God shall ye fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. 41 So these nations feared the LORD,

181

*

and served their graven images; their children likewise, and their children's children, as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.

Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz 2 king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: 'and' his mother's name was Abi the daugh3 ter of 'Zechariah'. And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his 4 father had done'. He removed the high places, and brake the 'pillars',' and cut down the Asherah: and he' brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it; and he called it Ne5 hushtan. He trusted in the LORD, 'the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were 6 before him. For he clave to the LORD, he departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. (7)°And the LORD was with him; whithersoever he went forth he prospered and he rebelled against. the king of Assyria, and served him (8 not. He smote the Philistines unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

9

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, 10 and besieged it. And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Is11) rael, Samaria was taken. And the king of Assyria 'carried' Israel away unto Assyria, and put them in Halah, and in Habor, on the river of Gozan, 12 and in the cities of the Medes: °because they obeyed not the voice of the

1 See 2 Chr. xxix. 1, 2.

2 Or, it was called

3 That is, A piece of brass.

VERSION OF 1611.-41 both.

13

LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, leven all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.

4Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced 14 cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and 15 thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah him all the silver that was found gave in the house of the LORD, and in the 16 treasures of the king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. 17 °And the king of Assyria sent "Tartan and "Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army unto Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the high way of the 18 fuller's field. And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the 19 son of Asaph the recorder. °And Rabshakeh said unto them, 'Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 20 Thou sayest, but they are but 10vain words, There is counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled' against 21 me? "Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt; 'whereon' if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it so is Pharaoh king of Egypt 22 unto all that trust on him. But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship 23 before this altar in Jerusalem? Now

11 the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and (12 shalt thou be delivered?

Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in 13 Telassar1? "Where is the king of

Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of 14 Hena, and Ivvah? And Hezekiah received the letter 'from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up 'unto' the house of the LORD, and spread it before the 15 LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD, 'the' God of Israel, Ithat 2sittest upon the Icherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and 16) earth. Incline' thine ear, 'O' LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, 'O' LORD, and see and hear the words of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent Of

17 him to reproach the living God.

a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their 18 lands, and have cast their gods into the fire for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed 19) them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save thou us, I beseech thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.

20

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Whereas' thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard (21 theel. This is the word that the

LORD hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken *22 her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of *23) Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said,

With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall 'cedars' thereof, and the choice "fir trees thereof: and I will enter into his farthest lodging place', the 24 forest of his fruitful field. I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I 'dry' (25) up all the rivers of "Egypt'. Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. 26 °Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. 27 °But I know thy sitting down', and thy going out, and thy coming in, and 28) thy raging against me. Because

of thy raging against me, and 'for that thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by 29 the way by which thou camest. And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year 'that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit' (30 thereof. And the remnant that is

escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear (31) fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem

shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape: the zeal of 10the LORD shall 'perform' 32 this. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor 33 cast a mount against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come 34 unto this city, saith the LORD. °For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

* 35

1And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went 'forth', and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand and when 'men' arose early in the morning, behold, they were all 36 dead corpses. So Sennacherib king

of Assyria departed, and went and (37 returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that 2Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of 'Ararat'. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. 201) In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou 2 shalt die, and not live. "Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed 3) unto the LORD, saying, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. 4 And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of the LORD 5 came to him, saying, Turn again, and say to Hezekiah the princel of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto 6 the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's 7 sake. And Isaiah said, Take a 'cakel of figs. And they took and laid it on 8 the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house of the LORD the third day? 9 And Isaiah said, This 'shall be the sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?

1 See 2 Chr. xxxii. 21.

10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a

light thing for the shadow to 'decline' ten steps: nay, but let the shadow 11 return backward ten steps!. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten 'steps' backward, by which it had gone down on the 'dial of Ahaz. 12 10 At that time 11Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah (13 had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his 12precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and 18the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that 14 Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far coun15 try, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that 'is' in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures 16 that I have not shewed them. And

Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the 17 word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be 18 left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace 19 of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, Is it not 'so, if peace and truth shall be 20 in my days? Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and 'the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Ju21 dah? 15 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

2 According to another reading, Adrammelech and Sharezer his 6 Or, leader sons and so in Is. xxxvii. 38.

3 See 2 Chr. xxxii. 24.

4 Or, out lof

10 See 2 Chr. xxxii. 31.

11 In Is. xxxix. 1, Merodach-baladan. 12 Or, spicery

13 Another reading is, all the house. 14 Or, jewels

15 See 2 Chr. xxxii. 33.

211)

1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem and his mother's name was 2 Hephzi-bah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the (3 children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made lan Asherah', as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host 4 of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD said, In 5 Jerusalem will I put my name. °And

he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the 6 LORD. And he made his son to pass through the fire, and 'practised augury, and used enchantments, and 2dealt with them that had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he wrought much 'evil' in the sight of the LORD, 7 to provoke him to anger. And he set the graven image of Asherah', that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I 8) put my name for ever: neither will I cause the feet of Israel 'to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses com9) manded them. But they hearkened not and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations, whom the LORD destroyed 10 before the children of Israel. "Ánd

the LORD spake by his servants the 11 prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah 12 also to sin with his idols: therefore

thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I 'bring' such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. 13 °And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish,

1 See 2 Chr. xxxiii. 1, &c.

Or, lappointed Heb. made.

wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will cast off the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil 15 to all their enemies; because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. 16 Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was 17 evil in the sight of the LORD. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of 18 Judah? And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

19

Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20)°And he did that which was evil in the

sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh 21 his father. And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, 22 and worshipped them: and he forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and walked not in the way 23 of the LORD. And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own 24 house. But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king 25 in his stead. Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chron26 icles of the kings of Judah? And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead. 221 4Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jedidah the daugh2 ter of Adaiah of Bozkath'. "And he did that which was right in the eyes! of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned

3 See 2 Chr. xxxiii. 20-25. 4 See 2 Chr. xxxiv. 1, &c.

- XXII. 1 Bos