2 Reyes 18
1 En el tercer año de Oseas, hijo de Ela, rey de Israel, Ezequías, hijo de Acaz, se convirtió en rey de Judá.
After King Hoshea had been ruling Israel for almost three years, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, began to rule Judah.
2 Tenía veinticinco años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó en Jerusalén durante veinte y nueve años; El nombre de su madre era Abi, la hija de Zacarías.
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.
3 Hizo lo correcto ante los ojos del Señor como lo había hecho su padre David.
Hezekiah did things that Yahweh considered to be right, like his ancestor King David had done.
4 Le quitaron los lugares altos y rompieron los pilares de piedra, y la de Asera fue cortada; y la serpiente de bronce que Moisés había hecho se aplastó hasta convertirla en polvo a su orden, porque en aquellos días los hijos de Israel habían quemado ofrendas ante ella, y le dio el nombre de Nehushtan.
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.
5 Confió en el Señor, el Dios de Israel; de modo que no había nadie como él entre todos los reyes de Judá que fueron antes de él.
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.
6 Porque su corazón estaba fijo en el Señor, sin apartarse de sus caminos, e hizo las órdenes que el Señor le dio a Moisés.
He remained loyal to Yahweh and never disobeyed him. He carefully obeyed all the commandments that Yahweh had given to Moses.
7 Y él Señor estaba con él; hizo bien en todo lo que se emprendía, y tomó las armas contra el rey de Asiria y no le sirvió.
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).
8 Derrotó a los filisteos hasta Gaza y sus límites, desde la torre del vigilante hasta la ciudad amurallada.
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.
9 Ahora, en el cuarto año del rey Ezequías, que fue el séptimo año de Oseas, hijo de Ela, rey de Israel, Salmanasar, rey de Asiria, se enfrentó a Samaria y la rodeó con sus ejércitos.
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].
10 Y al cabo de tres años la tomó; en el sexto año del gobierno de Ezequías, que fue el noveno año de Oseas, rey de Israel, fue tomada Samaria.
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.
11 Y el rey de Asiria se llevó a Israel como prisioneros a Asiria, y los puso en Halah en la región de Habor, en el río Gozán, y en las ciudades de los medos;
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.
12 Porque no escucharon la voz del Señor su Dios, sino que se opusieron a su pacto, incluso contra todo lo ordenado por Moisés, el siervo del Señor, y no lo escucharon ni lo cumplieron.
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.
13 En el año catorce del rey Ezequías, Senaquerib, rey de Asiria, subió contra todas las ciudades amuralladas de Judá y las tomó.
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.
14 Ezequías, rey de Judá, envió a Laquis, al rey de Asiria, diciendo: He hecho mal; Renuncia a atacarme, y lo que sea que me pongas, pagaré. Y el pago que debía hacer fue fijado por el rey de Asiria a trescientos talentos de plata y treinta talentos de oro.
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.
15 Entonces Ezequías le dio toda la plata en la casa del Señor y en el almacén del rey.
So Hezekiah gave to him all the silver that was in the temple and that was stored in the king’s palace.
16 En ese momento, Ezequías quitó el oro de las puertas de la casa del Señor y de los pilares de las puertas que tenía, cortó y se lo dio al rey de Asiria.
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.
17 Entonces el rey de Asiria envió al tartán y al rabsaris, y al Rabsaces desde Laquis a Jerusalén, al rey Ezequías, con un poderoso ejército. Y subieron y llegaron a Jerusalén, y tomaron su posición junto al arroyo del estanque más alto, junto a la carretera del campo del lavador.
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.
18 Entonces enviaron a buscar al rey, y a Eliaquim, hijo de Hilcías, que estaba sobre la casa, y a Sebna el escriba, y Joa, el hijo de Asaf, el registrador, salió a ellos.
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.
19 Entonces el Rabsaces les dijo: Di ahora a Ezequías: Estas son las palabras del gran rey, el rey de Asiria: ¿En quien confías?
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]?
