2 Kings 18
1 After King Hoshea had been ruling Israel for almost three years, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, began to rule Judah.
καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ἔτει τρίτῳ τῷ Ωσηε υἱῷ Ηλα βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ ἐβασίλευσεν Εζεκιας υἱὸς Αχαζ βασιλέως Ιουδα
2 He was 25 years old when he became the king [of Judah] and he ruled from Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of [a man whose name was] Zechariah.
υἱὸς εἴκοσι καὶ πέντε ἐτῶν ἦν ἐν τῷ βασιλεύειν αὐτὸν καὶ εἴκοσι καὶ ἐννέα ἔτη ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ὄνομα τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ Αβου θυγάτηρ Ζαχαριου
3 Hezekiah did things that Yahweh considered to be right, like his ancestor King David had done.
καὶ ἐποίησεν τὸ εὐθὲς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς κυρίου κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν Δαυιδ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ
4 He destroyed the places where people worshiped Yahweh on the tops of hills, and he broke into pieces the stone pillars [for worshiping the goddess Asherah]. He also broke into pieces the bronze [replica/statue of a] snake that Moses had made. He did that because the people had named it Nehushtan, and they were burning incense in front of it to honor it.
αὐτὸς ἐξῆρεν τὰ ὑψηλὰ καὶ συνέτριψεν πάσας τὰς στήλας καὶ ἐξωλέθρευσεν τὰ ἄλση καὶ τὸν ὄφιν τὸν χαλκοῦν ὃν ἐποίησεν Μωυσῆς ὅτι ἕως τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκείνων ἦσαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ θυμιῶντες αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸν Νεεσθαν
5 Hezekiah trusted in Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis [worshiped.] There was no king who ruled Judah before him or after him who was as [devoted to Yahweh as] he was.
ἐν κυρίῳ θεῷ Ισραηλ ἤλπισεν καὶ μετ’ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐγενήθη ὅμοιος αὐτῷ ἐν βασιλεῦσιν Ιουδα καὶ ἐν τοῖς γενομένοις ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ
6 He remained loyal to Yahweh and never disobeyed him. He carefully obeyed all the commandments that Yahweh had given to Moses.
καὶ ἐκολλήθη τῷ κυρίῳ οὐκ ἀπέστη ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐφύλαξεν τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ὅσας ἐνετείλατο Μωυσῇ
7 Yahweh always (helped/was with) him. He was successful in everything that he did. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to (pay taxes to him/do what the king of Assyria wanted him to do).
καὶ ἦν κύριος μετ’ αὐτοῦ ἐν πᾶσιν οἷς ἐποίει συνῆκεν καὶ ἠθέτησεν ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἀσσυρίων καὶ οὐκ ἐδούλευσεν αὐτῷ
8 His army defeated [the soldiers of] Philistia as far [south] as Gaza [city] and the nearby villages. They conquered the entire area, from the smallest watchtower to the largest cities surrounded by walls.
αὐτὸς ἐπάταξεν τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους ἕως Γάζης καὶ ἕως ὁρίου αὐτῆς ἀπὸ πύργου φυλασσόντων καὶ ἕως πόλεως ὀχυρᾶς
9 After King Hezekiah had been ruling Judah for almost four years, and when King Hoshea had been ruling Israel for almost seven years, [the army of] King Shalmaneser of Assyria invaded Israel and surrounded Samaria [city].
καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἔτει τῷ τετάρτῳ βασιλεῖ Εζεκια αὐτὸς ἐνιαυτὸς ὁ ἕβδομος τῷ Ωσηε υἱῷ Ηλα βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ ἀνέβη Σαλαμανασσαρ βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ἐπὶ Σαμάρειαν καὶ ἐπολιόρκει ἐπ’ αὐτήν
10 In the third year they captured the city. That was when Hezekiah has been ruling Judah for almost six years, and when Hoshea had been ruling Israel for almost nine years.
καὶ κατελάβετο αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τέλους τριῶν ἐτῶν ἐν ἔτει ἕκτῳ τῷ Εζεκια αὐτὸς ἐνιαυτὸς ἔνατος τῷ Ωσηε βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ καὶ συνελήμφθη Σαμάρεια
11 The king of Assyria commanded that the people of Israel be taken to Assyria. Some of them were taken to Halah [town], some were taken to a place near the Habor [River] in [the] Gozan [region], and some were taken to cities where the Mede people-group live.
