Study Desk

After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib the king of Assyria came, and he came against Judah. And he encamped against the fortified cities and planned to break them down for himself.

When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that his face was set for battle against Jerusalem,

And he appointed commanders for battle over the people and gathered them to himself into the public square of the gate of the city. And he spoke to their hearts, saying,

"Be strong! Be courageous! Do not fear and do not be dismayed before the king of Assyria and before all the crowd that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you. Do not let him urge you according to this. Do not put trust in him, for no god of any nation and kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand and from the hand of my ancestors. Surely then your God will not save you from my hand!'"

And Hezekiah had very much wealth and honor, and he made storehouses for himself for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, small shields, and all sorts of desirable objects;

and storage buildings for the yield of grain, new wine, and olive oil; and animal stalls for all kinds of animals, and animals and herds for animal stalls.

And he made cities for himself, and livestock of sheep and abundant cattle, for God had given to him very abundant possessions.

And he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father broke down, and he set up altars for the Baals, made Asherahs, and bowed down to the host of heaven and served them.

Then afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of the Gihon in the valley, and for the entrance into the Gate of the Fishes. And it encircled the Ophel and raised it very high. Then he placed strong commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

And he destroyed before him the altars for the Baals, and he cut down the incense stands above them. And the Asherahs, the idols, and the images he smashed. And he ground them to powder and sprinkled the dust over the burial sites of those who sacrificed to them.

And they came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave the money that was brought for the house of God, which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had gathered from the hand of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the whole remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And they dispensed it to the skilled craftsmen and the builders to buy stone for hewing and timber for the seams and for binding the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed.

"Go! Seek Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words of the scroll that was found, for the anger of Yahweh that was poured out on us is great, because our ancestors have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do all that is written in this scroll."

But to the king of Judah who sent you to seek Yahweh, thus shall you say to him: ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: As for the words which you heard,

And stand in the sanctuary according to the clans of your families for your brothers, the lay people, and a part of the family of the Levites.

And slaughter the Passover lamb and consecrate yourself and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

Then Josiah provided for the lay people sheep, lambs, and young goats, all for the Passover for all who were found there, to the sum of thirty thousand, along with three thousand bulls. These were the possession of the king.

And they set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the clans of the families for the lay people, to offer to Yahweh according to what is written in the scroll of Moses. And thus they did with the bulls.

And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy with offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.