2 Kings 18

1 And it comes to pass, in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah, has reigned;

Now in the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, became king of Judah.

2 he was a son of twenty-five years in his reigning, and he has reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Abi daughter of Zechariah.

He was twenty-five years old when he became king, ruling in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years; his mother's name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah.

3 And he does that which [is] right in the eyes of YHWH, according to all that his father David did,

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David his father had done.

4 he has turned aside the high places, and broken in pieces the standing-pillars, and cut down the Asherah, and beaten down the bronze serpent that Moses made, for up to these days the sons of Israel were making incense to it, and he calls it “a piece of bronze.”

He had the high places taken away, and the stone pillars broken to bits, and the Asherah cut down; and the brass snake which Moses had made was crushed to powder at his order, because in those days the children of Israel had offerings burned before it, and he gave it the name Nehushtan.

5 In YHWH, God of Israel, he has trusted, and after him there has not been like him among all the kings of Judah, nor [among any] who were before him;

He had faith in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah who were before him.

6 and he cleaves to YHWH, he has not turned aside from after Him, and keeps His commands that YHWH commanded Moses.

For his heart was fixed on the Lord, not turning from his ways, and he did his orders which the Lord gave to Moses.

7 And YHWH has been with him; in every place where he goes out he acts wisely, and he rebels against the king of Asshur, and has not served him;

And the Lord was with him; he did well in all his undertakings: and he took up arms against the king of Assyria and was his servant no longer.

8 he has struck the Philistines, even to Gaza and its borders, from a tower of watchers to the fortified city.

He overcame the Philistines as far as Gaza and its limits, from the tower of the watchman to the walled town.

9 And it comes to pass, in the fourth year of King Hezekiah—it [is] the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel—Shalmaneser king of Asshur has come up against Samaria and lays siege to it,

Now in 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, shutting it in with his armies.

10 and they capture it at the end of three years; in the sixth year of Hezekiah—it [is] the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel—Samaria has been captured,

And at the end of three years they took it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah's rule, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken.

11 and the king of Asshur removes Israel to Asshur, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor [by] the river Gozan, and [in] cities of the Medes,

And the king of Assyria took Israel away as prisoners into Assyria, placing them in Halah and in Habor on the river Gozan, and in the towns of the Medes;

12 because that they have not listened to the voice of their God YHWH, and transgress His covenant—all that He commanded Moses, servant of YHWH—indeed, they have not listened nor done [it].

Because they did not give ear to the voice of the Lord their God, but went against his agreement, even against everything ordered by Moses, the servant of the Lord, and they did not give ear to it or do it.

13 And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Asshur has come up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and seizes them,

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

14 and Hezekiah king of Judah sends to the king of Asshur at Lachish, saying, “I have sinned, turn back from off me; that which you put on me I bear”; and the king of Asshur lays on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold,

And Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent to Lachish, to the king of Assyria, saying, I have done wrong; give up attacking me, and whatever you put on me I will undergo. And the payment he was to make was fixed by the king of Assyria at three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

15 and Hezekiah gives all the silver that is found in the house of YHWH and in the treasures of the house of the king;

So Hezekiah gave him all the silver in the house of the Lord, and in the king's store-house.

16 at that time Hezekiah has cut off the doors of the temple of YHWH, and the pillars that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gives them to the king of Asshur.

And at that time Hezekiah had the gold from the doors of the Lord's house, and from the door-pillars plated by him, cut off and gave it to the king of Assyria.

17 And the king of Asshur sends Tartan, and the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the butlers, from Lachish, to King Hezekiah, with a heavy force, to Jerusalem, and they go up and come to Jerusalem, and they go up, and come in and stand by the conduit of the upper pool that [is] in the highway of the fuller’s field.

Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan and the Rab-saris and the Rab-shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah, with a strong force. And they went up and came to Jerusalem, and took up their position by the stream of the higher pool, by the highway of the washerman's field.

18 And they call to the king, and Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [is] over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the remembrancer, go out to them.

And they sent for the king, and Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.

19 And the chief of the butlers says to them, “Now say to Hezekiah, Thus said the great king, the king of Asshur: What [is] this confidence in which you have confided?