καὶ ἀπῴκισεν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων τὴν Σαμάρειαν εἰς Ἀσσυρίους καὶ ἔθηκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν Αλαε καὶ ἐν Αβωρ ποταμῷ Γωζαν καὶ Ορη Μήδων
12 That happened because the Israelis did not obey Yahweh their God. They disobeyed the agreement that Yahweh had made with their ancestors, and all the laws that Moses, the man who served Yahweh [very well], had told them to obey. They would not obey those laws; they would not even listen to them.
ἀνθ’ ὧν ὅτι οὐκ ἤκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου θεοῦ αὐτῶν καὶ παρέβησαν τὴν διαθήκην αὐτοῦ πάντα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο Μωυσῆς ὁ δοῦλος κυρίου καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησαν
13 After King Hezekiah had been ruling Judah for almost 14 years, [the army of] King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the cities in Judah that had walls around them. They [did not capture Jerusalem, but they] captured all the other cities.
καὶ τῷ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει βασιλεῖ Εζεκιου ἀνέβη Σενναχηριμ βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις Ιουδα τὰς ὀχυρὰς καὶ συνέλαβεν αὐτάς
14 King Hezekiah sent a message to Sennacherib, while Sennacherib was in Lachish, saying “What I have done was wrong. Please [tell your soldiers to] stop attacking us. If you do that, I will pay you whatever you tell me to.” So the king of Assyria said that Hezekiah must pay to him (ten tons/9,000 kg.) of silver and (one ton/900 kg.) of gold.
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Εζεκιας βασιλεὺς Ιουδα ἀγγέλους πρὸς βασιλέα Ἀσσυρίων εἰς Λαχις λέγων ἡμάρτηκα ἀποστράφητι ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ὃ ἐὰν ἐπιθῇς ἐπ’ ἐμέ βαστάσω καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ἐπὶ Εζεκιαν βασιλέα Ιουδα τριακόσια τάλαντα ἀργυρίου καὶ τριάκοντα τάλαντα χρυσίου
15 So Hezekiah gave to him all the silver that was in the temple and that was stored in the king’s palace.
καὶ ἔδωκεν Εζεκιας πᾶν τὸ ἀργύριον τὸ εὑρεθὲν ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου καὶ ἐν θησαυροῖς οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως
16 Hezekiah’s men also stripped the gold from the doors of the temple and the gold that he himself had put on the doorposts, and he sent all that gold to the king of Assyria.
ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ συνέκοψεν Εζεκιας τὰς θύρας ναοῦ κυρίου καὶ τὰ ἐστηριγμένα ἃ ἐχρύσωσεν Εζεκιας βασιλεὺς Ιουδα καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὰ βασιλεῖ Ἀσσυρίων
17 But the king of Assyria sent a large army with some of his important officials from Lachish [city] to [persuade] King Hezekiah [to surrender]. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they stood alongside the aqueduct/channel in which water flows from the upper pool into Jerusalem, near the road to the field where the women wash clothes.
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων τὸν Θαρθαν καὶ τὸν Ραφις καὶ τὸν Ραψακην ἐκ Λαχις πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Εζεκιαν ἐν δυνάμει βαρείᾳ ἐπὶ Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἀνέβησαν καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἔστησαν ἐν τῷ ὑδραγωγῷ τῆς κολυμβήθρας τῆς ἄνω ἥ ἐστιν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ ἀγροῦ τοῦ γναφέως
18 They sent a message requesting King Hezekiah to come to them, but the king sent three of his officials [to talk to them]. He sent Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who supervised the palace; Shebna, the official secretary; and Asaph’s son Joah, who communicated the king’s messages to the people.
καὶ ἐβόησαν πρὸς Εζεκιαν καὶ ἐξῆλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν Ελιακιμ υἱὸς Χελκιου ὁ οἰκονόμος καὶ Σομνας ὁ γραμματεὺς καὶ Ιωας υἱὸς Ασαφ ὁ ἀναμιμνῄσκων
19 One of Sennacherib’s important officials told them to take this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the king of Assyria, the great king, says: ‘What are you trusting in [to rescue you] [RHQ]?
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ραψακης εἴπατε δὴ πρὸς Εζεκιαν τάδε λέγει ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων τίς ἡ πεποίθησις αὕτη ἣν πέποιθας
20 You say that you have weapons to fight us, and some country promises [to help you], [and that will enable you to defeat us, ] but that is only talk [RHQ]. Who do you think will help you to rebel against my [soldiers from Assyria]?
