2 Chronicles 30:1

Hezekiah sent word to all Israel<cr>1</cr>  and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh,<cr>2</cr>  inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover<cr>3</cr>  to the Lord, the God of Israel.

The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate<cr>1</cr>  the Passover in the second month.

2 Chronicles 30:2

They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated<cr>1</cr>  themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 30:3

The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly.

2 Chronicles 30:4

They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan,<cr>1</cr>  calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.

2 Chronicles 30:5

At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:<pb/>“People of Israel, return to the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap>, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

2 Chronicles 30:6

Do not be like your parents<cr>1</cr>  and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful<cr>2</cr>  to the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap>, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror,<cr>3</cr>  as you see.

2 Chronicles 30:7

Do not be stiff-necked,<cr>1</cr>  as your ancestors were; submit to the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap>. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> your God, so that his fierce anger<cr>2</cr>  will turn away from you.

2 Chronicles 30:8

If you return<cr>1</cr>  to the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap>, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion<cr>2</cr>  by their captors and will return to this land, for the <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> your God is gracious and compassionate.<cr>3</cr>  He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

2 Chronicles 30:9

The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed<cr>1</cr>  them.

2 Chronicles 30:10

Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled<cr>1</cr>  themselves and went to Jerusalem.<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 30:11

Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity<cr>1</cr>  of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 30:12

A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread<cr>1</cr>  in the second month.

2 Chronicles 30:13

They removed the altars<cr>1</cr>  in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 30:14

They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated<cr>1</cr>  themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 30:15

Then they took up their regular positions<cr>1</cr>  as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites.

2 Chronicles 30:16

Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill<cr>1</cr>  the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs<ft>1</ft> to the Lord.

2 Chronicles 30:17

Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,<cr>1</cr>  yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone

2 Chronicles 30:18

who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”

2 Chronicles 30:19

And the Lord heard<cr>1</cr>  Hezekiah and healed<cr>2</cr>  the people.<cr>3</cr> 

2 Chronicles 30:20

The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread<cr>1</cr>  for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with resounding instruments dedicated to the Lord.<ft>1</ft>

2 Chronicles 30:21

Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord. For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised<ft>1</ft> the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

2 Chronicles 30:22

The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate<cr>1</cr>  the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully.

2 Chronicles 30:23

Hezekiah king of Judah provided<cr>1</cr>  a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves.

2 Chronicles 30:24

The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel<cr>1</cr> , including the foreigners who had come from Israel and also those who resided in Judah.

2 Chronicles 30:25

There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon<cr>1</cr>  son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 30:26

The priests and the Levites stood to bless<cr>1</cr>  the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

2 Chronicles 30:27

When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down<cr>1</cr>  the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.

2 Chronicles 31:1

2 Chronicles 31:2

Hezekiah<cr>1</cr>  assigned the priests and Levites to divisions<cr>2</cr> —each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister,<cr>3</cr>  to give thanks and to sing praises<cr>4</cr>  at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.<cr>5</cr> 

The king contributed<cr>1</cr>  from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord.<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 31:3

He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion<cr>1</cr>  due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 31:4

As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits<cr>1</cr>  of their grain, new wine,<cr>2</cr>  olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything.

2 Chronicles 31:5

The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe<cr>1</cr>  of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps.<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 31:6

They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 31:7

When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed<cr>1</cr>  his people Israel.

2 Chronicles 31:8

Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps;

2 Chronicles 31:9

and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok,<cr>1</cr>  answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 31:10

Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done.

2 Chronicles 31:11

Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Konaniah,<cr>1</cr>  a Levite, was the overseer in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank.

2 Chronicles 31:12

Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad,<cr>1</cr>  Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were assistants of Konaniah and Shimei his brother. All these served by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God.

2 Chronicles 31:13

Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts.

2 Chronicles 31:14

Eden,<cr>1</cr>  Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns<cr>2</cr>  of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.

2 Chronicles 31:15

In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records<cr>1</cr> —all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.

2 Chronicles 31:16

And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.

2 Chronicles 31:17

They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.

2 Chronicles 31:18

As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around their towns or in any other towns,<cr>1</cr>  men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites.

2 Chronicles 31:19

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful<cr>1</cr>  before the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 31:20

In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 31:21

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem<cr>1</cr> <cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:1

After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib<cr>1</cr>  king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:2

he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him.

2 Chronicles 32:3

They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs<cr>1</cr>  and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings<ft>1</ft> of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said.

2 Chronicles 32:4

Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall<cr>1</cr>  and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces<ft>1</ft><cr>2</cr>  of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons<cr>3</cr>  and shields.

2 Chronicles 32:5

He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words:

2 Chronicles 32:6

“Be strong and courageous.<cr>1</cr>  Do not be afraid or discouraged<cr>2</cr>  because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.<cr>3</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:7

With him is only the arm of flesh,<cr>1</cr>  but with us<cr>2</cr>  is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”<cr>3</cr>  And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

2 Chronicles 32:8

Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish,<cr>1</cr>  he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:<pb/>

2 Chronicles 32:9

“This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence,<cr>1</cr>  that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?

