Study Desk

After this ^(l)Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was ^[g]besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying,

"Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting that you are remaining in Jerusalem under siege?

Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, "The Lord our God will deliver us from the ^[h]hand of the king of Assyria"?

^(m)Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and ^[i]Jerusalem, "You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall ^[j]burn incense"?

Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? ⁽ⁿ⁾Were the gods of the nations of the lands able at all to deliver their land from my hand?

^(o)Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand?

Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for ^(p)no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?'"

His servants spoke further against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah.

He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, "^(q)As the gods of the nations of the lands ^[k]have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand."

^(r)They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city.

They spoke ^[l]of the God of Jerusalem as of ^(s)the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of men's hands.

But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven.

And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^[m]in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword.

So the Lord ^(t)saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and ^[n]guided them on every side.

And ^(u)many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that ^(v)he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

^(w)In those days Hezekiah became ^[o]mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord , and ^[p]the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign.