2 Kings · Catholic Public Domain Version
2 Kings 18 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
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.
1 Now in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
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.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah.
3 And he did what was good before the Lord, in accord with all that his father David had done.
3 He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, according to all that David his father had done.
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.
4 He removed the high places, broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because in those days the children of Israel burned incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan.
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.
5 He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that after him was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him.
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.
6 For he joined with Yahweh. He didn’t depart from following him, but kept his commandments, which Yahweh commanded Moses.
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.
7 Yahweh was with him. Wherever he went, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria, and didn’t serve him.
8 He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza, and in all their borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
8 He struck the Philistines to Gaza and its borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
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,
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it.
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.
10 At the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.
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.
11 The king of Assyria carried Israel away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,
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.
12 because they didn’t obey Yahweh their God’s voice, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded, and would not hear it or do it.
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.
13 Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
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.
14 Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have offended you. Withdraw from me. That which you put on me, I will bear.” The king of Assyria appointed to Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
15 And Hezekiah gave all the silver that had been found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king.
15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in Yahweh’s house and in the treasures of the king’s house.
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.
16 At that time, Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of Yahweh’s temple, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
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.
17 The king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. They went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
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.
18 When they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came out to them.
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?
19 Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says, “What confidence is this in which you trust?
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?
20 You say (but they are but vain words), ‘There is counsel and strength for war.’ Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?
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.
21 Now, behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt. If a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust on him.
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?’
22 But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ isn’t that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?
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.
23 Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
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?
24 How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
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.’ ”
25 Have I now come up without Yahweh against this place to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”’”
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.”
26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Jews’ language, in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
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?”
27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you, to speak these words? Hasn’t he sent me to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own urine with you?”
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.
28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
29 Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah lead you astray. For he will not be able to rescue you from my hand.
29 The king says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand.
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.’
30 Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
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,
31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah.’ For the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone of you eat from his own vine, and everyone from his own fig tree, and everyone drink water from his own cistern;
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.’
32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and of honey, that you may live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he persuades you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.”
33 Have any of the gods of the nations freed their land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
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?
34 Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
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?”
35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
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.
36 But the people stayed quiet, and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Don’t answer him.”
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.
37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him Rabshakeh’s words.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abi
Daughter of Zechariah and mother of King Hezekiah of Judah.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:2; 2 Chronicles 29:1
Asaph
Named as the father of Joah, Hezekiah's recorder.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:37; Isaiah 36:3
Elah
Named as the father of Hoshea, the last king of Israel.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 15:30; 2 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 18:1
Eliakim
Son of Hilkiah and palace administrator, who with Shebnah and Joah met the Rabshakeh and carried his words to Hezekiah with torn clothes.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:26; 2 Kings 18:37
Hezekiah
A great reformer who trusted God and saw Jerusalem delivered from Assyria.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chron. 29-32; Isa. 36-39; Matt. 1:9-10
Hilkiah
Named as the father of Eliakim, Hezekiah's palace administrator.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:26; 2 Kings 18:37
Joah
Son of Asaph and recorder, who with Eliakim and Shebnah met the Rabshakeh.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:26; 2 Kings 18:37
Rabshakeh
The Assyrian official who, with a great army from Lachish, taunted Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem in Hebrew and urged them not to trust the LORD.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:17; 2 Kings 18:19; 2 Kings 18:28
Sennacherib
King of Assyria who captured Judah's fortified cities in Hezekiah's fourteenth year, sent the Rabshakeh against Jerusalem, lost 185,000 men to the angel of the LORD, and was…
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:13; 2 Kings 19:16; 2 Kings 19:20
Shalmaneser
King of Assyria who attacked Hoshea, made him a vassal, and besieged Samaria for three years until it fell.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 17:3; 2 Kings 18:9
Shebnah
The scribe who with Eliakim and Joah met the Rabshakeh and was sent with the leading priests to the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 22:15 rebukes Shebna as steward over the palace.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:37; 2 Kings 19:2
Zechariah
Named as the father of Abi, the mother of King Hezekiah.
