2 Kings 18

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.

In the third year of Hoshea's reign as king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, took over the throne of Judah.

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.

At the tender age of twenty-five, he ascended the throne, ruling over Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother, Abi, a daughter of Zachariah, watched him with pride.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

He acted rightly, just as his father David had, in the eyes of the Lord.

He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

He passionately tore down the sacred shrines, shattered the idols, and chopped down the sacred poles. He even destroyed the bronze snake Moses had made, as the Israelites had been worshipping it, naming it Nehushtan.

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.

He placed his faith in the Lord God of Israel, making him unparalleled among all the kings of Judah, both past and future.

For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

He passionately clung to God, never straying from His path, and faithfully followed His instructions given to Moses.

And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.

God was always by his side, guiding him to success wherever he ventured. He bravely defied the king of Assyria, refusing to serve him.

He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

He passionately defeated the Philistines, reaching all the way to Gaza and its boundaries, from the lookout tower to the fortified city.

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.

In the fourth year of King Hezekiah's reign, which was also the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah's rule over Israel, Shalmaneser, the King of Assyria, launched an attack on Samaria, surrounding it with his forces.

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.

After three long years, they finally claimed it. In Hezekiah's sixth year, and Hoshea's ninth as king of Israel, Samaria was captured, filled with a mix of triumph and sorrow.

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:

The Assyrian king, in his power, forcefully took the people of Israel away from their homeland. He scattered them in Halah, Habor, by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, leaving them lost and displaced.

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.

This happened because they ignored God's commands and broke His sacred agreement, refusing to listen to or follow everything Moses, God's servant, had commanded.

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.

In the 14th year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest 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.

King Hezekiah of Judah, filled with regret, reached out to the Assyrian king in Lachish. He admitted his mistakes, pleading for mercy and promising to bear any punishment. In response, the Assyrian king demanded a hefty price from Hezekiah - three hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold.

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.

Hezekiah, with a heavy heart, handed over every piece of silver from both the Lord's house and the royal treasury.

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.

In a desperate moment, Hezekiah stripped the gold from God's temple doors and pillars, a heartbreaking act, and handed it over to the Assyrian king.

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 fuller’s field.

The Assyrian king dispatched Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to confront King Hezekiah, leading a massive army towards Jerusalem. They journeyed and arrived in Jerusalem, positioning themselves by the upper pool's conduit, located in the fuller's field.

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.

When the king was summoned, Eliakim, Hilkiah's son and head of the household, emerged. Alongside him were Shebna, the writer, and Joah, Asaph's son, the historian. Their presence was filled with a sense of duty and solemnity.

And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?

Rabshakeh challenged them, "Tell Hezekiah that the mighty Assyrian king asks, 'What makes you so sure of your trust?'"

Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?

You claim, though it's just empty talk, that you have wisdom and power for battle. Who are you relying on, that you dare to defy me?

Now, behold, thou trustest 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.

Look, you're relying on a broken stick, that's Egypt. If you lean on it, it'll only hurt you. That's exactly what trusting the Pharaoh of Egypt will do to you.

But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?

If you tell me, "We have faith in the Lord our God," isn't it the same God whose sacred altars and high places Hezekiah removed, instructing Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar in Jerusalem?

Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.

Come on, make a wager with my master, the king of Assyria: I'll give you two thousand horses, if you can even find enough riders for them.

How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

How could you drive back even one officer, the least of my master's servants, while you're counting on Egypt for its horses and chariots?

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.

Have I arrived here to wreak havoc without divine guidance? No, it was God who instructed me, "Advance upon this land and bring it to ruin."

Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy 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.

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah pleaded with Rabshakeh, "Please, speak to us in Aramaic, we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew, the people on the wall shouldn't hear."

But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath 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?

But Rabshakeh answered, "Did my master send me to say these things only to your master and to you? Didn't he send me to the men sitting on the wall, who, like you, will end up eating their own dung and drinking their own urine?"

Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:

Then Rabshakeh rose, his voice echoing powerfully in the language of the Jews, and declared, "Listen to the message from the mighty king, the king of Assyria!"

Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:

The king warns, "Don't be fooled by Hezekiah. He can't save you from my grasp."

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.

Don't let Hezekiah fool you into believing in the LORD's protection, saying, 'The LORD will definitely save us, and this city won't fall into the hands of the Assyrian king.'

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:

Don't listen to Hezekiah. The Assyrian king says, "Make peace with me. Give me a gift, join me, and then you can enjoy the fruits of your own labor - your vineyards, your fig trees, and your own water."

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 ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.

Until I guide you to a place as beautiful as your homeland, a place abundant with crops and wine, filled with bread and vineyards, rich with olive oil and honey, where you can thrive and not perish. Don't listen to Hezekiah's promises of deliverance from the Lord.

Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Has any nation's god ever saved their land from the Assyrian king's grip?

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?

Where have the deities of Hamath and Arpad gone? What about those of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? Could they save Samaria from my grasp?

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?

Who among the gods of other nations has ever saved their land from me? Why would the LORD save Jerusalem from me?

But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

The people remained silent, not uttering a single word in response to him, as the king had ordered them not to reply.

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.

Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, the household overseer, Shebna the writer, and Joah, Asaph's son, the historian, approached Hezekiah. Their clothes were torn in distress as they relayed Rabshakeh's message.