20 Dices que tiene un plan y fuerza para la guerra, pero estas son sólo palabras vanas. ¿Ahora en quién confías, que has ido en contra de mi autoridad?
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]?
21 Mira, ahora estás basando tu esperanza en esa vara rota de Egipto, que pasará por la mano de un hombre si la usa como apoyo; porque así es el faraón, rey de Egipto, para todos los que ponen su fe en él.
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].
22 Y si me dices: Nuestra esperanza está en el Señor nuestro Dios: ¿no es él, cuyos lugares altos y altares ha quitado Ezequías, diciendo a Judá y a Jerusalén que la adoración solo se puede dar ante este altar? en Jerusalem?
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]?”’
23 Y ahora, has un pacto con mi amo, el rey de Asiria, y te daré dos mil caballos, si eres capaz de poner jinetes sobre ellos.
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!
24 ¿Cómo, pues, puedes avergonzar al menor de los sirvientes de mi amo? y has puesto tu esperanza en Egipto por los carros de guerra y los jinetes:
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!
25 ¿Y ahora he venido a enviar destrucción a este lugar sin la autoridad del Señor? Fue el mismo Señor quien me dijo: Sube contra esta tierra y destrúyela.
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!”
26 Entonces Eliaquim, el hijo de Hilcías, y Sebna y Joa dijeron al Rabsaces, Háblanos en el idioma arameo al hablar con tus siervos, porque lo entendemos, no hacemos uso de la lengua de los judíos en la audiencia de la gente en la muralla.
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].”
27 Pero el Rabsaces les dijo: ¿Será para tu maestro o para ti que mi maestro me ha enviado a decir estas palabras? ¿No me ha enviado a los hombres sentados en la muralla? porque son las personas a las que les faltará comida; pues ellos tendrán que comerse su propio estiércol y sus propios orines.
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].”
28 Entonces el Rabsaces se levantó y dijo en voz alta en el idioma de los judíos: Escucha las palabras del gran rey, el rey de Asiria;
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,
29 Esto es lo que dice el rey: No seas engañado por Ezequías, porque no hay salvación para ti en él.
‘Do not allow Hezekiah to deceive you. He will not be able to rescue you from my power [MTY].
30 Y no permitas que Ezequías te haga confiar en el Señor, diciendo: El Señor ciertamente nos mantendrá a salvo, y este pueblo no será entregado en manos del rey de Asiria.
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!’
31 No escuches a Ezequías, porque esto es lo que dice el rey de Asiria: Haz las paces conmigo y sal a mí; y todos serán libres de tomar el fruto de su vid y de su higuera, y el agua de su manantial;
“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.
32 Hasta que venga y los lleve a una tierra como la de ustedes, una tierra de grano y vino, una tierra de pan y viñas, una tierra de aceitunas y de miel, para que vivan y no mueran. No le presten atención a Ezequías cuando les dice: El Señor nos mantendrá a salvo.
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!
33 ¿Alguno de los dioses de las naciones los ha librado que su tierra caiga en manos del rey de Asiria?
The gods that people of other nations worship have never rescued them from the power [MTY] of the king of Assyria [RHQ]!
34 ¿Dónde están los dioses de Hamat y de Arfad? ¿Dónde están los dioses de Sefarvaim, de Hena e Iva? ¿Han mantenido a Samaria fuera de mis manos?
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?
35 ¿Quién, entre todos los dioses de estos países, ha impedido que su país caiga en mis manos, para dar motivo a la idea de que el Señor evitará que Jerusalén caiga en mis manos?
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]?’”
36 Pero la gente se quedó callada y no le respondieron; porque la orden del rey era: No le contestes.
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.”
37 Entonces Eliaquim, el hijo de Hilcías, que estaba sobre la casa, y Sebna el escriba, y Joa, el hijo de Asaf, el registrador, llegaron a Ezequías, con sus ropas rasgadas como señal de dolor, y le dio una cuenta de lo que el Rabsaces había dicho.
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.
