2 Kings 18 – NIRV & CCBT

New International Reader’s Version

2 Kings 18:1-37

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.

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)

列王紀下 18:1-37

希西迦做猶大王

1以拉的兒子以色列何細亞執政第三年,猶大亞哈斯的兒子希西迦登基。 2他二十五歲登基,在耶路撒冷執政二十九年。他母親叫亞比雅18·2 「亞比雅」此處的希伯來文為亞比,是亞比雅的變體。,是撒迦利雅的女兒。 3希西迦效法他祖先大衛,做耶和華視為正的事。 4他拆除邱壇,砸碎神柱,砍倒亞舍拉神像,打碎摩西造的銅蛇,因為當時以色列人仍向銅蛇燒香,稱之為尼忽士旦18·4 「尼忽士旦」可能是「蛇」和「銅」的組合詞。5希西迦信靠以色列的上帝耶和華,在他前後的猶大諸王沒有一個可與他相比。 6他對耶和華忠心不渝,遵守耶和華頒給摩西的誡命。 7耶和華與他同在,他凡事順利。他反抗亞述王的統治,不再臣服於他。 8他擊敗非利士人,從他們的瞭望塔和堅城,一直打到迦薩及其四境。

9希西迦執政第四年,即以拉的兒子以色列何細亞執政第七年,亞述撒縵以色起兵攻打撒瑪利亞城,將城包圍。 10三年之後,就是希西迦執政第六年,以色列何細亞執政第九年,撒瑪利亞失陷。 11亞述王把以色列人擄到亞述,將他們安置在哈臘歌散哈博河一帶以及瑪代人的城邑裡。 12這都是因為以色列人沒有聽從他們的上帝耶和華,違背了祂的約,不遵行祂僕人摩西所吩咐的一切。

亞述人攻打耶路撒冷

13希西迦王執政第十四年,亞述西拿基立起兵攻取了猶大所有的堅城。 14希西迦王差遣使者去拉吉亞述王說:「我知罪了,求你退兵!我願意滿足你的任何要求。」亞述王向希西迦索要十噸銀子和一噸金子。 15希西迦將耶和華殿裡和王宮庫房裡的所有銀子都給了他, 16又刮下他包在耶和華殿門和門柱上的金子,一併送去。 17亞述王派他的元帥、都統和將軍從拉吉率領大軍到耶路撒冷希西迦。到了耶路撒冷後,他們駐紮在上池的水溝旁、通往漂布場的路上。 18他們要求見王。希勒迦的兒子宮廷總管以利亞敬、書記舍伯那亞薩的兒子史官約亞出來見他們。 19亞述的將軍說:「你們去告訴希西迦,偉大的亞述王說,『你憑什麼這樣自信呢? 20你所謂的戰略和軍力不過是空話。你究竟倚靠誰,竟敢背叛我? 21看啊,你所倚靠的埃及只不過是一根破裂的蘆葦,誰倚靠它,誰的手就會被刺傷。倚靠埃及王法老的下場都是這樣。』 22也許你會說,『我們倚靠我們的上帝耶和華。』希西迦不是拆除了祂的廟宇和祭壇,又吩咐猶大耶路撒冷的人要在耶路撒冷的祭壇前敬拜祂嗎? 23來,跟我主人亞述王打個賭,你若能找到兩千騎士,我就給你兩千匹馬! 24你們即使依靠埃及的戰車和騎兵,又怎能打敗我主人的一個最小的將領呢? 25更何況我來攻打、毀滅這地方不正是耶和華的意思嗎?耶和華吩咐我攻打、毀滅這地方。」

26以利亞敬舍伯那約亞亞述的將軍說:「求你用亞蘭語跟僕人們說話,我們都聽得懂。求你不要用希伯來語跟我們說話,免得城牆上的人聽見。」 27亞述的將軍卻說:「難道我主人派我來只對你們和你們的王說這些話嗎?不也是對城牆上的人說嗎?他們和你們一樣都要吃自己的糞,喝自己的尿。」 28於是,他站著用希伯來語大喊:「你們要聽偉大的亞述王的話。 29王說,『你們不要被希西迦欺騙,他不能從我手中救你們。 30不要聽希西迦的話去倚靠耶和華,說什麼耶和華必拯救你們,這城必不會落在亞述王手中。』 31不要聽希西迦的話。亞述王說,『你們要跟我講和,出來歸順我,你們就可以吃自己葡萄樹和無花果樹的果子,喝自己井裡的水。 32以後我會來領你們到一個地方,那裡和這裡一樣有五穀和新酒、餅和葡萄園。你們就可以存活,不至於死。希西迦說耶和華會拯救你們,不要聽信他的話。 33有哪個國家的神明曾經從亞述王手中救他的國家嗎? 34哈馬亞珥拔的神明在哪裡呢?西法瓦音希拿以瓦的神明又在哪裡呢?他們從我手中救出撒瑪利亞了嗎? 35這些國家的神明哪個從我手中救了自己的國家呢?難道耶和華能從我手中救耶路撒冷嗎?』」 36民眾默不作聲,因為希西迦曾吩咐他們不要答話。 37總管以利亞敬、書記舍伯那和史官約亞都撕裂衣服,去向希西迦稟告亞述的將軍說的話。