Hezekiah

ADONAI heard Hizkiyahu and healed the people.

Hizkiyahu spoke encouragingly to all the L'vi'im who were well skilled in the service of ADONAI. Thus they ate throughout the festival for the seven days, offering sacrifices of peace offerings and giving thanks to ADONAI, the God of their ancestors.

For Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah gave the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for offerings, while the leaders gave the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and great numbers of cohanim consecrated themselves.

Hizkiyahu re-established the divisions of the cohanim and L'vi'im in accordance with the way the divisions had been before, with each man assigned his task, both the cohanim and the L'vi'im, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks and to praise at the gates of ADONAI's camp.

When Hizkiyahu and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed ADONAI and his people Isra'el.

When Hizkiyahu asked the cohanim and L'vi'im about the heaps,

Then Hizkiyahu ordered storerooms prepared in the house of ADONAI. After preparing them,

Hizkiyahu the king and 'Azaryahu the ruler of the house of God appointed Yechi'el, 'Azazyahu, Nachat, 'Asah'el, Yerimot, Yozavad, Eli'el, Yismachyah, Machat and B'nayahu as supervisors to serve under Konanyah and Shim'i his brother.

This is what Hizkiyahu did throughout all Y'hudah. He accomplished things that were good, right and faithful before ADONAI his God.

When Hizkiyahu saw that Sancheriv had come and intended to attack Yerushalayim,

he has human strength, but we have ADONAI our God to help us and fight our battles!"The people took heart at the words of Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah.

After this, while Sancheriv and all his army were besieging Lakhish, he sent his envoys to Yerushalayim, to Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah and to all Y'hudah who were there in Yerushalayim, with this message:

Hasn't Hizkiyahu deluded you? Isn't he condemning you to death by starvation and thirst when he says, "ADONAI our God will save us from the king of Ashur"?

Isn't this the same Hizkiyahu who removed [your God's] high places and altars and ordered Y'hudah and Yerushalayim to worship before one altar and offer sacrifices only on it?

Don't let Hizkiyahu mislead you or delude you this way, don't believe him. For no god of any nation or kingdom has ever been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors; how much less will your God rescue you from me!'"

His envoys kept on speaking against ADONAI, God; and against his servant Hizkiyahu.

He also wrote a letter insulting ADONAI the God of Isra'el and speaking against him; it said, "Just as the gods of the nations of the other countries could not rescue their people from me, likewise Hizkiyahu's God will not rescue his people from me."

Because of this, Hizkiyahu the king and Yesha'yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz, prayed and cried out to heaven.

In this way ADONAI rescued Hizkiyahu and those living in Yerushalayim from Sancheriv the king of Ashur and from everyone, caring for them in every respect.

Many people brought gifts to ADONAI in Yerushalayim and items of value to Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah, so that from then on he was regarded highly by all the nations.

Around this time, Hizkiyahu became ill to the point of death. But he prayed to ADONAI, who answered him, even giving him a sign.

However, Hizkiyahu did not respond commensurately with the benefit done for him, because he had grown proud; thus he brought anger on himself and on Y'hudah and Yerushalayim as well.

But Hizkiyahu then humbled himself for his pride, both he and the people living in Yerushalayim, so that ADONAI's anger did not strike them during Hizkiyahu's lifetime.

Hizkiyahu had vast riches and great honor. He provided himself with storage places for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles;

It was this same Hizkiyahu who blocked the upper outlet of the Gichon Spring and diverted the water straight down on the west side of the City of David. Hizkiyahu succeeded in all that he did.