13
In the fourteenth year of the reign of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them.
14
Hezekiah sent a message to Sennacherib, who was in Lachish: "I have done wrong; please stop your attack, and I will pay whatever you demand." The emperor's answer was that Hezekiah should send him ten tons of silver and one ton of gold.
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Hezekiah sent him all the silver in the Temple and in the palace treasury;
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he also stripped the gold from the temple doors and the gold with which he himself had covered the doorposts, and he sent it all to Sennacherib.
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The Assyrian emperor sent a large army from Lachish to attack Hezekiah at Jerusalem; it was commanded by his three highest officials. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they occupied the road where the cloth makers work by the ditch that brings water from the upper pool.
18
Then they sent for King Hezekiah, and three of his officials went out to meet them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace; Shebna, the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, who was in charge of the records.
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One of the Assyrian officials told them that the emperor wanted to know what made King Hezekiah so confident.
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He demanded, "Do you think that words can take the place of military skill and might? Who do you think will help you rebel against Assyria?
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You are expecting Egypt to help you, but that would be like using a reed as a walking stick - it would break and jab your hand. That is what the king of Egypt is like when anyone relies on him."
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The Assyrian official went on, "Or will you tell me that you are relying on the Lord your God? It was the Lord's shrines and altars that Hezekiah destroyed, when he told the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar in Jerusalem.
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I will make a bargain with you in the name of the emperor. I will give you two thousand horses if you can find that many men to ride them!