32After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls.H310H1697H571H5576H4428H804H935H935H3063H2583H1219H5892H559H12342When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem,H3169H7200H5576H935H6440H4421H33893he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city.H3289H8269H1368H5640H4325H5869H2351H5892H58264They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, "Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?"H6908H7227H5971H6908H5640H4599H5158H7857H8432H776H559H4428H804H935H4672H7227H43255Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the supporting terraces in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields.H2388H1129H2346H6555H5927H4026H312H2346H2351H2388H4407H5892H1732H6213H7973H4043H72306He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying.H5414H8269H4421H5971H6908H7339H8179H5892H1696H3824H5597"Be strong and courageous! Don't be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!H2388H553H3372H2865H6440H4428H804H1995H72278He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!" Hezekiah's words greatly encouraged the people.H2220H1320H3068H430H5826H3898H4421H5971H5564H1697H3169H4428H30639While King Sennacherib of Assyria was still besieging the town of Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah and all the people in the city.H310H5576H4428H804H7971H5650H3389H3923H4475H3169H4428H3063H3063H3389H55910"This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege of Jerusalem?H559H5576H4428H804H982H3427H4692H338911Hezekiah has said, 'The LORD our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria.' Surely Hezekiah is misleading you, sentencing you to death by famine and thirst!H3169H5496H5414H4191H7458H6772H559H3068H430H5337H3709H4428H80412Don't you realize that Hezekiah is the very person who destroyed all the LORD's shrines and altars? He commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar at the Temple and to offer sacrifices on it alone.H3169H5493H1116H4196H559H3063H3389H559H7812H6440H259H4196H699913"Surely you must realize what I and the other kings of Assyria before me have done to all the people of the earth! Were any of the gods of those nations able to rescue their people from my power?H3045H1H6213H5971H776H430H1471H776H3201H3201H5337H776H302714Which of their gods was able to rescue its people from the destructive power of my predecessors? What makes you think your God can rescue you from me?H430H1471H1H2763H3201H5337H5971H3027H430H3201H5337H302715Don't let Hezekiah deceive you! Don't let him fool you like this! I say it again—no god of any nation or kingdom has ever yet been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!"H3808H2396H5377H5496H539H433H1471H4467H3201H5337H5971H3027H3027H1H430H5337H302716And Sennacherib's officers further mocked the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah, heaping insult upon insult.H5650H1696H3068H430H5650H316917The king also sent letters scorning the LORD, the God of Israel. He wrote, "Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail."H3789H5612H2778H3068H430H3478H559H559H430H1471H776H5337H5971H3027H430H3169H5337H5971H302718The Assyrian officials who brought the letters shouted this in Hebrew to the people gathered on the walls of the city, trying to terrify them so it would be easier to capture the city.H7121H1419H6963H3066H5971H3389H2346H3372H926H3920H589219These officers talked about the God of Jerusalem as though he were one of the pagan gods, made by human hands.H1696H5921H430H3389H430H5971H776H4639H3027H12020Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven.H3169H4428H5030H3470H1121H531H6419H2199H806421And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.H3068H7971H4397H3582H1368H2428H5057H8269H4264H4428H804H7725H1322H6440H776H935H1004H430H3329H4578H5307H271922That is how the LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land.H3068H3467H3169H3427H3389H3027H5576H4428H804H3027H5095H543923From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the LORD arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too.H7227H935H4503H3068H3389H4030H3169H4428H3063H5375H5869H1471H31024About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed to the LORD, who healed him and gave him a miraculous sign.H3117H3169H2470H4191H6419H3068H559H5414H415925But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the LORD's anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.H3169H7725H1576H3820H1361H7110H3063H338926Then Hezekiah humbled himself and repented of his pride, as did the people of Jerusalem. So the LORD's anger did not fall on them during Hezekiah's lifetime.H3169H3665H1363H3820H3427H3389H7110H3068H935H3117H316927Hezekiah was very wealthy and highly honored. He built special treasury buildings for his silver, gold, precious stones, and spices, and for his shields and other valuable items.H3169H3966H7235H6239H3519H6213H214H3701H2091H3368H68H1314H4043H2532H362728He also constructed