2 Kings 18:1–20

King Hezekiah of Judah

18In the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah as king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah ²at the age of 25, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. ³Following the example of his ancestor King David, he did what was pleasing to the Lord. ^4*He destroyed the pagan places of worship, broke the stone pillars, and cut down the images of the goddess Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made, which was called Nehushtan. Up to that time the people of Israel had burnt incense in its honour. ⁵Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; Judah never had another king like him, either before or after his time. ⁶He was faithful to the Lord and never disobeyed him, but carefully kept all the commands that the Lord had given Moses. ⁷So the Lord was with him, and he was successful in everything he did. He rebelled against the emperor of Assyria and refused to submit to him. ⁸He defeated the Philistines, and raided their settlements, from the smallest village to the largest city, including Gaza and its surrounding territory.

⁹In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign—which was the seventh year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel—Emperor Shalmaneser of Assyria invaded Israel and besieged Samaria. ¹⁰In the third year of the siege, Samaria fell; this was the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign, and the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign. ¹¹The Assyrian emperor^q took the Israelites to Assyria as prisoners and settled some of them in the city of Halah, some near the River Habor in the district of Gozan, and some in the cities of Media.

¹²Samaria fell because the Israelites did not obey the Lord their God, but broke the covenant he had made with them and disobeyed all the laws given by Moses, the servant of the Lord. They would not listen and they would not obey.

The Assyrians Threaten Jerusalem

¹³In the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them. ¹⁴Hezekiah sent a message to Sennacherib, who was in Lachish: “I have done wrong; please stop your attack, and I will pay whatever you demand.” The emperor’s answer was that Hezekiah should send him 10,000 kilogrammes of silver and a thousand kilogrammes of gold. ¹⁵Hezekiah sent him all the silver in the Temple and in the palace treasury; ¹⁶he also stripped the gold from the temple doors and the gold with which he himself had covered the doorposts, and he sent it all to Sennacherib. ¹⁷The Assyrian emperor sent a large army from Lachish to attack Hezekiah at Jerusalem; it was commanded by his three highest officials. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they occupied the road where the clothmakers work, by the ditch that brings water from the upper pond. ¹⁸Then they sent for King Hezekiah, and three of his officials went out to meet them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace; Shebna, the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, who was in charge of the records. ¹⁹One of the Assyrian officials told them that the emperor wanted to know what made King Hezekiah so confident. ²⁰He demanded, “Do you think that words can take the place of military skill and might? Who do you think will help you rebel against Assyria?