Hezekiah

Achaz slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then Hizkiyahu his son took his place as king.

It was in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Isra'el, that Hizkiyahu the son of Achaz, king of Y'hudah, began his reign.

It was in the fourth year of King Hizkiyahu, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Isra'el, that Shalman'eser king of Ashur advanced against Shomron and laid siege to it.

At the end of three years they captured it - that is, Shomron was captured in the sixth year of Hizkiyahu, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Isra'el.

In the fourteenth year of King Hizkiyahu, Sancheriv king of Ashur advanced against all the fortified cities of Y'hudah and captured them.

Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah sent this message to the king of Ashur at Lakhish: "I have done wrong. If you will go away from me, I will pay whatever penalty you impose on me." The king of Ashur imposed on Hizkiyahu a penalty of ten tons of silver and a ton of gold.

Hizkiyahu gave him all the silver that could be found in the house of ADONAI and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

It was at that time that Hizkiyahu stripped the gold from the doors of the sanctuary of ADONAI and from the doorposts which Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah himself had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Ashur.

From Lakhish the king of Ashur sent Tartan, Rav-Saris and Rav-Shakeh to King Hizkiyahu in Yerushalayim with a large army. They advanced and came to Yerushalayim. Upon arrival, they came and positioned themselves by the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, which is by the road to the Launderers' Field.

Rav-Shakeh addressed them: "Tell Hizkiyahu: 'Here is what the great king, the king of Ashur, says: "What makes you so confident?

But if you tell me, 'We trust in ADONAI our God,' then isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hizkiyahu has removed, telling Y'hudah and Yerushalayim, 'You must worship before this altar in Yerushalayim'?

This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hizkiyahu deceive you, because he won't be able to save you from the power of the king of Ashur.

And don't let Hizkiyahu make you trust in ADONAI by saying, "ADONAI will surely save us; this city will not be given over to the king of Ashur."

Don't listen to Hizkiyahu.' For this is what the king of Ashur says: 'Make peace with me, surrender to me. Then every one of you can eat from his vine and fig tree and drink the water in his own cistern;

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land with grain and wine, a land with bread and vineyards, a land with olive trees and honey; so that you can live and not die. So don't listen to Hizkiyahu; he is only deluding you when he says, "ADONAI will save us."

Then Elyakim the son of Hilkiyah, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo'ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister went to Hizkiyahu with their clothes torn and reported to him what Rav-Shakeh had said.

On hearing it, King Hizkiyahu tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of ADONAI.

They said to him, "This is what Hizkiyahu says: 'Today is a day of trouble, rebuke and disgrace. Children are ready to be born, but there is no strength to bring them to birth.

When King Hizkiyahu's servants came to Yesha'yahu,

Then, on hearing it said that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia was on his way to fight him, the king of Ashur sent messengers to Hizkiyahu, telling them,

"This is what you are to say to Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah: 'Don't let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, "Yerushalayim will not be handed over to the power of the king of Ashur."

Hizkiyahu took the letter from the messengers' hands and read it. Then Hizkiyahu went up to the house of ADONAI and spread it out before ADONAI.

Hizkiyahu prayed as follows in the presence of ADONAI: "ADONAI God of Isra'el, who dwells above the k'ruvim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth.

Then Yesha'yahu the son of Amotz sent this message to Hizkiyahu: "ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'You prayed to me against Sancheriv king of Ashur, and I have heard you.'

Around this time, Hizkiyahu became ill to the point of death. Yesha'yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz, came and said to him, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not live.'"