Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah

19 ^uAs soon as King Hezekiah heard it, ^the tore his clothes and ^vcovered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, ^vcovered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 ^wIt may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent ^xto mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for ^ythe remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which ^zthe servants of the king of Assyria have ^areviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that ^bhe shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him ^cfall by the sword in his own land.’”

Sennacherib Defies the Lord

8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against ^dLibnah, for he heard that the king had left ^eLachish. 9 ^fNow the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God ^gin whom you trust deceive you by promising that ^hJerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 ⁱHave the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, ^jGozan, ^kHaran, Rezeph, and the people of ^lEden who were in Telassar? 13 ^mWhere is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received ⁿthe letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, ^oenthroned above the cherubim, ^pyou are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 ^qIncline your ear, O Lord, and hear; ^ropen your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ^sto mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, ^tbut the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, ^uthat all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ^pyou, O Lord, are God alone.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria ^vI have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

29 “And this shall be ^mthe sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 ⁿAnd the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion ^oa band of survivors. ^pThe zeal of the Lord will do this.

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or ^qcast up a siege mound against it. 33 ^rBy the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 ^sFor I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake ^tand for the sake of my servant David.”

35 And that night ^uthe angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at ^vNineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, ^wAdrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

20 ^xIn those days ^yHezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^z‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, ^aplease remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and ^bwith a whole heart, ^cand have done what is good in your sight.” ^dAnd Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah ^ethe leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ^fI have heard your prayer; ^gI have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, ^hand I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be ⁱthe sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow ^jto lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, ^kand he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys

12 ^lAt that time ^mMerodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, ⁿsent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them ^oall his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when ^pall that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 ^qAnd some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, ^rand they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^s“The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”

20 ^tThe rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made ^uthe pool and the conduit ^vand brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 ^wAnd Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

21 ^xManasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^yaccording to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places ^zthat Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made ^aan Asherah, ^bas Ahab king of Israel had done, ^cand worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 ^dAnd he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^e“In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars ^cfor all the host of heaven in ^fthe two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 ^gAnd he burned his son as an offering¹ and ^hused fortune-telling and ⁱomens and dealt ^jwith mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of ^aAsherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, ^eand in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 ^kAnd I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Manasseh’s Idolatry Denounced

10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 ^l“Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things ^mmore evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, ⁿand has made Judah also to sin ^owith his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster² that the ears of everyone who hears of it ^pwill tingle. 13 ^qAnd I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

16 ^rMoreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin ^sthat he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

17 ^tNow the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 ^uAnd Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, ^vin the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place.

Amon Reigns in Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^was Manasseh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served ^xthe idols that his father served and worshiped them. 22 ^yHe abandoned the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. 24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb ^zin the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Josiah Reigns in Judah

22 ^aJosiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^bBozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, ^cand he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to ^dHilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money ^ethat has been brought into the house of the Lord, which ^fthe keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5 ^gAnd let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house 6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But ^hno accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found ⁱthe Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, ^jhe tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and ^kAhikam the son of Shaphan, and ^lAchbor the son of ^lMicaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is ^mthe wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ⁿTikvah, son of ⁿHarhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in ^othe Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 ^pBecause they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore ^mmy wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 ^qbecause your heart was penitent, and you ^rhumbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become ^sa desolation and ^ta curse, and you ^uhave torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and ^vyou shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

Josiah’s Reforms

23 ^wThen the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And ^xhe read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant ^ythat had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood ^zby the pillar and ^amade a covenant before the Lord, ^bto walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests ^cof the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for ^dBaal, for ^eAsherah, and for all the host of heaven. ^fHe burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations ^gand all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out ^hthe Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, ⁱand burned it at the brook Kidron ^jand beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves ^kof the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of ^lthe male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, ^mwhere the women wove hangings for ^hthe Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from ⁿGeba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. 9 ^oHowever, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled ^pTopheth, which is ^qin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^rthat no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to ^sMolech.¹ 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.² And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars ^ton the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars ^uthat Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces³ and cast the dust of them ^vinto the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of ^wthe mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for ^xAshtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for ^yChemosh the abomination of Moab, and for ^zMilcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the ^apillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.