εἶπας πλὴν λόγοι χειλέων βουλὴ καὶ δύναμις εἰς πόλεμον νῦν οὖν τίνι πεποιθὼς ἠθέτησας ἐν ἐμοί
21 Listen to me! You are relying on [the army of] Egypt. But that is like [MET] using a broken reed for a walking stick on which you could lean. But it would pierce the hand of anyone who would lean on it! That is what the king of Egypt would be like for anyone who relied on him [for help].
νῦν ἰδοὺ πέποιθας σαυτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν ῥάβδον τὴν καλαμίνην τὴν τεθλασμένην ταύτην ἐπ’ Αἴγυπτον ὃς ἂν στηριχθῇ ἀνὴρ ἐπ’ αὐτήν καὶ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τρήσει αὐτήν οὕτως Φαραω βασιλεὺς Αἰγύπτου πᾶσιν τοῖς πεποιθόσιν ἐπ’ αὐτόν
22 But perhaps you will say to me, “No, we are (relying on/trusting in) Yahweh our God [to help us].” [I would reply, ] “Is he not the one whom you [insulted by] tearing down his shrines and altars and forcing everyone in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah to worship only in front of the altar [in Jerusalem]?”’
καὶ ὅτι εἶπας πρός με ἐπὶ κύριον θεὸν πεποίθαμεν οὐχὶ αὐτὸς οὗτος οὗ ἀπέστησεν Εζεκιας τὰ ὑψηλὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θυσιαστήρια αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν τῷ Ιουδα καὶ τῇ Ιερουσαλημ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τούτου προσκυνήσετε ἐν Ιερουσαλημ
23 So I suggest that you make a deal between you and my master/boss, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses, but [I do not think that] you are able to find 2,000 of your men who can ride on them!
καὶ νῦν μίχθητε δὴ τῷ κυρίῳ μου βασιλεῖ Ἀσσυρίων καὶ δώσω σοι δισχιλίους ἵππους εἰ δυνήσῃ δοῦναι σεαυτῷ ἐπιβάτας ἐπ’ αὐτούς
24 You are expecting the king of Egypt to send chariots and men riding horses [to assist you]. But they certainly would not [RHQ] be able to resist/defeat even the most insignificant/unimportant official in the army of Assyria!
καὶ πῶς ἀποστρέψεις τὸ πρόσωπον τοπάρχου ἑνὸς τῶν δούλων τοῦ κυρίου μου τῶν ἐλαχίστων καὶ ἤλπισας σαυτῷ ἐπ’ Αἴγυπτον εἰς ἅρματα καὶ ἱππεῖς
25 Furthermore, (do you think that we have come to destroy Jerusalem without Yahweh’s help?/do not think that we have come to Jerusalem without Yahweh’s help.) [RHQ] It is Yahweh himself who told us to come here and destroy this land!”
καὶ νῦν μὴ ἄνευ κυρίου ἀνέβημεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον τοῦ διαφθεῖραι αὐτόν κύριος εἶπεν πρός με ἀνάβηθι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ταύτην καὶ διάφθειρον αὐτήν
26 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the official from Assyria, “Sir, please speak to us in your Aramaic language, because we understand it. Do not speak to us in our Hebrew language, because the people who are standing on the wall will understand it [and be frightened].”
καὶ εἶπεν Ελιακιμ υἱὸς Χελκιου καὶ Σομνας καὶ Ιωας πρὸς Ραψακην λάλησον δὴ πρὸς τοὺς παῖδάς σου Συριστί ὅτι ἀκούομεν ἡμεῖς καὶ οὐ λαλήσεις μεθ’ ἡμῶν Ιουδαϊστί καὶ ἵνα τί λαλεῖς ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους
27 But the official replied, “Do you think [RHQ] that my master sent me to say these things only to you and not to the people who are standing on the wall? [If you reject this message, ] the [people in this city] will soon need to eat their own dung and drink their own urine, just like you will, [because there will be nothing more for you to eat or drink].”
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ραψακης μὴ ἐπὶ τὸν κύριόν σου καὶ πρὸς σὲ ἀπέστειλέν με ὁ κύριός μου λαλῆσαι τοὺς λόγους τούτους οὐχὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς καθημένους ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους τοῦ φαγεῖν τὴν κόπρον αὐτῶν καὶ πιεῖν τὸ οὖρον αὐτῶν μεθ’ ὑμῶν ἅμα
28 Then the official stood up and shouted in the Hebrew language [to the people sitting on the wall]. He said, “Listen to this message from the great king, the king of Assyria. He says,
καὶ ἔστη Ραψακης καὶ ἐβόησεν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ Ιουδαϊστὶ καὶ ἐλάλησεν καὶ εἶπεν ἀκούσατε τοὺς λόγους τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
29 ‘Do not allow Hezekiah to deceive you. He will not be able to rescue you from my power [MTY].