2 Chronicles 32:10

When Hezekiah says, ‘The <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,’ he is misleading<cr>1</cr>  you, to let you die of hunger and thirst.

2 Chronicles 32:11

Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar<cr>1</cr>  and burn sacrifices on it’?<pb/>

2 Chronicles 32:12

“Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand?<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:13

Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand?

2 Chronicles 32:14

Now do not let Hezekiah deceive<cr>1</cr>  you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver<cr>2</cr>  his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors.<cr>3</cr>  How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!”

2 Chronicles 32:15

Sennacherib’s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah.

2 Chronicles 32:16

The king also wrote letters<cr>1</cr>  ridiculing<cr>2</cr>  the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: “Just as the gods<cr>3</cr>  of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.”

2 Chronicles 32:17

Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city.

2 Chronicles 32:18

They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands.<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:19

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer<cr>1</cr>  to heaven about this.

2 Chronicles 32:20

And the Lord sent an angel,<cr>1</cr>  who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:21

So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them<ft>1</ft> on every side.

2 Chronicles 32:22

Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts<cr>1</cr>  for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.

2 Chronicles 32:23

Hezekiah’s Pride, Success and Death<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:24

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.<cr>1</cr> 

But Hezekiah’s heart was proud<cr>1</cr>  and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath<cr>2</cr>  was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 32:25

Then Hezekiah repented<cr>1</cr>  of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.<cr>2</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:26

Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor,<cr>1</cr>  and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables.

2 Chronicles 32:27

He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks.

2 Chronicles 32:28

He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.<cr>1</cr> 

2 Chronicles 32:29

It was Hezekiah who blocked<cr>1</cr>  the upper outlet of the Gihon<cr>2</cr>  spring and channeled<cr>3</cr>  the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.

2 Chronicles 32:30

But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon<cr>1</cr>  to ask him about the miraculous sign<cr>2</cr>  that had occurred in the land, God left him to test<cr>3</cr>  him and to know everything that was in his heart.

2 Chronicles 32:31

The other events of Hezekiah’s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chronicles 32:32

Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

2 Chronicles 32:33

 1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel   and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh,   inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover   to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate   the Passover in the second month. 3 They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated   themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. 4 The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly. 5 They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan,   calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written. 6 At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents   and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful   to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror,   as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked,   as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger   will turn away from you. 9 If you return   to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion   by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate.   He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” 10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people scorned and ridiculed   them. 11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled   themselves and went to Jerusalem.   12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity   of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord. 13 A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread   in the second month. 14 They removed the altars   in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.   15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated   themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. 16 Then they took up their regular positions   as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. 17 Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill   the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs  to the Lord. 18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,   yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” 20 And the Lord heard   Hezekiah and healed   the people.   21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread   for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with resounding instruments dedicated to the Lord.  22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord. For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised  the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 23 The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate   the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. 24 Hezekiah king of Judah provided   a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves. 25 The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel  , including the foreigners who had come from Israel and also those who resided in Judah. 26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon   son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless   the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place. 1 When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down   the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property. 2 Hezekiah   assigned the priests and Levites to divisions  —each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister,   to give thanks and to sing praises   at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.   3 The king contributed   from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord.   4 He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion   due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits   of their grain, new wine,   olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 6 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe   of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps.   7 They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.   8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed   his people Israel. 9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; 10 and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok,   answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”   11 Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Konaniah,   a Levite, was the overseer in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad,   Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were assistants of Konaniah and Shimei his brother. All these served by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God. 14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts. 15 Eden,   Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns   of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike. 16 In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records  —all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 17 And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 18 They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves. 19 As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around their towns or in any other towns,   men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites. 20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful   before the Lord his God. 21 In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.   1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib   king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,   3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs   and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings  of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. 5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall   and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces    of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons   and shields. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7 “Be strong and courageous.   Do not be afraid or discouraged   because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.   8 With him is only the arm of flesh,   but with us   is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”   And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said. 9 Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish,   he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:  10 “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence,   that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11 When Hezekiah says, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,’ he is misleading   you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar   and burn sacrifices on it’?  13 “Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand?   14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive   you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver   his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors.   How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!” 16 Sennacherib’s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king also wrote letters   ridiculing   the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: “Just as the gods   of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.” 18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands.   20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer   to heaven about this. 21 And the Lord sent an angel,   who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.   22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them  on every side. 23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts   for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations. 24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.   25 But Hezekiah’s heart was proud   and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath   was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented   of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.   27 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor,   and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. 28 He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29 He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.   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. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon   to ask him about the miraculous sign   that had occurred in the land, God left him to test   him and to know everything that was in his heart. 32 The other events of Hezekiah’s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

2 Chronicles 30-32 - NIV

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