Hezekiah Destroys Idolatry in Judah

¹In the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.

²He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abi,the daughter of Zechariah.

³And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.

⁴He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtanthat Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

⁵Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.

⁶He remained faithful to the LORD and did not turn from following Him; he kept the commandments that the LORD had given Moses.

⁷And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.

⁸He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.

⁹In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.

¹⁰And at the end of three years, the Assyrians captured it.So Samaria was captured in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.

¹¹The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

¹²This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.

Sennacherib Invades Judah

¹³In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

¹⁴So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.”And the king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silverand thirty talents of gold.

¹⁵Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

¹⁶At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

¹⁷Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,the Rabsaris,and the Rabshakeh,along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

¹⁸Then they called for the king. And Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebnah the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, went out to them.

¹⁹The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?

²⁰You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?

²¹Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

²²But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?

²³Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

²⁴For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

²⁵So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

²⁶Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrewin the hearing of the people on the wall.”

²⁷But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

²⁸Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

²⁹This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.

³⁰Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

³¹Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with meand come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

³²until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, for he misleads you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’

³³Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

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

³⁵Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

³⁶But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

³⁷Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

¹In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

²And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh,with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

³Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, went out to him.

⁴The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?

⁵You claim to havea strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?

⁶Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

⁷But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar’?

⁸Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

⁹For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

¹⁰So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”

¹¹Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrewin the hearing of the people on the wall.”

¹²But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

¹³Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

¹⁴This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you.

¹⁵Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

¹⁶Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with meand come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,

¹⁷until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

²⁰Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

²¹But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

²²Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

A Prophecy against Pharaoh

¹In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

³Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says:Behold, I am against you,O Pharaoh king of Egypt,O great monster who liesamong his rivers,who says, ‘The Nile is mine;I made it myself.’

⁴But I will put hooks in your jawsand cause the fish of your streamsto cling to your scales.I will haul you up out of your rivers,and all the fish of your streamswill cling to your scales.

⁵I will leave you in the desert,you and all the fish of your streams.You will fall on the open fieldand will not be taken awayor gathered for burial.I have given you as foodto the beasts of the earthand the birds of the air.

⁶Then all the people of Egyptwill know that I am the LORD.For you were only a staff of reedsto the house of Israel.

⁷When Israel took hold of you with their hands,you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;when they leaned on you,you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

The Desolation of Egypt

⁸Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.

⁹The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD.Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’

¹⁰therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.

¹¹No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.

¹²I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

¹³For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered.

¹⁴I will restore Egypt from captivityand bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

¹⁵Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.

¹⁶Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

Egypt the Reward of Nebuchadnezzar

¹⁷In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁸“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.

²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.

²¹In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;His loving devotion endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

³and gathered from the lands,from east and west, from north and south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastelands,finding no path to a city in which to dwell.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty;their soul fainted within them.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,and He delivered them from their distress.

⁷He led them on a straight pathto reach a city where they could live.

⁸Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotionand His wonders to the sons of men.

⁹For He satisfies the thirstyand fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,prisoners in affliction and chains,

¹¹because they rebelled against the words of Godand despised the counsel of the Most High.

¹²He humbled their hearts with hard labor;they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,and He saved them from their distress.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of deathand broke away their chains.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotionand His wonders to the sons of men.

¹⁶For He has broken down the gates of bronzeand cut through the bars of iron.

¹⁷Fools, in their rebellious ways,and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.

¹⁸They loathed all foodand drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,and He saved them from their distress.

²⁰He sent forth His word and healed them;He rescued them from the Pit.

²¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotionand His wonders to the sons of men.

²²Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgivingand declare His works with rejoicing.

²³Others went out to sea in ships,conducting trade on the mighty waters.

²⁴They saw the works of the LORD,and His wonders in the deep.

²⁵For He spoke and raised a tempestthat lifted the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mounted up to the heavens, then sunk to the depths;their courage melted in their anguish.

²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards,and all their skill was useless.

²⁸Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,and He brought them out of their distress.

²⁹He calmed the storm to a whisper,and the waves of the seawere hushed.

³⁰They rejoiced in the silence,and He guided them to the harbor they desired.

³¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotionand His wonders to the sons of men.

³²Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the peopleand praise Him in the council of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into deserts,springs of water into thirsty ground,

³⁴and fruitful land into fields of salt,because of the wickedness of its dwellers.

³⁵He turns a desert into pools of waterand a dry land into flowing springs.

³⁶He causes the hungry to settle there,that they may establish a city in which to dwell.

³⁷They sow fields and plant vineyardsthat yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;He does not let their herds diminish.

³⁹When they are decreased and humbledby oppression, evil, and sorrow,

⁴⁰He pours out contempt on the noblesand makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

⁴¹But He lifts the needy from afflictionand increases their families like flocks.

⁴²The upright see and rejoice,and all iniquity shuts its mouth.

⁴³Let him who is wise pay heed to these thingsand consider the loving devotion of the LORD.