The Divided Kingdom

And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father did,

he hath turned aside the high places, and broken in pieces the standing-pillars, and cut down the shrine, and beaten down the brazen serpent that Moses made, for unto these days were the sons of Israel making perfume to it, and he calleth it `a piece of brass.'

In Jehovah, God of Israel, he hath trusted, and after him there hath not been like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among any who were before him;

and he cleaveth to Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from after Him, and keepeth His commands that Jehovah commanded Moses.

And Jehovah hath been with him, in every place where he goeth out he acteth wisely, and he rebelleth against the king of Asshur, and hath not served him;

he hath smitten the Philistines unto Gaza, and its borders, from a tower of watchers unto the fenced city.

And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of king Hezekiah--it is the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel--come up hath Shalmaneser king of Asshur against Samaria, and layeth siege to it,

and they capture it at the end of three years; in the sixth year of Hezekiah--it is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel--hath Samaria been captureth,

and the king of Asshur removeth Israel to Asshur, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor by the river Gozan, and in cities of the Medes,

because that they have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah their God, and transgress His covenant--all that He commanded Moses, servant of Jehovah--yea, they have not hearkened nor done it .

And in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah hath Sennacherib king of Asshur come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and seizeth them,

and Hezekiah king of Judah sendeth unto the king of Asshur to Lachish, saying, `I have sinned, turn back from off me; that which thou puttest on me I bear;' and the king of Asshur layeth on Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold,

and Hezekiah giveth all the silver that is found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the house of the king;

at that time hath Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and the pillars that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and giveth them to the king of Asshur.

And the king of Asshur sendeth Tartan, and the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the butlers, from Lachish, unto king Hezekiah, with a heavy force, to Jerusalem, and they go up and come in to Jerusalem, and they go up, and come in and stand by the conduit of the upper pool that is in the highway of the fuller's field.

And they call unto the king, and go out unto them doth Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who is over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the remembrancer.

And the chief of the butlers saith unto them, `Say, I pray you, unto Hezekiah, Thus said the great king, the king of Asshur, What is this confidence in which thou hast confided?

Thou hast said: Only a word of the lips! counsel and might are for battle; now, on whom hast thou trusted that thou hast rebelled against me?

`Now, lo, thou hast trusted for thee on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; which a man leaneth on, and it hath gone into his hand, and pierced it! --so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting on him.

`And when ye say unto me, Unto Jehovah our God we have trusted, is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath turned aside, and saith to Judah and to Jerusalem, Before this altar do ye bow yourselves in Jerusalem?

`And, now, give a pledge for thee, I pray thee, to my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to give for thee riders on them.

And how dost thou turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, that thou dost trust for thee on Egypt for chariot, and for horsemen?

Now, without Jehovah have I come up against this place to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up against this land, and thou hast destroyed it.'

And Eliakim son of Hilkiah saith--and Shebna, and Joah--to the chief of the butlers, `Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants in Aramaean, for we are understanding, and do not speak with us in Jewish, in the ears of the people who are on the wall.'

And the chief of the butlers saith unto them, `For thy lord, and unto thee, hath my lord sent me to speak these words? is it not for the men, those sitting on the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water, with you?'