Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field, 3Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.
4The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:
“ ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 5You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 6Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 7But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?
8“ ‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! 9How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen36:9 Or charioteers? 10Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’ ”
11Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
12But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
13Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! 15Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
16“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, 17until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18“Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 20Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
21But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”
22Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.
Sanaherib Hunahuna Yerusalem
1Ɔhene Hesekia adedie mfeɛ dunan so no, Asiriahene Sanaherib bɛto hyɛɛ Yuda nkuropɔn a wɔabɔ ho ban no so dii so. 2Afei, Asiriahene somaa nʼananmusifoɔ firi Lakis a akodɔm kɛseɛ ka ne ho kɔhyiaa Ɔhene Hesekia wɔ Yerusalem. Ɛberɛ a ɔsahene no bɛgyinaa nsudorobɛn bi a ɛfiri Atifi Tadeɛ de kɔ Ntomasifoɔ Atenaeɛ hɔ no, 3Hilkia babarima Eliakim a na ɔhwɛ ahemfie no ntotoeɛ so ne Sebna a na ɔyɛ ɔtwerɛfoɔ ne Asaf babarima Yoa a na ɔno nso yɛ ɔtwerɛfoɔ kɔhyiaa no.
4Na ɔsahene no ka kyerɛɛ wɔn sɛ, “Monka nkyerɛ Hesekia sɛ,
“ ‘Asɛm a otumfoɔ Asiriahene ka nie: Ɛdeɛn na wode wo ho to so a ɛma wogye wo ho di saa? 5Woka sɛ wowɔ akodie ho nyansa ne nʼahoɔden, nanso woka nsɛm hunu. Hwan na ɔtaa wʼakyi a enti wote mʼanim atua? 6Misraim anaa? Sɛ wotwere Misraim a, wobɛhunu sɛ, ɛte sɛ abaa a wo mu duru bɛbu no, na awɔ wo ahwire wo nsam. Misraim Farao mpo mu nni ahotosoɔ korakora. 7Na sɛ moka kyerɛ me sɛ, “Yɛde yɛn ho ato Awurade yɛn Onyankopɔn so” a, ɛnyɛ ɔno na Hesekia yiyii nʼasɔreɛ ne nʼafɔrebukyia na ɔka kyerɛɛ Yuda ne Yerusalem sɛ, “Ɛsɛ sɛ mosɔre wɔ saa afɔrebukyia yi anim no” anaa?
8“ ‘Mɛka asɛm bi akyerɛ wo! Me wura Asiriahene ne wo bɛyɛ nhyehyɛeɛ bi. Sɛ wobɛnya apɔnkɔsotefoɔ mpenu, afiri wʼasraadɔm mu a, ɔbɛma wɔn apɔnkɔ mpenu ama wɔatenatena wɔn so. 9Na wʼasraadɔm ketewa sɛɛ yi, ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na woaso daeɛ sɛ wobɛtumi ne me wura akodɔm no mu fa bi a wɔyɛ mmerɛ mpo adi asie. Menim sɛ wode wo ho ato Misraim nteaseɛnam ne apɔnkɔsotefoɔ mmoa so. 10Bio, wogye di sɛ, maba sɛ merebɛto ahyɛ asase yi so asɛe no kwa a Awurade nsa nni mu? Awurade ankasa ka kyerɛɛ me sɛ, menkɔko ntia saa asase yi na mensɛe no.’ ”
11Na Eliakim, Sebna ne Yoa ka kyerɛɛ ɔsahene no sɛ, “Yɛsrɛ mo, monka Arameike kasa nkyerɛ mo asomfoɔ, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛte aseɛ yie. Monnka Hebri36.11 Hebri kasa yɛɛ kasa a na wɔde di nkutaho saa berɛ no. Ɛfiri 5 AWK no, Hebri kasa bɛyɛɛ Yudafoɔ kasa. na nnipa a wɔwɔ ɔfasuo no so no bɛte aseɛ.”
12Na ɔsahene no buaa sɛ, “Me wura pɛ sɛ obiara a ɔwɔ Yerusalem te saa asɛm yi, na ɛnyɛ mo nko. Ɔpɛ sɛ wɔte sɛ, sɛ moamma mo nsa so a, wɔbɛtua kuropɔn yi. Ɛkɔm ne sukɔm werɛmfoɔ bɛde nkurɔfoɔ no ara kɔsi sɛ, wɔbɛdi wɔn ara agyanan, anom wɔn dwonsɔ.”
13Afei, ɔsahene no sɔre gyina kasaa Hebri mu sɛ, “Montie saa nkra yi a ɛfiri ɔhempɔn, Asiriahene no nkyɛn! 14Sɛdeɛ ɔhene no seɛ nie: Mommma Hesekia nnaadaa mo. Ɔrentumi nye mo! 15Mommma Hesekia mfa saa asɛm a ɔkaa no sɛ, ‘Awurade bɛgye yɛn! Wɔremfa saa kuro yi mma Asiriahene’ no, mma mo tirim nyɛ mo dɛ.
16“Monntie Hesekia. Yeinom ne nhyehyɛeɛ a Asiriahene reyɛ. Mo ne me nni no asomdwoeɛ so. Mommue apono no, na mompue mmra. Na mɛma mo mu biara ɛkwan, na moatoa so adidi afiri mo bobe ne borɔdɔma mfikyifuo mu, anom nsuo afiri mo ara mo abura mu, 17kɔsi sɛ mɛba abɛfa mo akɔ asase a ɛte sɛ mo deɛ yi so, ayuo ne nsã foforɔ asase, aduane ne bobe mfuo asase.
18“Mommma Hesekia nka sɛ, ‘Awurade bɛgye yɛn,’ mfa nnaadaa mo. Ɔman bi so nyame atumi agye ne ɔman afiri Asiriahene nsam pɛn anaa? 19Ɛhe na Hamat ne Arpad anyame no wɔ? Na Sefarwaim anyame no nso wɔ he? Wɔagye Samaria afiri me nsam anaa? 20Ɔman bɛn so nyame na watumi agye ne manfoɔ afiri me tumi ase? Na afei ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na Awurade bɛtumi agye Yerusalem afiri me nsam?”
21Na nnipa no yɛɛ komm a wɔamma mmuaeɛ biara, ɛfiri sɛ, na Hesekia aka akyerɛ wɔn sɛ wɔnnkasa.
22Afei, Hilkia babarima Eliakim a na ɔhwɛ ahemfie no ntotoeɛ so ne Sebna a na ɔyɛ ɔtwerɛfoɔ ne Asaf babarima Yoa a ɔno nso yɛ ɔtwerɛfoɔ kɔɔ Hesekia nkyɛn a wɔasunsuane wɔn ntadeɛ mu, kɔkaa deɛ ɔsahene no aka kyerɛɛ no.