Cited in the guide: 2 Kings 18:2; 2 Chronicles 29:1
Cross references (37)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Chronicles 28:27–29:1; 1 Chronicles 3:13; Matthew 1:9–10; 2 Kings 16:20–17:1; 2 Kings 15:30
- 2 2 Chronicles 29:1–2
- 3 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Kings 22:2; 1 Kings 15:11; Deuteronomy 6:18; Job 33:27
- 4 2 Chronicles 31:1; Numbers 21:8–9; 2 Kings 18:22; Judges 6:28; 1 Kings 15:12–14
- 5 2 Kings 23:25; 2 Kings 19:10; Matthew 27:43; Ephesians 1:12; Psalm 84:12
- 6 Deuteronomy 10:20; Joshua 23:8; John 14:15; Acts 11:23; John 15:14
- 7 Genesis 39:2–3; Romans 8:31; Psalm 60:12; 2 Kings 16:7; Matthew 28:20
- 8 2 Kings 17:9; Isaiah 14:29; 2 Chronicles 28:18; 1 Chronicles 4:41; 2 Chronicles 26:10
- 9 Hosea 10:14; 2 Kings 18:1; 2 Kings 17:3–23
- 10 Amos 6:7; Micah 6:16; Micah 1:6–9; Amos 3:11–4:3; Amos 9:1–4
- 11 1 Chronicles 5:26; 2 Kings 17:6; Isaiah 37:12; Isaiah 7:8; Hosea 9:3
- 12 Psalm 107:17; Nehemiah 9:26–27; Jeremiah 7:23; Nehemiah 9:17; Micah 3:4
- 13 Isaiah 36:1–22; Hosea 12:1–2; Isaiah 7:17–25; 2 Chronicles 32:1–23; Isaiah 10:5
- 14 2 Kings 18:7; Proverbs 29:25; Luke 14:32; 1 Kings 20:4
- 15 2 Kings 16:8; 1 Kings 15:18–19; 2 Kings 12:18; 2 Chronicles 16:2; 1 Kings 15:15
- 16 2 Chronicles 29:3; 1 Kings 6:31–35
- 17 Isaiah 7:3; 2 Kings 20:20; Isaiah 20:1; Isaiah 36:2; Isaiah 22:9–11
- 18 2 Kings 19:2; Isaiah 22:15–24; 2 Chronicles 34:8; Isaiah 36:3; 2 Samuel 20:24
- 19 Isaiah 36:4; Isaiah 10:8–14; 2 Kings 19:10; 2 Kings 18:29–30; 2 Chronicles 32:10–11
- 20 Proverbs 21:30–31
- 21 Isaiah 30:7; Ezekiel 29:6–7; Isaiah 30:2–3; 2 Kings 17:4; Isaiah 36:6
- 22 2 Chronicles 31:1; Daniel 3:15; Isaiah 36:7; 2 Chronicles 32:12; 2 Kings 18:4–5
- 23 1 Kings 20:10; 1 Kings 20:18; Isaiah 36:8–9; Isaiah 10:13–14; 1 Samuel 17:44
- 24 Isaiah 10:8; Daniel 2:37–38; Isaiah 36:9; Deuteronomy 17:16; Jeremiah 37:7
- 25 2 Kings 19:6; 2 Kings 19:22–37; Amos 3:6; 2 Chronicles 35:21; John 19:10–11
- 26 Ezra 4:7; Daniel 2:4; Isaiah 36:11–12; 2 Kings 18:18
- 27 2 Kings 6:25; Ezekiel 4:15; Psalm 73:8; Deuteronomy 28:53–57; Lamentations 4:5
- 28 Isaiah 36:13–18; 2 Chronicles 32:18; Ezekiel 29:3; Isaiah 10:8–13; Ezra 7:12
- 29 2 Chronicles 32:15; 2 Chronicles 32:11; John 19:10–11; Daniel 3:15–17; 2 Thessalonians 2:4
- 30 Matthew 27:43; 2 Kings 19:10; Luke 23:35; Psalm 4:2; Psalm 22:7–8
- 31 1 Kings 4:25; 1 Kings 4:20; Zechariah 3:10; Proverbs 18:16; Genesis 32:20
- 32 Deuteronomy 8:7–9; Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 11:12; 2 Kings 17:23; Numbers 13:26–27
- 33 Isaiah 10:10–11; 2 Chronicles 32:14–17; 2 Kings 19:17–18; 2 Chronicles 32:19; Isaiah 36:18–20
- 34 Isaiah 10:9; Jeremiah 49:23; Isaiah 37:18–19; Numbers 13:21; 2 Kings 17:6
- 35 Daniel 3:15; Isaiah 37:23–29; Psalm 2:1–2; Job 15:25–26; Isaiah 10:15
- 36 Matthew 7:6; Proverbs 26:4; Psalm 39:1; Psalm 38:13–14; Amos 5:13
- 37 Genesis 37:29; Jeremiah 36:24; 2 Kings 22:19; Isaiah 36:21–22; 2 Kings 5:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences