Study Desk

^(C1)In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king.

He was ^(C1)sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was ^(F1)Jecoliah of Jerusalem.

He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his father Amaziah had done.

Only ^(C1)the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

^(C1)And the LORD afflicted the king, so that he had leprosy to the day of his death. And he ^(C2)lived in a separate house, ^(F1)while Jotham the king's son was in charge of the household, judging the people of the land.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And Azariah ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Jotham became king in his place.

^(C1)In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria for six months.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and ^(C1)struck him in the presence of the people and ^(F1)killed him, and reigned in his place.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

This is ^(C1)the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, "Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." And so it was.

Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the ^(C1)thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned for ^(F1)one month in ^(C2)Samaria.

Then Menahem the son of Gadi went up from ^(C1)Tirzah and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him and became king in his place.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he formed, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open up to him; so he attacked it and ripped up ^(C1)all its women who were pregnant.

In the ^(C1)thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned for ten years in Samaria.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD; for all his days he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

^(C1)Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a ^(F1)thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to ^(C2)strengthen the ^(F2)kingdom ^(F3)under his rule.

Then Menahem collected the money from Israel, from all the ^(F1)mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

And Menahem ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.

In ^(C1)the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for two years.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in ^(C1)the castle of the king's house with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he killed him and became king in his place.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and everything that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

In ^(C1)the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, ^(C2)Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for twenty years.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.

In the days of Pekah king of Israel, ^(F1)(C1)Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and ^(C2)he led ^(F2)their populations into exile to Assyria.

And Hoshea the son of Elah formed a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him and put him to death, and he became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of ^(F1)Uzziah king of Judah became king.

^(C1)He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.

^(C1)He did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Uzziah had done.

Only ^(C1)the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^(C2)He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Jotham which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

In those days ^(C1)the LORD began to send Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.

And Jotham ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, ^(C1)Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king.

^(C1)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done.

But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, ^(C1)and he even made his son pass through the fire, ^(C2)in accordance with the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had ^(F1)driven out before the sons of Israel.

And he ^(C1)sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Then ^(C1)Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem for war; and they besieged Ahaz, ^(C2)but ^(F1)were not capable of fighting him.

At that time Rezin king of Aram restored ^(C1)Elath to Aram, and drove the Judeans away from ^(F1)Elath; and the ^(F2)Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.

^(C1)So Ahaz sent messengers to ^(C2)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the ^(F1)hand of the king of Aram, and from the ^(F1)hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me."

And ^(C1)Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria.

^(C1)So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and ^(C2)captured it, and led the people of it into exile to ^(C3)Kir, and put Rezin to death.

Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet ^(C1)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to ^(C2)Urijah the priest the ^(F1)pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship.

So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to everything that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, in that way Urijah the priest made it, ^(F1)before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.

And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then ^(C1)the king approached the altar and ^(F1)went up to it,

and ^(F1)burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured out his ^(F2)drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.

And ^(C1)the bronze altar, which was before the LORD, ^(F1)he brought from the front of the house, from between ^(C2)his altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of his altar.

Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "Upon the great altar ^(F1)burn ^(C1)the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king's burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their meal offering, and their ^(F2)drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But ^(C2)the bronze altar shall be for me, for making inquiries."

So Urijah the priest acted in accordance with everything that King Ahaz commanded.

Then King Ahaz ^(C1)cut off the borders of the stands, and removed the wash basin from them; he also ^(C2)took down the ^(F1)Sea from the bronze oxen which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone.

And the covered way for the Sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of the LORD because of the king of Assyria.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written ^(C1)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

So ^(C1)Ahaz ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and ^(C2)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^(C1)Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for nine years.

He did evil in the sight of the LORD, only not as the kings of Israel who preceded him.

^(C1)Shalmaneser the king of Assyria marched ^(C2)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute.

But the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had then brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria arrested him and confined him in prison.

Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to ^(C1)Samaria and besieged it for three years.

In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(C1)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(C2)led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and ^(C3)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(C4)Gozan, and ^(C5)in the cities of the Medes.

Now ^(C1)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, ^(C2)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; ^(C3)and they had ^(F1)feared other gods.

They also ^(F1)(C1)followed the ^(F2)customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs ^(C2)of the kings of Israel which they had ^(F3)introduced.

And the sons of Israel ^(F1)did things secretly against the LORD their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^(C1)watchtower to fortified city.

And ^(C1)they set up for themselves memorial stones and ^(F1)(C2)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,

and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the LORD had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the LORD.

They served idols, ^(C1)concerning which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."

Yet the ^(C1)LORD warned Israel and Judah ^(F1)(C2)through all His prophets and ^(C3)every seer, saying, "^(C4)Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you ^(F1)through My servants the prophets."

However, they did not listen, but ^(C1)stiffened their neck ^(F1)like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God.

^(C1)They rejected His statutes and ^(C2)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He ^(F1)gave them. And ^(C3)they followed ^(F2)idols and ^(C4)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the ^(C5)LORD had commanded them not to do as they did.

And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves cast metal images: ^(C1)two calves. And they ^(C2)made an ^(F1)Asherah, and ^(C3)worshiped all the heavenly ^(F2)lights, and ^(C4)served Baal.

Then ^(C1)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they ^(C2)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and ^(C3)gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him.

So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He ^(C1)removed them from His ^(F1)sight; ^(C2)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

^(C1)Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God either, but they ^(F1)(C2)followed the ^(F2)customs ^(F3)which Israel had ^(F4)introduced.

So the LORD rejected all the ^(F1)descendants of Israel and afflicted them and ^(C1)handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them ^(F2)out of His sight.

When ^(C1)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(C2)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(C3)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the LORD and misled them into a great sin.

And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed; they did not desist from them

^(C1)until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, ^(C2)just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. ^(C1)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

^(C1)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, ^(F1)(C2)Avva, ^(C3)Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.

And at the beginning of their living there, they ^(C1)did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them that were killing some of them.

So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations whom you have taken into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land; so He has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land."

Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, "Take one of the priests there whom you led into ^(F1)exile, and have ^(F2)him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land."

So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the LORD.

But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them ^(C1)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.

^(C1)The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,

and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and ^(C1)the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to ^(C2)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of ^(C3)Sepharvaim.

^(C1)They also feared the LORD and ^(F1)(C2)appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places.

They feared the LORD, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.

To this day they act in accordance with the earlier customs: they do not fear the LORD, nor do they ^(F1)follow their statutes, their ordinances, the Law, or the commandments which the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, ^(C1)whom He named Israel.

The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, "^(C1)You shall not fear other gods, nor ^(C2)bow down to them, nor ^(C3)serve them, nor sacrifice to them.

"But the LORD, ^(C1)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with ^(C2)an outstretched arm, ^(C3)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow down, and to Him you shall sacrifice.

"And the statutes, the ordinances, the Law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, ^(C1)you shall take care to do always; and you shall not fear other gods.

"The covenant that I have made with you, ^(C1)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods.

"But you shall fear the LORD your God; and He will save you from the hand of all your enemies."

However, they did not listen, but they kept acting in accordance with their earlier custom.

^(C1)So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their ^(F1)idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, just as their fathers did, they do to this day.

Now it came about ^(C1)in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that ^(C2)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.

He was ^(C1)twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.

^(C1)He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, in accordance with everything that his father David had done.

^(C1)He removed the high places and smashed the memorial stones to pieces, and cut down the ^(F1)Asherah. He also crushed to pieces ^(C2)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel had been burning incense to it; and it was called ^(F2)Nehushtan.

^(C1)He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; and ^(C2)after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who came before him.

For he ^(C1)clung to the LORD; he did not desist from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.

^(C1)And the LORD was with him; wherever he went he was successful. And ^(C2)he revolted against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

^(C1)He ^(F1)defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from ^(C2)watchtower to fortified city.

Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, ^(C1)Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.

And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was ^(C1)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured.

Then the king of Assyria led Israel into exile to Assyria, and put them in ^(C1)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

This happened because they ^(C1)did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant, all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.

^(C1)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.

Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent messengers to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "^(C1)I have done wrong. ^(F1)Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will endure." So the king of Assyria imposed on Hezekiah king of Judah the payment of three hundred ^(F2)talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

^(C1)Hezekiah then gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king's house.

At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts, which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

Then the king of Assyria sent ^(C1)Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the ^(C2)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the road of the ^(F1)fuller's field.

Then they called to the king, and ^(C1)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, ^(C2)Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, went out to them.

And Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: "^(C1)What is this confidence that you ^(F1)have?

"You say—but they are only ^(F1)empty words—'I have a plan and strength for the war.' Now on whom have you relied, ^(C1)that you have revolted against me?

"Now behold, you have ^(F1)(C1)relied on the ^(F2)support of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^(F3)hand and pierce it. That is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him.

"However, if you say to me, 'We have trusted in the LORD our God,' is it not He whose high places and ^(C1)whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem'?

"Now then, ^(F1)come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them!

"How then can you drive back even ^(F1)one ^(F2)official of the least of my master's servants, and ^(F3)rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

"Have I now come up without ^(F1)the LORD'S approval against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.'"'"

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, "Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, because we ^(F1)understand it; and do not speak with us in ^(F2)(C1)Judean ^(F3)so that the people who are on the wall hear you."

But Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"

Then Rabshakeh stood up and shouted with a loud voice in Judean, ^(F1)saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

"This is what the king says: '^(C1)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you from ^(F1)my hand.

'And do not let Hezekiah lead you to trust in the LORD by saying, "The LORD will certainly save us, and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

'Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make ^(F1)your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, ^(C1)each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern,

until I come and take you ^(C1)to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees producing oil, and of honey, so that you will live and not die." But do not listen to Hezekiah, because he misleads you by saying, "The LORD will save us."

'^(C1)Has any of the gods of the nations actually saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

'^(C1)Where are the gods of Hamath and ^(C2)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^(F1)(C3)Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my hand?

'Who among all the gods of the lands are there who have saved their land from my hand, ^(C1)that the LORD would save Jerusalem from my hand?'"

But the people were silent and did not answer him with even a word, because it was the king's ^(F1)command: "Do not answer him."

Then ^(C1)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah ^(C2)with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.

^(C1)Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he ^(C2)tore his clothes, ^(C3)covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.

Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, ^(C1)covered with sackcloth, to ^(C2)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

And they said to him, "This is what Hezekiah says: 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.

'^(C1)Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^(C2)to taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for ^(C3)the remnant that is ^(F1)left.'"

So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

And Isaiah said to them, "This is what you shall say to your master: 'The LORD says this: "Do not be fearful because of the words that you have heard, with which the ^(C1)servants of the king of Assyria ^(C2)have blasphemed Me.

"Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that ^(C1)he will hear news and return to his own land. And ^(C2)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land."'"

Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^(C1)Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left ^(C2)Lachish.

When he heard them say about Tirhakah king of ^(F1)Cush, "Behold, he has come out to fight you," he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,

"This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of ^(F1)Judah: 'Do not ^(C1)let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, "^(C2)Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

'Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved?

'^(C1)Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: ^(C2)Gozan, ^(C3)Haran, Rezeph, and ^(C4)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?

'^(C1)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?'"

Then ^(C1)Hezekiah took the ^(F1)letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and ^(F2)spread it out before the LORD.

Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, "LORD, God of Israel, ^(F1)(C1)enthroned above the cherubim, ^(C2)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

"^(C1)Incline Your ear, LORD, and hear; ^(C2)open Your eyes, LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^(C3)to taunt the living God.

"It is true, LORD; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,

and have ^(F1)hurled their gods into the fire; ^(C1)for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.

"But now, LORD our God, please, save us from his hand, ^(C1)so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, ^(C2)LORD, are God."

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, ^(C1)I have heard you.'

"This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: 'She, ^(C1)the virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you; She, the daughter of Jerusalem, ^(C2)has shaken her head behind you!

-'Whom have you ^(C1)taunted and ^(C2)blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice, And ^(F1)haughtily raised your eyes? Against the ^(C3)Holy One of Israel!

-'^(C1)Through your messengers you have taunted the Lord, And you have said, "With my many chariots I went up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choicest junipers. And I entered its farthest resting place, its ^(C2)thickest forest.

-"I dug wells and drank foreign waters, And with the soles of my feet I ^(C1)dried up All the streams of Egypt."

'^(C1)Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; From ancient times I planned it. ^(C2)Now I have brought it about, That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.

-'Therefore their inhabitants were ^(F1)powerless, They were shattered and put to shame. They were ^(C1)like the vegetation of the field and the green grass, Like grass on the housetops that is scorched before it has grown.

-'But ^(C1)I know your sitting down, Your going out, your coming in, And your raging against Me.

-'Because of your raging against Me, And because your complacency has come up to My ears, I ^(C1)will put My hook in your nose, And My bridle in your lips, And ^(C2)I will turn you back by the way by which you came.

'Then this shall be ^(C1)the sign for you: ^(F1)you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

'^(C1)The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

'For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors ^(C1)out of Mount Zion. ^(C2)The zeal of ^(F1)the LORD will perform this.

'Therefore this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: "^(C1)He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it.

"^(C1)By the way that he came, by ^(F1)the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,"' declares the LORD.

'^(C1)For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and ^(C2)for My servant David's sake.'"

^(C1)Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of ^(F1)the 185,000 were ^(F2)dead.

So ^(C1)Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and ^(F1)returned home, and lived at ^(C2)Nineveh.

Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that ^(F1)(C1)Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to ^(C2)the land of Ararat. And his son ^(C3)Esarhaddon became king in his place.

^(C1)In those days Hezekiah became ^(F1)mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: '^(C2)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.'"

Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

"Please, LORD, just ^(C1)remember ^(C2)how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight!" And ^(C3)Hezekiah wept ^(F1)profusely.

And even before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

"Return and say to ^(C1)Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David says: "^(C2)I have heard your prayer, ^(C3)I have seen your tears; behold, I am going to heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.

"And I will add fifteen years to your ^(F1)life, and I will save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and ^(C1)I will protect this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake."'"

Then Isaiah said, "Take a cake of figs." And they took it and placed it on the inflamed spot, and he recovered.

Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?"

Isaiah said, "^(C1)This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will perform the word that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?"

So Hezekiah said, "It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps."

Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and ^(C1)He brought the shadow on the ^(F1)stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the ^(F1)stairway of Ahaz.

^(C1)At that time ^(F1)Berodach-baladan, a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

And Hezekiah listened to ^(F1)them, and showed them ^(C1)all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the ^(F2)scented oil, the house of his armor, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon."

Isaiah said, "What have they seen in your house?" So Hezekiah ^(F1)answered, "They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them."

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD:

'Behold, the days are coming when ^(C1)everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the LORD.

'And some ^(C1)of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away; and they will become ^(C2)officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is ^(C1)good." For he ^(F1)thought, "Is it not good, if there will be peace and ^(F2)security in my days?"

^(C1)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he ^(C2)constructed the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

^(C1)So Hezekiah ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.