall that had fallen down and constructed towers on it. He also built another wall outside the first wall. He reinforced the Millo in the city of David. He also made a large quantity of weapons and shields.
6 Hezekiah appointed army commanders, and he gathered them in front of him in the square at one of the city gates, and he encouraged them by saying this to them:
Hezekiah put army commanders in charge of the people. Then he summoned the people to gather in the square at the city gate. He spoke to them confidently, telling them,
7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged on account of the king of Assyria and the huge army that is with him, because [Yahweh] is with us, and his [power] is greater than their [power].
“Be strong and be brave! Don't be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria with his large army, for there are more with us than with him.
8 They have to rely on the power of humans, but we have Yahweh our God to help us and to fight battles for us.” So the people became more confident because of what Hezekiah, the king of Judah, said.
He has human help, but we have the Lord God on our side to help us and fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by this speech of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
9 Later, when Sennacherib and all his soldiers were surrounding Lachish [city], he sent some officers to Jerusalem to give this message to King Hezekiah and to all the people of Judah who were there:
Some time later, when Sennacherib was attacking the town of Lachish with his armies, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah, king of Judah, and for everyone from Judah living there.
10 “[I am] Sennacherib, the [great] king of Assyria, [and] this is what I say: 'While you are staying in Jerusalem, my soldiers are surrounding the city. So why [RHQ] are you so confident?
“This is what Sennacherib, king of Assyria, says. What are you going to trust in to help you survive when I come to attack Jerusalem?
11 Hezekiah says to you, “Yahweh our God will save us from [being defeated by the army of] the king of Assyria,” but he is misleading you. He wants you to die from having no food or water.
Can't you see that in reality Hezekiah is telling you to die from starvation and thirst when he tells you, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the king of Assyria’?
12 Isn’t Hezekiah the one who told his men to get rid of your god Yahweh’s shrines and altars on the hilltops, saying to [you people of] Jerusalem and other places in Judah, “You must worship at only one altar and burn sacrifices on only that altar”?
Wasn't it Hezekiah who destroyed the high places and altars of this god and told Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this one altar, and offer sacrifices on it alone’?
13 'Do you people not know what I and my ancestors have done to all the people-groups in other countries? [We destroyed them all, and] none of the gods of those nations were ever able to prevent my [troops] from conquering them! So how can your god prevent my soldiers from conquering you?
Don't you know what I and my fathers have done to all the nations of the earth? None of their gods could save them or their lands from me!
Which one of all these gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save them from me? So why would you think your god can save you from me?
15 So do not allow Hezekiah to deceive you like this. Do not believe what he says, because no god of any nation or kingdom has ever been able to rescue his people from being conquered by my army and the armies of my ancestors. So certainly your god will not be able to rescue you from my power'.”
So don't let Hezekiah fool you, and don't let him mislead you like this. Don't trust him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save their people from me or from my fathers. So it's even less possible for your god to save you from me!”
16 Sennacherib’s officers said more things to belittle Yahweh the God of the Israelis and Hezekiah, who served God [well].
Sennacherib's officers continued criticizing the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah.
17 King Sennacherib wrote more letters insulting Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis [belonged to/worshiped]. He said things like this: “The gods [worshiped by] the people-groups in other countries did not rescue their people from my power. Similarly, the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my power.”
Sennacherib also wrote letters insulting the Lord, the God of Israel, taunting him by saying, “In the same way the gods of the nations did not save their people from me, so the god of Hezekiah will not save his people from me either.”
18 Then King Sennachereb’s officers shouted in the Hebrew language to the people who were on the wall, in order to cause them to be terrified, thinking that as a result the army of Assyria could capture the city [without a battle].
The Assyrians also shouted this out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem standing on the wall to frighten and to terrify them so that the city would be surrendered.
19 They belittled the God [worshiped by the people] of Jerusalem as they belittled the gods of the other people-groups of the world—saying that they were only [idols] made by humans.
