The Bible

37 verses

2 Kings Chapter 18

¹Now in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

²He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.

³He did what was right in the eyes of ForeverOne, according to all that David his father had done.

⁴He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah: and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for to those days the children of Israel burned incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan.

⁵He trusted in ForeverOne, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor [among them] that were before him.

⁶For he joined with ForeverOne; he didn't depart from following him, but kept his commandments, which ForeverOne commanded Moses.

⁷ForeverOne was with him; wherever he went he prospered: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and didn't serve him.

⁸He struck the Philistines to Gaza and its borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

⁹In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

¹⁰At the end of three years they took it: in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.

¹¹The king of Assyria carried Israel away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹²because they didn't obey the voice of ForeverOne their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of ForeverOne commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.

¹³Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them.

¹⁴Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, "I have offended; return from me. What you put on me, I will bear." The king of Assyria appointed to Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

¹⁵Hezekiah gave [him] all the silver that was found in the house of ForeverOne, and in the treasures of the king's house.

¹⁶At that time Hezekiah cut off [the gold from] the doors of the temple of ForeverOne, and [from] the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

¹⁷The king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. They went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field.

¹⁸When they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.

¹⁹Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, "What confidence is this in which you trust?

²⁰You say (but they are but vain words), 'There is counsel and strength for war.' Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?

²¹Now, behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt. If a man leans on it, it will go into his hand, and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust on him.

²²But if you tell me, 'We trust in ForeverOne our God;' isn't that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?' ²³Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

²⁴Then how can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

²⁵Have I now come up without ForeverOne against this place to destroy it? ForeverOne said to me, 'Go up against this land, and destroy it.'"'" ²⁶Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it. Don't speak with us in the Jews' language, in the hearing of the people who are on the wall." ²⁷But Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me to your master, and to you, to speak these words? Hasn't he sent me to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?" ²⁸Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spoke, saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.

²⁹Thus says the king, 'Don't let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand.

³⁰Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in ForeverOne, saying, "ForeverOne will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria." ³¹Don't listen to Hezekiah.' For thus says the king of Assyria, 'Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone of you eat of his vine, and everyone of his fig tree, and everyone drink the waters of his own cistern; ³²until I come and take you away 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 and of honey, that you may live, and not die. Don't listen to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, "ForeverOne will deliver us." ³³Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

³⁴Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

³⁵Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that ForeverOne should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'" ³⁶But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, "Don't answer him." ³⁷Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.