And the Rab-shakeh said to them, Say now to Hezekiah, These are the words of the great king, the king of Assyria: In what are you placing your hope?

20 You have said: Only a word of the lips! Counsel and might [are] for battle; now, on whom have you trusted that you have rebelled against me?

You say you have a design, and strength for war, but these are only words. Now to whom are you looking for support, that you have gone against my authority?

21 Now behold, you have trusted for yourself on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; which a man leans on, and it has gone into his hand and pierced it! So [is] Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting on him.

See, now, you are basing your hope on that broken rod of Egypt, which will go through a man's hand if he makes use of it for a support; for so is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who put their faith in him.

22 And when you say to me, We have trusted in our God YHWH, is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has turned aside, and says to Judah and to Jerusalem, You bow yourselves before this altar in Jerusalem?

And if you say to me, Our hope is in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and Jerusalem that worship may only be given before this altar in Jerusalem?

23 And now, please give a pledge for yourself to my lord the king of Asshur, and I give two thousand horses to you, if you are able to give riders for yourself on them.

And now, take a chance with my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them.

24 And how do you turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, that you trust for yourself on Egypt for chariot and for horsemen?

How then may you put to shame the least of my master's servants? and you have put your hope in Egypt for war-carriages and horsemen:

25 Have I now come up without YHWH against this place to destroy it? YHWH said to me, Go up against this land, and you have destroyed it.”

And have I now come up to send destruction on this place without the Lord's authority? It was the Lord himself who said to me, Go up against this land and make it waste.

26 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah says—and Shebna and Joah—to the chief of the butlers, “Please speak to your servants [in] Aramaic, for we are understanding, but do not speak with us [in] Jewish, in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall.”

Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the Rab-shakeh, Will you kindly make use of the Aramaean language in talking to your servants, for we are used to it, and do not make use of the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall.

27 And the chief of the butlers says to them, “For your lord, and to you, has my lord sent me to speak these words? Is it not for the men—those sitting on the wall—to eat their own dung and to drink their own water, with you?”

But the Rab-shakeh said to them, Is it to your master or to you that my master has sent me to say these words? has he not sent me to the men seated on the wall? for they are the people who will be short of food with you when the town is shut in.

28 And the chief of the butlers stands and calls with a great voice [in] Jewish, and speaks and says, “Hear a word of the great king, the king of Asshur—

Then the Rab-shakeh got up and said with a loud voice in the Jews' language, Give ear to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria;

29 thus said the king: Do not let Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you out of his hand;

This is what the king says: Do not be tricked by Hezekiah, for there is no salvation for you in him.

30 and do not let Hezekiah make you trust in YHWH, saying, YHWH certainly delivers us, and this city is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur.

And do not let Hezekiah make you put your faith in the Lord, saying, The Lord will certainly keep us safe, and this town will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.

31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur: Make a blessing with me, and come out to me, and each eat of his vine, and each [eat] of his fig tree, and each drink the waters of his own well,

Do not give ear to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me; and everyone will be free to take the fruit of his vine and of his fig-tree, and the water of his spring;

32 until my coming in, and I have taken you to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil, and honey; and live, and do not die; and do not listen to Hezekiah when he persuades you, saying, YHWH delivers us.

Till I come and take you away to a land like yours, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vine-gardens, a land of oil-giving olives and of honey, so that life and not death may be your fate. Give no attention to Hezekiah when he says to you, The Lord will keep us safe.

33 Have each of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur?

Has any one of the gods of the nations kept his land from falling into the hands of the king of Assyria?

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

Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena and Ivvah? have they kept Samaria out of my hands?

35 Who [are they] among all the gods of the lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that YHWH delivers Jerusalem out of my hand?”

Who among all the gods of these countries have kept their country from falling into my hands, to give cause for the thought that the Lord will keep Jerusalem from falling into my hands?

36 And the people have kept silent, and have not answered him a word, for the command of the king is, saying, “Do not answer him.”

But the people kept quiet and gave him no answer: for the king's order was, Give him no answer.

37 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [is] over the house, comes in, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the remembrancer, to Hezekiah, with torn garments, and they declare to him the words of the chief of the butlers.

Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah, with their clothing parted as a sign of grief, and gave him an account of what the Rab-shakeh had said.