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ユダの王ヒゼキヤ
1-3ユダの新しい王、アハズの子ヒゼキヤは、イスラエルの王ホセアの第三年に、二十五歳で即位し、エルサレムで二十九年間治めました。母はゼカリヤの娘アビ。その治世は先祖ダビデと同じように良いものでした。
4ヒゼキヤ王は高台の礼拝所を取り除き、石の柱を壊し、忌まわしいアシェラ像を切り倒しました。また、人々が香をたいて祈るようになっていた、モーセの作った青銅の蛇を粉々にしました。それは王が指摘したとおり、元をただせば、ただの青銅にすぎなかったのです。 5王はイスラエルの神、主に心から信頼していました。あとにも先にも、ヒゼキヤのような王はいませんでした。 6すべての点で主に従い、主がモーセに授けられた命令を注意深く守りました。 7主は彼とともにいて、彼のすることをみな祝福しました。彼はアッシリヤの王に刃向かい、貢ぎ物を納めることをやめました。 8また、ガザとその周辺までペリシテ人の領土を占領し、大小の町々を攻撃しました。
9アッシリヤ王のシャルマヌエセルがイスラエルのサマリヤの町を包囲したのは、イスラエルの王ホセアの第七年、ヒゼキヤ王の第四年のことでした。 10三年後、サマリヤは陥落しました。 11その時、アッシリヤの王はイスラエル人を捕虜としてアッシリヤに移し、ハラフの町、ゴザンのハボル川のほとり、メディヤの町々に住まわせました。 12そうなったのは、彼らが彼らの神、主に聞き従わず、その命令を守らなかったからです。それどころか、彼らは主との契約を踏みにじり、主のしもべモーセが与えたすべてのおきてに背いたのです。
セナケリブの攻撃と脅迫
13そののち、ヒゼキヤ王の第十四年に、アッシリヤの王セナケリブがユダの要塞化された町々を残らず占領しました。 14ヒゼキヤは、ラキシュにいるアッシリヤ王のもとに使者を送って、和平を求めました。「私が間違っておりました。わが国から引き揚げてくださるなら、お望みどおりの賠償金を支払います。」アッシリヤの王の要求は銀三百タラントと金三十タラントでした。 15ヒゼキヤ王は、神殿と宮殿の宝物倉にある銀を全部、この賠償金にあてました。 16足りない分は神殿の扉と柱の金箔をはぎ取ってまで、アッシリヤの王に渡しました。
17ところがアッシリヤの王は、前線の将軍、主計長、参謀長に大軍をつけてエルサレムに送ったのです。彼らは、布さらしの野（城外にあった、布をさらす職人たちの作業場）に面した大路に沿って、上の池の水道のそばに宿営しました。 18三人は、ヒゼキヤ王とじきじきに話し合うことを望みましたが、ヒゼキヤは自分の代わりに、宮内長官エルヤキム、書記官シェブナ、補佐官ヨアフを休戦交渉の代表に立てました。
19アッシリヤの将軍ラブ・シャケは彼らに言いました。「ヒゼキヤ王に伝えよ。アッシリヤの大王の仰せだ。『私の手からおまえを助け出せる者はいない。 20-21外国の口先だけの援助を当てにして私に反逆するとは、もってのほかだ。同盟国の中で、どの国が実際にその約束を果たしてくれようか。エジプトか？ エジプトなど頼りになるものか。エジプトは葦の杖にすぎず、おまえの重みで折れ曲がり、おまえの手を突き刺すことになるだろう。エジプトのファラオは少しも当てにならない。 22それともおまえたちは、「きっと主が助けてくださる」とでも言うのか。だとしたら忘れるな。それは、おまえが取り除いた高台の祭壇の神々である。主とやらをエルサレムの祭壇で拝めと命じているとは、あきれ果てたものだ。』 23どうしたらよいか教えてやろう。わが主君アッシリヤの王と賭けをするがいい。そちらが馬に乗れる者二千人を用意するなら、こちらで二千頭の馬を出そう。 24おまえたちの小さな軍隊では、わが主君の軍隊の最小部隊を指揮する最下位の将校さえ、脅かすことはできまい。たとえエジプトが馬や戦車を出してくれたとしても、それが何の助けになるのか。 25思い違いをするな！ われわれの野心からここに来たのではない。主がわれわれを送り、『攻め上ってこの民を滅ぼせ』と言われたのだ。」
26エルヤキムとシェブナ、ヨアフは、たまりかねて口をはさみました。「私たちにはアラム語がわかりますから、どうかアラム語で話してください。城壁の上にいる民が聞いているので、ヘブル語は使わないでください。」
27しかし、ラブ・シャケは平然と答えました。「わが主君がわざわざ私をよこしたのは、おまえたちやおまえたちの主君とだけ話すためではない。城壁の上にいる民にも話しかけるためなのだ。彼らもおまえたちといっしょに、自分の糞を食べ、自分の尿を飲むようになるからだ。」
28こう言い捨てると、彼は城壁の上にいる者たちに大声で呼びかけました。「アッシリヤの大王の仰せを聞け！ 29『ヒゼキヤにだまされるな。彼はおまえたちを、私の手から救い出せない。 30主がわれわれを救い出してくれるとか言っているそうだが、決してだまされてはならない。 31-32ヒゼキヤの言うことなど聞かずに、降伏せよ！ そうすれば、自分の国で平和に暮らせるのだ。そのうち、この国と同じように穀物とぶどう酒がたくさんでき、オリーブの木とみつに恵まれた、新しい地に連れて行ってやろう。それが助かる唯一の道だ。いくらヒゼキヤが、主が救い出してくれると言っても、そんなたわごとに耳を貸すな。 33アッシリヤの王の手から国を救った神々がいたか。 34ハマテ、アルパデ、セファルワイム、ヘナ、イワの神々は、サマリヤを助けたか。 35どこの神が、私の手から国を救えたか。いったい何を根拠に、主はエルサレムを救えるなどと考えているのだ。』」
36城壁の上の者たちはヒゼキヤ王の命令どおり、黙って、何も答えませんでした。 37ヒルキヤの子で宮内長官のエルヤキム、書記官シェブナ、アサフの子で補佐官のヨアフは、自分たちの衣を裂いてヒゼキヤ王のもとに行き、アッシリヤの将軍ラブ・シャケが言ったことを報告しました。
Hezekiah King of Judah
1Hezekiah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the third year that Hoshea was king of Israel. He was the son of Elah. Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz. 2Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah. 3Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as King David had done. 4Hezekiah removed the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made. Up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. They called it Nehushtan.
5Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like Hezekiah among all the kings of Judah. There was no king like him either before him or after him. 6Hezekiah remained faithful to the Lord. He didn’t stop serving him. He obeyed the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7The Lord was with Hezekiah. Because of that, Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He refused to remain under the control of the king of Assyria. He didn’t serve him. 8He won the war against the Philistines. He won battles at their lookout towers. He won battles at their cities that had high walls around them. He won battles against the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its territory.
9Shalmaneser marched to Samaria and surrounded it. It was in the fourth year of King Hezekiah. That was the seventh year of Hoshea, the king of Israel. Hoshea was the son of Elah. Shalmaneser was king of Assyria. 10At the end of three years the army of Assyria captured Samaria. That happened in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s rule. It was the ninth year of the rule of Hoshea, the king of Israel. 11The king of Assyria took the people of Israel away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria. He made some of them live in Halah. He made others live in Gozan on the Habor River. And he made others live in the towns of the Medes. 12These things happened because the Israelites hadn’t obeyed the Lord their God. They had broken the covenant he had made with them. They had refused to do everything Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. They hadn’t paid any attention to those commands. They hadn’t obeyed them.
13Sennacherib attacked and captured all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria. 14Hezekiah, the king of Judah, sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. Hezekiah said, “I have done what is wrong. Pull your troops back from me. Then I’ll pay you anything you ask me to.” The king of Assyria forced Hezekiah, the king of Judah, to give him 11 tons of silver. Hezekiah also had to give him one ton of gold. 15So Hezekiah gave him all the silver in the Lord’s temple. He also gave him all the silver among the treasures in the royal palace.
16Hezekiah, the king of Judah, had covered the doors and doorposts of the Lord’s temple with gold. But now he had to strip it off. He had to give it to the king of Assyria.
Sennacherib Warns Jerusalem
17The king of Assyria sent his highest commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He also sent his chief officer and his field commander along with a large army. All of them came up to Jerusalem. They stopped at the channel that brings water from the Upper Pool. The channel was on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 18The Assyrians called for King Hezekiah. Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to them. Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was in charge of the palace. Shebna was the secretary. Joah, the son of Asaph, kept the records.
19The field commander said to them, “Give Hezekiah this message. Tell him,
“ ‘Sennacherib is the great king of Assyria. He says, “Why are you putting your faith in what your king says? 20You say you have a military plan. You say you have a strong army. But your words don’t mean anything. Who are you depending on? Why don’t you want to stay under my control? 21Look, I know you are depending on Egypt. Why are you doing that? Egypt is nothing but a broken papyrus stem. Try leaning on it. It will only cut your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who depends on him. 22But suppose you say to me, ‘We are depending on the Lord our God.’ Didn’t Hezekiah remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at the altar in Jerusalem’?
23“ ‘ “Go ahead and make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses. But only if you can put riders on them! 24You are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen. You can’t drive away even the least important officer among my master’s officials. 25Besides, do you think I’ve come without receiving a message from the Lord? Have I come to attack and destroy this place without a message from him? The Lord himself told me to march out against your country. He told me to destroy it.” ’ ”
26Then Shebna, Joah and Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, spoke to the field commander. They said, “Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew. If you do, the people sitting on the city wall will be able to understand you.”
27But the commander replied, “My master sent me to say these things. Are these words only for your master and you to hear? Aren’t they also for the people sitting on the wall? They are going to suffer just like you. They’ll have to eat their own waste. They’ll have to drink their own urine.”
28Then the commander stood up and spoke in the Hebrew language. He called out, “Pay attention to what the great king of Assyria is telling you. 29He says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah trick you. He can’t save you from my power. 30Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord. Don’t believe him when he says, “You can be sure that the Lord will save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ’
31“Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make a peace treaty with me. Come over to my side. Then each one of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree. Each one of you will drink water from your own well. 32You will do that until I come back. Then I’ll take you to a land just like yours. It’s a land that has a lot of grain and fresh wine. It has plenty of bread and vineyards. It has olive trees and honey. So choose life! Don’t choose death!’
“Don’t pay any attention to Hezekiah. He’s telling you a lie when he says, ‘The Lord will save us.’ 33Has the god of any nation ever saved his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my power? 35Which one of all the gods of those countries has been able to save his land from me? So how can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power?”
36But the people remained silent. They didn’t say anything. That’s because King Hezekiah had commanded, “Don’t answer him.”
37Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, went to Hezekiah. Eliakim was in charge of the palace. Shebna the secretary went with him. So did Joah, the son of Asaph. Joah kept the records. All of them went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn. They told him what the field commander had said.