They talked about the God of Jerusalem like they did about the gods of the other nations, gods made by human beings.
20 Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah cried out to God, praying about this.
King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, appealed about this in prayer to the God of heaven.
21 And [that night] Yahweh sent an angel who killed all the soldiers of Assyria and their leaders and their officers in the place where the king of Assyria and his army had set up their tents. So the king of Assyria left and returned to his own country, very disgraced. And one day when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons struck him with their swords and killed him.
The Lord sent an angel who wiped out every warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he returned home in disgrace. When he went into the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him with their swords.
22 That is how Yahweh rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the power of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and from their other enemies. Yahweh took care of them (OR, gave them peace) everywhere in the country.
The Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and all other enemies, giving them peace in every direction.
23 Many people brought offerings for Yahweh to Jerusalem, and also brought valuable gifts for King Hezekiah. And from that time, Hezekiah was highly respected/honored by the people of all the other nations.
From then on he was very well respected by all the nations, and many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah, king of Judah.
24 About that time, Hezekiah became very ill. He was about to die. But he prayed to Yahweh, and Yahweh answered his prayer. He performed a miracle [and healed Hezekiah].
Around that time Hezekiah fell sick and was about to die. So he prayed to the Lord, who replied by healing him and giving him a miraculous sign.
25 But Hezekiah [SYN] was very proud, and he did not thank Yahweh for being kind to him. Therefore Yahweh was angry with him and [and punished him] and [the people of] Jerusalem and other places in Judah.
But because he had become proud, Hezekiah did not acknowledge the gift he'd been given. So the Lord's anger fell on him, and on Judah and Jerusalem.
26 Then Hezekiah said that he was sorry for being proud, and the people of Jerusalem also said that they were sorry [for their sins]. So Yahweh did not punish them during the remaining years that Hezekiah [was their king].
Then Hezekiah apologized for his arrogance, as did the people of Jerusalem, and the Lord's anger no longer fell on them during Hezekiah's lifetime.
27 Hezekiah became very rich and was greatly honored. His [workers] made storerooms for his silver and gold, and for his very valuable stones, and for spices and shields and other valuable things.
Hezekiah was very rich and highly honored, and he built treasury storerooms to hold silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable things.
28 [His workers] also built buildings to store the grain and wine and [olive] oil [that people produced and brought to him]. They also made stalls for various kinds of cattle and pens for his flocks [of sheep and goats].
He constructed buildings to store supplies of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and stalls for all kinds of animals, including cattle and sheep.
29 They built towns and acquired for the king many flocks [of sheep and goats] and herds [of cattle], because God had enabled him to become very rich.
He built many towns, and he owned large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, for God had made him very wealthy.
30 Hezekiah was the one who told his workers to block the place where the water flows out of the Gihon Spring, and to build a tunnel through which the water flowed to the west side of the area called ‘The City of David’. He was able to do everything that he wanted to do.
Hezekiah blocked off the outlet of the upper Gihon spring and made the water flow down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.
31 But when messengers who were sent by the rulers of Babylon came and asked about the miracle that God had performed for him, God allowed Hezekiah to say what he himself wanted to say, in order to test [whether or not Hezekiah would admit that God had performed a miracle].
But when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon came to him to ask about the miraculous sign that had happened in the country, God left him to himself test him, so he could know Hezekiah's true thinking.
32 A record of the other things that happened while Hezekiah was ruling, and the things that he did to please God, is on the scroll in which is written the vision that [Yahweh gave to] the prophet Isaiah. It is also written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel’.
The rest of what Hezekiah did, including his acts of loyalty, are recorded in the vision of the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
33 When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the tombs where the most respected kings [of Judah] were buried. Everyone in Jerusalem and other places in Judah honored him. Then his son Manasseh became the king.
Hezekiah died and was buried in the upper cemetery of David's descendants. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him at his death. His son Manasseh took over as king.
