2Chronicles:32

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* After these deeds of faithfulness , Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah ; he encamped against the fortified cities , thinking to win them over to himself . * And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come , and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem , * he consulted with his leaders and commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city ; and they helped him . * Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land , saying , "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water ?" * And he strengthened himself , built up all the wall that was broken , raised it up to the towers , and built another wall outside ; also he repaired the Millo in the City of David , and made weapons and shields in abundance . * Then he set military captains over the people , gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate , and gave them encouragement , saying , * "Be strong and courageous ; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria , nor before all the multitude that is with him ; for there are more with us than with him . * With him is an arm of flesh ; but with us is the LORD our God , to help us and to fight our battles ." And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah . * After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish ), to Hezekiah king of Judah , and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem , saying , * "Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria : "In what do you trust , that you remain under siege in Jerusalem ? * Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst , saying , "The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria "? * Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars , and commanded Judah and Jerusalem , saying , "You shall worship before one altar and burn incense on it "? * Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands ? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand ? * Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand , that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand ? * Now therefore , do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this , and do not believe him ; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers . How much less will your God deliver you from my hand ?"' * Furthermore , his servants spoke against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah . * He also wrote letters to revile the LORD God of Israel , and to speak against Him , saying , "As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand , so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand ." * Then they called out with a loud voice in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall , to frighten them and trouble them , that they might take the city . * And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem , as against the gods of the people of the earth--the work of men 's hands . * Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah , the son of Amoz , prayed and cried out to heaven . * Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor , leader , and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria . So he returned shamefaced to his own land . And when he had gone into the temple of his god , some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there . * Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria , and from the hand of all others , and guided them on every side . * And many brought gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem , and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah , so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter . * In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death , and he prayed to the LORD ; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign . * But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him , for his heart was lifted up ; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem . * Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart , he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem , so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah . * Hezekiah had very great riches and honor . And he made himself treasuries for silver , for gold , for precious stones , for spices , for shields , and for all kinds of desirable items ; * storehouses for the harvest of grain , wine , and oil ; and stalls for all kinds of livestock , and folds for flocks . * Moreover he provided cities for himself , and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance ; for God had given him very much property . * This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon , and brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David . Hezekiah prospered in all his works . * However , regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon , whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land , God withdrew from him , in order to test him , that He might know all that was in his heart . * Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah , and his goodness , indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet , the son of Amoz , and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel . * So Hezekiah rested with his fathers , and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David ; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death . Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place .

---