2 Kings 18

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.	1 In the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel: Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, reigned as king of Judah.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for twenty-nine years inJerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.	2 He was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah.
3 He did what Yahweh regards as right, just as his ancestor David had done.	3 And he did what was good before the Lord, in accord with all that his father David had done.
4 He abolished the high places, broke the pil ars, cut down the sacred poles and smashed the bronzeserpent which Moses had made; for up to that time the Israelites had offered sacrifices to it; it was cal edNehushtan.	4 He destroyed the high places, and he crushed the statues, and he cut down the sacred groves. And he broke apart the bronze serpent, which Moses had made. For even until that time, the sons of Israel were burning incense to it. And he called its name Nehushtan.
5 He put his trust in Yahweh, God of Israel. No king of Judah after him could be compared with him -- norany of those before him.	5 He hoped in the Lord, the God of Israel. And after him, there was no one similar to him, among all the kings of Judah, nor even among any of those who were before him.
6 He was devoted to Yahweh, never turning from him, but keeping the commandments which Yahwehhad laid down for Moses.	6 And he clung to the Lord, and he did not withdraw from his footsteps, and he carried out his commandments, which the Lord had instructed to Moses.
7 And so Yahweh was with him, and he was successful in al that he undertook. He rebelled against theking of Assyria and refused to serve him.	7 Therefore, the Lord was also with him. And he conducted himself wisely in all the things to which he went forth. Also, he rebelled against the king of the Assyrians, and he did not serve him.
8 He beat the Philistines back to Gaza, laying their territory waste from watchtower to fortified town.	8 He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza, and in all their borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
9 In the fourth year of Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel,Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched on Samaria and laid siege to it.	9 In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel: Shalmaneser, the king of the Assyrians, ascended to Samaria, and he fought against it,
10 He captured it after three years. Samaria fel in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year ofHoshea king of Israel.	10 and he seized it. For after three years, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Israel, Samaria was captured.
11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah on the Habor, a riverof Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.	11 And the king of the Assyrians took away Israel into Assyria. And he located them in Halah and in Habor, at the rivers of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.
12 This happened because they had not obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God and had broken hiscovenant, everything that Moses servant of Yahweh had laid down. They neither listened to it nor put it intopractice.	12 For they did not listen to the voice of the Lord, their God. Instead, they transgressed his covenant. All that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had instructed, they would neither hear, nor do.
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria advanced on al the fortifiedtowns of Judah and captured them.	13 In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, went up to all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them.
14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish, 'I have been atfault. Cal off the attack, and I wil submit to whatever you impose on me.' The king of Assyria exacted threehundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold from Hezekiah king of Judah,	14 Then Hezekiah, the king of Judah, sent messengers to the king of the Assyrians at Lachish, saying: “I have offended. Withdraw from me, and all that you will impose upon me, I will bear.” And so the king of the Assyrians levied a tax upon Hezekiah, the king of Judah, of three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
15 and Hezekiah gave him al the silver in the Temple of Yahweh and in the palace treasury.	15 And Hezekiah gave all the silver that had been found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king.
16 At which time, Hezekiah stripped the facing from the leaves and jambs of the doors of the Temple ofYahweh, which an earlier king of Judah had put on, and gave it to the king of Assyria.	16 At that time, Hezekiah broke apart the doors of the temple of the Lord, with the plates of gold which he had affixed to them. And he gave these to the king of the Assyrians.
17 From Lachish the king of Assyria sent the cupbearer-in-chief with a large force to King Hezekiah inJerusalem. He marched on Jerusalem and, on his arrival, took up position near the conduit of the upper poolwhich is on the road to the Ful er's Field.	17 Then the king of the Assyrians sent Tartan, and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh, from Lachish, to king Hezekiah, with a powerful hand, to Jerusalem. And when they had ascended, they arrived in Jerusalem, and they stood beside the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is along the way of the fuller’s field.
18 He summoned the king. The master of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah the secretary andthe herald Joah son of Asaph went out to him.	18 And they called for the king. But there went out to them Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, the first ruler of the house, and Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the keeper of records.
19 The cupbearer-in-chief said to them, 'Say to Hezekiah, "The great king, the king of Assyria, says this:What makes you so confident?	19 And Rabshakeh said to them: “Speak to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians: What is this faith, in which you strive?
20 Do you think empty words are as good as strategy and military strength? Who are you relying on, todare to rebel against me?	20 Perhaps, you have taken counsel, so that you would prepare yourself for battle. In whom do you trust, so that you would dare to rebel?
