Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. SENNACHERIB 2KI 18:17 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. 2KI 18:18 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. 2KI 18:19 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? 2KI 18:20 You say you have strategy and military strength--but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 2KI 18:21 Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 2KI 18:22 And 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"? 2KI 18:23 "'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! 2KI 18:24 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? 2KI 18:25 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.'" 2KI 18:26 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." 2KI 18:27 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 men sitting on the wall--who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?" 2KI 18:28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 2KI 18:29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 2KI 18:30 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.' 2KI 18:31 "Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 2KI 18:32 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.' 2KI 18:33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 2KI 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 2KI 18:35 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?" 2KI 18:36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him." 2KI 18:37 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. 2KI 19:8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. 2KI 19:35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning--there were all the dead bodies! 2KI 19:36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 2KI 19:37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king. 2CH 32:1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2CH 32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, 2CH 32:3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY 2CH 32:4 A large force of men assembled, and they blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?" they said. 2CH 32:5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields. 2CH 32:6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 2CH 32:7 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 2CH 32:8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said. 2CH 32:9 Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there: 2CH 32:10 "This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 2CH 32:11 When Hezekiah says, 'The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,' he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 2CH 32:12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god's high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it'? 2CH 32:13 "Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand? 2CH 32:14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 2CH 32:15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!" 2CH 32:16 Sennacherib's officers spoke further against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah. 2CH 32:17 The king also wrote letters insulting the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: "Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand." 2CH 32:18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 2CH 32:19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world--the work of men's hands. 2CH 32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. 2CH 32:21 And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword. 2CH 32:22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. 2CH 32:23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations. ISA 36:1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ISA 36:2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field, ISA 36:3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him. ISA 36:4 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? ISA 36:5 You say you have strategy and military strength--but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? ISA 36:6 Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY ISA 36:7 And 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"? ISA 36:8 "'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! ISA 36:9 How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ISA 36:10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the LORD? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.'" ISA 36:11 Then Eliakim, 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." ISA 36:12 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 men sitting on the wall--who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?" ISA 36:13 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! ISA 36:14 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! ISA 36:15 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.' ISA 36:16 "Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, ISA 36:17 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. ISA 36:18 "Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ISA 36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? ISA 36:20 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?" ISA 36:21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him." ISA 36:22 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. ISA 37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. ISA 37:2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ISA 37:3 They told him, "This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ISA 37:4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives." ISA 37:5 When King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah, ISA 37:6 Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard--those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ISA 37:7 Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.'" ISA 37:8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. ISA 37:9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: ISA 37:10 "Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' ISA 37:11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ISA 37:15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ISA 37:18 "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY ISA 37:19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. ISA 37:20 Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." ISA 37:21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, ISA 37:33 "Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. ISA 37:34 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city," declares the LORD. ISA 37:35 "I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!" ISA 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning--there were all the dead bodies! ISA 37:37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. ISA 37:38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king. Bible Bulletin Board internet: www.biblebb.com modem: 609-324-9187 Box 318 Columbus, NJ 08022 ....online since 1986 Sysop/Webmaster: Tony Capoccia