τάδε λέγει ὁ βασιλεύς μὴ ἐπαιρέτω ὑμᾶς Εζεκιας λόγοις ὅτι οὐ μὴ δύνηται ὑμᾶς ἐξελέσθαι ἐκ χειρός μου
30 Do not allow him to persuade you to rely on Yahweh, saying that Yahweh will rescue you, and that the army of Assyria will never capture this city!’
καὶ μὴ ἐπελπιζέτω ὑμᾶς Εζεκιας πρὸς κύριον λέγων ἐξαιρούμενος ἐξελεῖται ἡμᾶς κύριος οὐ μὴ παραδοθῇ ἡ πόλις αὕτη ἐν χειρὶ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
31 “Do not pay attention to what Hezekiah says! This is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Come out of the city and surrender to me. If you do that, I will arrange for each of you to drink the juice from your own grapevines, and to eat figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own wells.
μὴ ἀκούετε Εζεκιου ὅτι τάδε λέγει ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ποιήσατε μετ’ ἐμοῦ εὐλογίαν καὶ ἐξέλθατε πρός με καὶ πίεται ἀνὴρ τὴν ἄμπελον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνὴρ τὴν συκῆν αὐτοῦ φάγεται καὶ πίεται ὕδωρ τοῦ λάκκου αὐτοῦ
32 You will be able to do that until we come and take you to a land that is like your land—a land where there is grain to make bread and vineyards to [produce grapes for making] wine. It will be a land that has plenty of olive trees and honey. If you do what the king of Assyria commands, you will not die. You will continue to live. ‘Do not allow Hezekiah to persuade you to trust in Yahweh saying that he will rescue you!
ἕως ἔλθω καὶ λάβω ὑμᾶς εἰς γῆν ὡς γῆ ὑμῶν γῆ σίτου καὶ οἴνου καὶ ἄρτου καὶ ἀμπελώνων γῆ ἐλαίας ἐλαίου καὶ μέλιτος καὶ ζήσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνητε καὶ μὴ ἀκούετε Εζεκιου ὅτι ἀπατᾷ ὑμᾶς λέγων κύριος ῥύσεται ἡμᾶς
33 The gods that people of other nations worship have never rescued them from the power [MTY] of the king of Assyria [RHQ]!
μὴ ῥυόμενοι ἐρρύσαντο οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν ἐκ χειρὸς βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
34 Why were the gods of Hamath and Arpad [cities] unable to rescue their people from the king of Assyria [RHQ]? What happened to the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah, [towns that we completely destroyed and their gods disappeared] [RHQ]? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power?
ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς Αιμαθ καὶ Αρφαδ ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς Σεπφαρουαιν καὶ ὅτι ἐξείλαντο Σαμάρειαν ἐκ χειρός μου
35 No, none of the gods of the countries [that my army attacked] rescued their people [RHQ] from me! So why do you think that Yahweh will rescue you people of Jerusalem from my power [MTY]?’”
τίς ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν γαιῶν οἳ ἐξείλαντο τὰς γᾶς αὐτῶν ἐκ χειρός μου ὅτι ἐξελεῖται κύριος τὴν Ιερουσαλημ ἐκ χειρός μου
36 But the people [who were listening] stayed silent. No one said anything, because King Hezekiah had told them, “[When the official from Assyria talks to you, ] do not answer him.”
καὶ ἐκώφευσαν καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ λόγον ὅτι ἐντολὴ τοῦ βασιλέως λέγων οὐκ ἀποκριθήσεσθε αὐτῷ
37 Then Eliakim the palace administrator and Shebna the court secretary and Joah the royal historian went back to Hezekiah with their clothes torn [because they were extremely distressed], and they told him what the official from Assyria had said.
καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Ελιακιμ υἱὸς Χελκιου ὁ οἰκονόμος καὶ Σομνας ὁ γραμματεὺς καὶ Ιωας υἱὸς Ασαφ ὁ ἀναμιμνῄσκων πρὸς Εζεκιαν διερρηχότες τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ τοὺς λόγους Ραψακου