21 There you are, relying on that broken reed Egypt, which pricks and pierces the hand of whoever leanson it. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to al who rely on him.	21 Do you hope in Egypt, that staff of a broken reed, which, if a man would lean upon it, breaking, it would pierce his hand? Such is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who would trust in him.
22 You may say to me: We rely on Yahweh our God. But have his high places and altars not beensuppressed by Hezekiah who told Judah and Jerusalem: Here, in Jerusalem, is the altar before which you mustworship?	22 But if you say to me: ‘We have faith in the Lord, our God.’ Is it not he, whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away? And did he not instruct Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You shall adore before this altar in Jerusalem?’
23 Very well, then, make a wager with my lord the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses ifyou can find horsemen to ride them.	23 Now therefore, cross over to my lord, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give to you two thousand horses, and we will see if you even have enough riders for them.
24 How could you repel a single one of the least of my master's soldiers? And yet you have relied onEgypt for chariots and horsemen.	24 So how can you resist one prince from the least of my lord’s servants? Do you have faith in Egypt because of the chariots and horsemen?
25 And lastly, have I marched on this place to lay it waste without warrant from Yahweh? Yahwehhimself said to me: March on this country and lay it waste." '	25 Is it not by the will of the Lord that I have chosen to ascend to this place, so that I may destroy it? The Lord said to me: ‘Ascend to this land, and destroy it.’ ”
26 Eliakim, Shebnah and Joah said to the cupbearer-in-chief, 'Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,for we understand it; do not speak to us in the Judaean language within earshot of the people on the ramparts.'	26 Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh: “We beseech you, that you may speak to us, your servants, in Syriac. For we understand that language to some extent. And do not speak to us in the Jews’ language, in the hearing of the people, who are upon the wall.”
27 But the cupbearer-in-chief said, 'Do you think my lord sent me here to say these things to your masteror to you? On the contrary, it was to the people sitting on the ramparts who, like you, are doomed to eat theirown dung and drink their own urine.'	27 And Rabshakeh responded to them, saying: “Has my lord sent me to your lord and to you, so that I may speak these words, and not instead to the men who are sitting upon the wall, so that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own urine with you?”
28 The cupbearer-in-chief then drew himself up and shouted loudly in the Judaean language, 'Listen tothe word of the great king, the king of Assyria.	28 And so, Rabshakeh stood up, and he exclaimed in a great voice, in the Jews’ language, and he said: “Listen to the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians.
29 The king says this, "Do not let Hezekiah delude you. He wil be powerless to save you from myclutches.	29 Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah lead you astray. For he will not be able to rescue you from my hand.
30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on Yahweh by saying: Yahweh is sure to save us; this citywil not fal into the king of Assyria's clutches.	30 And do not let him give you faith in the Lord, saying: ‘The Lord will rescue and free us, and this city will not be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.’
31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says this: Make peace with me, surrender to me, andevery one of you wil be free to eat the fruit of his own vine and of his own fig tree and to drink the water of hisown storage-wel	31 Do not choose to listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of the Assyrians: Do with me what is for your own good, and come out to me. And each one of you will eat from his own vine, and from his own fig tree. And you shall drink water from your own wells,
32 until I come and take you away to a country like your own, a land of corn and good wine, a land ofbread and vineyards, a land of oil and honey: and so you wil survive and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah; he isdeluding you when he says: Yahweh wil save us.	32 until I arrive and transfer you into a land, similar to your own land, a fruitful and fertile land of wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olives and oil and honey. And you will live, and not die. Do not choose to listen to Hezekiah, who deceives you, saying: ‘The Lord will free us.’
33 Has any god of any nation been able to save his country from the king of Assyria's clutches?	33 Have any of the gods of the nations freed their land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivvah?Where are the local gods of Samaria? Did they save Samaria from my clutches?	34 Where is the god of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where is the god of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and of Avva? Have they freed Samaria from my hand?
35 Of al the local gods, which ones have saved their countries from my clutches, for Yahweh to be ableto save Jerusalem from my clutches?" '	35 Which ones among all the gods of the lands have rescued their region from my hand, so that the Lord would be able to rescue Jerusalem from my hand?”
36 The people, however, kept quiet and said nothing in reply, since the king had given the order, 'Youare not to answer him.'	36 But the people were silent, and they did not respond at all to him. For indeed, they had received an instruction from the king that they should not respond to him.
37 The master of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah the secretary and the herald Joah son ofAsaph, with their clothes torn, went to Hezekiah and reported what the cupbearer-in-chief had said.	37 And Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, the first ruler of the house, and Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the keeper of records, went to Hezekiah with their garments torn. And they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.