2 Chronicles 32:1–8

Sennacherib’s Invasion

32After these faithful deeds, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended ^uto break into them. ^v2Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned ^wwar on Jerusalem, ³so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the waters of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs ^xand the stream that flowed through the land; ^ythey said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” ⁵Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall ^zand heightening the towers and the other outside wall. ^aHe repaired the supporting terraces ^bof the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields.

⁶He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, ^cdsaying, ⁷“Be strong and courageous! ^eDon’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. ^f8He has only human strength, ^gbut we have Yahweh our God to help us and to fight our battles.” ^hSo the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.