Parallel Bible results for "2 Kings 18"

2 Kings 18

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 It was in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Isra'el, that Hizkiyahu the son of Achaz, king of Y'hudah, began his reign.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. His mother's name was Avi the daughter of Z'kharyah.

3 He did what was right from ADONAI's perspective, following the example of everything David his ancestor had done.

4 He removed the high places, smashed the standing-stones, cut down the asherah and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moshe had made; because in those days the people of Isra'el were making offerings to it, calling it N'chushtan.

5 He put his trust in ADONAI the God of Isra'el; after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Y'hudah, nor had there been among those before him.

6 For he clung to ADONAI and did not leave off following him, but obeyed his mitzvot, which ADONAI had given Moshe.

7 So ADONAI was with him. Wherever he went out to battle, he did well. He rebelled against the king of Ashur and refused to be his vassal.

8 He drove the P'lishtim back to 'Azah and laid waste to their territory from the watchtower to the fortified city.

9 It was in the fourth year of King Hizkiyahu, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Isra'el, that Shalman'eser king of Ashur advanced against Shomron and laid siege to it.

10 At the end of three years they captured it - that is, Shomron was captured in the sixth year of Hizkiyahu, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Isra'el.

11 The king of Ashur carried Isra'el away captive to Ashur and settled them in Halach, in Havor on the Gozan River and in the cities of the Medes.

12 This happened because they did not heed the voice of ADONAI their God, but violated his covenant, everything that Moshe the servant of ADONAI had ordered them to do, and would neither hear it nor do it.

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hizkiyahu, Sancheriv king of Ashur advanced against all the fortified cities of Y'hudah and captured them.

14 Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah sent this message to the king of Ashur at Lakhish: "I have done wrong. If you will go away from me, I will pay whatever penalty you impose on me." The king of Ashur imposed on Hizkiyahu a penalty of ten tons of silver and a ton of gold.

15 Hizkiyahu gave him all the silver that could be found in the house of ADONAI and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

16 It was at that time that Hizkiyahu stripped the gold from the doors of the sanctuary of ADONAI and from the doorposts which Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah himself had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Ashur.

17 From Lakhish the king of Ashur sent Tartan, Rav-Saris and Rav-Shakeh to King Hizkiyahu in Yerushalayim with a large army. They advanced and came to Yerushalayim. Upon arrival, they came and positioned themselves by the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, which is by the road to the Launderers' Field.

18 They summoned the king, but those answering the call were Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo'ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister.

19 Rav-Shakeh addressed them: "Tell Hizkiyahu: 'Here is what the great king, the king of Ashur, says: "What makes you so confident?

20 Do you think that mere spoken words constitute strategy and strength for battle? In whom, then, are you trusting when you rebel against me like this?

21 Now look! Relying on Egypt is like using a broken stick as a staff - when you lean on it, it Hebrew nachash means "serpent," and n'choshet means "bronze." punctures your hand. That's what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like for anyone who puts his trust in him.

22 But if you tell me, 'We trust in ADONAI our God,' then isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hizkiyahu has removed, telling Y'hudah and Yerushalayim, 'You must worship before this altar in Yerushalayim'?

23 All right, then, make a wager with my lord the king of Ashur: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough riders for them.

24 How then can you repulse even one of my master's lowest-ranked army officers? Yet you are relying on Egypt for chariots and riders!

25 Do you think I have come up to this place to destroy it without ADONAI's approval? ADONAI said to me, 'Attack this land, and destroy it'!"'"

26 Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu, Shevnah and Yo'ach said to Rav-Shakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it; don't speak with us in Hebrew while the people on the wall are listening."

27 But Rav-Shakeh answered them, "Did my master send me to deliver my message just to your master and yourselves? Didn't he send me to address the men sitting on the wall, who, like you, are going to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?"

28 Then Rav-Shakeh stood up and, speaking loudly in Hebrew, said: "Hear what the great king, the king of Ashur, says!

29 This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hizkiyahu deceive you, because he won't be able to save you from the power of the king of Ashur.

30 And don't let Hizkiyahu make you trust in ADONAI by saying, "ADONAI will surely save us; this city will not be given over to the king of Ashur."

31 Don't listen to Hizkiyahu.' For this is what the king of Ashur says: 'Make peace with me, surrender to me. Then every one of you can eat from his vine and fig tree and drink the water in his own cistern;

32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land with grain and wine, a land with bread and vineyards, a land with olive trees and honey; so that you can live and not die. So don't listen to Hizkiyahu; he is only deluding you when he says, "ADONAI will save us."

33 Has any god of any nation ever saved his land from the power of the king of Ashur?

34 Where are the gods of Hamat and Arpad? Where are the gods of S'farvayim, Hena and 'Ivah? Did they save Shomron from my power?

35 Where is the god of any country that has saved its country from my power, so that ADONAI might be able to save Yerushalayim from my power?'"

36 But the people kept still and didn't answer him so much as a word; for the king's order was, "Don't answer him."

37 Then Elyakim the son of Hilkiyah, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo'ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister went to Hizkiyahu with their clothes torn and reported to him what Rav-Shakeh had said.

New International Version NIV

1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

3 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.

4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan. )

5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.

6 He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.

7 And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

9 In King Hezekiah’s fourth year, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it.

10 At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.

11 The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.

12 This happened because they had not obeyed the LORD their God, but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

16 At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field.

18 They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

19 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: “ ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?

20 You say you have the counsel and the might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?

21 Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him.

22 But if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?

23 “ ‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen ?

25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the LORD? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’ ”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

27 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand.

30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern,

32 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’

33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand?

35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.