2Kings:18
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Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel ,
that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign .
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Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign ;
and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem .
His mother '
s name also was Abi ,
the daughter of Zachariah .
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And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD ,
according to all that David his father did .
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He removed the high places ,
and brake the images ,
and cut down the groves ,
and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made :
for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it :
and he called it Nehushtan .
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He trusted in the LORD God of Israel ;
so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah ,
nor any that were before him .
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For he clave to the LORD ,
and departed not from following him ,
but kept his commandments ,
which the LORD commanded Moses .
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And the LORD was with him ;
and he prospered anywhere he went forth :
and he rebelled against the king of Assyria ,
and served him not .
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He stroke the Philistines ,
even unto Gaza ,
and the borders thereof ,
from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city .
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And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah ,
which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel ,
that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria ,
and besieged it .
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And at the end of three years they took it :
even in the sixth year of Hezekiah ,
that is in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel ,
Samaria was taken .
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And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria ,
and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan ,
and in the cities of the Medes :
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Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God ,
but transgressed his covenant ,
and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded ,
and would not hear them ,
nor do them .
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Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah ,
and took them .
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And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish ,
saying ,
I have offended ;
return from me :
that which you put on me will I bear .
And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold .
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And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD ,
and in the treasures of the king '
s house .
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At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD ,
and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid ,
and gave it to the king of Assyria .
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And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem .
And they went up and came to Jerusalem .
And when they were come up ,
they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool ,
which is in the highway of the launderer '
s field .
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And when they had called to the king ,
there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah ,
which was over the household ,
and Shebna the scribe ,
and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder .
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And Rabshakeh said unto them ,
Speak all of you now to Hezekiah ,
Thus says the great king ,
the king of Assyria ,
What confidence is this wherein you trust ?
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You says , (
but they are but vain words ,)
I have counsel and strength for the war .
Now on whom do you trust ,
that you rebel against me ?
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Now ,
behold ,
you trust upon the staff of this bruised reed ,
even upon Egypt ,
on which if a man lean ,
it will go into his hand ,
and pierce it :
so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him .
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But if all of you say unto me ,
We trust in the LORD our God :
is not that he ,
whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away ,
and has said to Judah and Jerusalem ,
All of you shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem ?
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Now therefore ,
I pray you ,
give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria ,
and I will deliver you two thousand horses ,
if you be able on your part to set riders upon them .
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How then will you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master '
s servants ,
and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen ?
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Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it ?
The LORD said to me ,
Go up against this land ,
and destroy it .
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Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah ,
and Shebna ,
and Joah ,
unto Rabshakeh ,
Speak ,
I pray you ,
to your servants in the Syrian language ;
for we understand it :
and talk not with us in the Jews '
language in the ears of the people that are on the wall .
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But Rabshakeh said unto them ,
Has my master sent me to your master ,
and to you ,
to speak these words ?
has he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall ,
that they may eat their own dung ,
and drink their own piss with you ?
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Then 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 :
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Thus says the king ,
Let not Hezekiah deceive you :
for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand :
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Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD ,
saying ,
The LORD will surely deliver us ,
and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria .
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Hearken not to Hezekiah :
for thus says the king of Assyria ,
Make an agreement with me by a present ,
and come out to me ,
and then eat all of you every man of his own vine ,
and every one of his fig tree ,
and drink all of you every one the waters of his cistern :
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Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land ,
a land of corn and wine ,
a land of bread and vineyards ,
a land of oil olive and of honey ,
that all of you may live ,
and not die :
and hearken not unto Hezekiah ,
when he persuades you ,
saying ,
The LORD will deliver us .
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Has any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria ?
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Where are the gods of Hamath ,
and of Arpad ?
where are the gods of Sepharvaim ,
Hena ,
and Ivah ?
have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand ?
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Who are they among all the gods of the countries ,
that have delivered their country out of mine hand ,
that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand ?
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But the people held their peace ,
and answered him not a word :
for the king '
s commandment was ,
saying ,
Answer him not .
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Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah ,
which was over the household ,
and Shebna the scribe ,
and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder ,
to Hezekiah with their clothes rent ,
and told him the words of Rabshakeh .