1 After these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and marched into Judah. He laid siege to the fortress cities, meaning to break through and take them for himself.
2 Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and was set on making war against Jerusalem,
3 so he decided with his officials and warriors to block the water of the springs outside the city, and they supported him.
4 A large force of people gathered and blocked all the springs and the stream that ran through the land. "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?" they said.
5 He worked hard to rebuild all the broken sections of the wall, raised towers on it, and built a second wall outside it. He reinforced the Millo in the City of David and made a large number of weapons and shields.
6 He put military commanders over the people, gathered them before him in the square at the city gate, and spoke to their hearts:
7 "Be strong and brave. Do not fear or lose heart before the king of Assyria and the great horde with him, for there are more on our side than on his.
8 He has only an arm of flesh, but we have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
9 After this, while Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were at Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah king of Judah and all the people of Judah in Jerusalem, with this message:
10 "This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: 'What are you relying on, that you stay in Jerusalem under siege?
11 Hezekiah is deceiving you, is he not, to let you die of hunger and thirst, when he tells you, "The LORD our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria"?
12 Is this not the same Hezekiah who removed the LORD's high places and altars and told Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before a single altar and burn incense on it"?
13 Are you not aware of what I and my fathers did to all the peoples of other lands? Could the gods of those nations rescue their lands from me at all?
14 Which of all the gods of the nations my fathers devoted to destruction could rescue his people from me? How then can your God rescue you from me?
15 So do not let Hezekiah fool you or lead you astray like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from me or my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from me!'"
16 Sennacherib's servants said even more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah.
17 He also wrote letters ridiculing the LORD God of Israel and speaking against him: "Just as the gods of the nations of other lands did not rescue their people from me, so Hezekiah's God will not rescue his people from me."
18 They shouted loudly in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem on the wall, to frighten and alarm them so they could take the city.
19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as if he were one of the gods of the peoples of the earth, made by human hands.
20 King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven.
21 The LORD sent an angel who wiped out every strong warrior, leader, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib went home disgraced. When he entered the temple of his god, some of his own offspring cut him down there with the sword.
22 So the LORD rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from Sennacherib king of Assyria and from everyone else, and guided them on every side.
23 Many brought offerings to the LORD in Jerusalem and valuable gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah, and from then on he was held in high regard by all the nations.
24 In those days Hezekiah fell ill and was near death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a sign.
25 But Hezekiah did not respond in keeping with the kindness shown him, because his heart grew proud; so wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.
26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the people of Jerusalem, and the LORD's wrath did not come on them during Hezekiah's days.
27 Hezekiah had great wealth and honor. He made treasuries for his silver and gold, his precious stones, spices, shields, and all sorts of valuable objects;
28 storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock and pens for the flocks.
29 He built cities for himself and acquired large numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him a great deal of property.
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he undertook.
31 But in the case of the envoys from the rulers of Babylon, who had been sent to him to ask about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, to know everything that was in his heart.
32 The rest of Hezekiah's deeds and his good deeds are recorded in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
33 Hezekiah lay down with his fathers, and they buried him on the upper level of the tombs of David's descendants. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king after him.