many storehouses for his grain, new wine, and olive oil; and he made many stalls for his cattle and pens for his flocks of sheep and goats.H4543H8393H1715H8492H3323H723H929H220H573929He built many towns and acquired vast flocks and herds, for God had given him great wealth.H6213H5892H4735H6629H1241H7230H430H5414H7399H3966H722730He blocked up the upper spring of Gihon and brought the water down through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David. And so he succeeded in everything he did.H3169H5640H5945H4161H4325H1521H3474H4295H4628H5892H1732H3169H6743H463931However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart.H3651H3887H8269H894H7971H1875H4159H776H430H5800H5254H3045H382432The rest of the events in Hezekiah's reign and his acts of devotion are recorded in The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah Son of Amoz, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.H3499H1697H3169H2617H3789H2377H3470H5030H1121H531H5612H4428H3063H347833When Hezekiah died, he was buried in the upper area of the royal cemetery, and all Judah and Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became the next king.H3169H7901H1H6912H4608H6913H1121H1732H3063H3427H3389H6213H3519H4194H4519H1121H4427
33Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.H4519H8147H6240H8141H1121H4427H4427H2572H2568H8141H3389 2He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.H6213H7451H5869H3068H8441H1471H3068H3423H6440H1121H3478 3He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.H1129H7725H1116H3169H1H5422H6965H4196H1168H6213H842H7812H6635H8064H5647 4He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, "My name will remain in Jerusalem forever."H1129H4196H1004H3068H3068H559H3389H8034H5769 5He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD's Temple.H1129H4196H6635H8064H8147H2691H1004H3068 6Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger.H5674H1121H5674H784H1516H1121H2011H6049H5172H3784H6213H178H3049H6213H7235H7451H5869H3068H3707 7Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.H7760H6459H5566H6213H1004H430H430H559H1732H8010H1121H1004H3389H977H7626H3478H7760H8034H5865 8If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses—I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors."H3254H5493H7272H3478H5921H127H5975H1H518H8104H6213H6680H8451H2706H4941H3027H4872 9But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.H4519H8582H3063H3427H3389H8582H6213H7451H1471H3068H8045H6440H1121H3478 10The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings.H3068H1696H4519H5971H7181 11So the LORD sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.H3068H935H8269H6635H4428H804H3920H4519H2336H631H5178H3212H894 12But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.H6887H2470H3068H430H3665H3966H6440H430H1 13And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God!H6419H6279H8085H8467H7725H3389H4438H4519H3045H3068H430 14After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate, and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah.H310H1129H2346H2435H5892H1732H4628H1521H5158H935H1709H8179H5437H6077H1361H3966H7760H8269H2428H1219H5892H3063 15Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD's Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city.H5493H5236H430H5566H1004H3068H4196H1129H2022H1004H3068H3389H7993H2351H5892 16Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.H1129H4196H3068H2076H8002H2077H8426H559H3063H5647H3068H430H3478 17However, the people still sacrificed at the pagan shrines, though only to the LORD their God.H61H5971H2076H1116H3068H430 18The rest of the events of Manasseh's reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel.H3499H1697H4519H8605H430H1697H2374H1696H8034H3068H430H3478H1697H4428H3478 19Manasseh's prayer, the account of the way God answered him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The Record of the Seers. It includes a list of the locations where he built pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and repented.H8605H6279H2403H4604H4725H1129H1116H5975H842H6456H6440H3665H3789H1697H2374H2335 20When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon became the next king.H4519H7901H1H6912H1004H526H1121H4427 21Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years.H526H8147H6242H8141H1121H4427H4427H8147H8141H3389 22He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. He worshiped and sacrificed to all the idols his father had made.H6213H7451H5869H3068H6213H4519H1H526H2076H6456H4519H1H6213H5647 23But unlike his father, he did not humble himself before the LORD. Instead, Amon sinned even more.H3665H6440H3068H4519H1H3665H526H819H7235 24Then Amon's own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace.H5650H7194H4191H1004 25But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king.H5971H776H5221H7194H4428H526H5971H776H4427H2977H1121H4427
Dublin, OH
in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields.H2388
