Hezekiah in the Bible

Meaning: strength of the Lord

Thematic Bible



Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.


But Hezekiah returned not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.


Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.


And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.


For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.

So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it for a long time in the way in which it was written.


You made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but you have not looked unto its maker, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.


For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.


And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.


And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.


But Hezekiah returned not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.


In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, } Thus says the LORD, { Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech you, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. read more.
And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the ruler of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shall you have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.

He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.


He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.



And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, } Thus says the LORD, { Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live.

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

And they said unto him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring them forth.

And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.


And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which is on the highway of the fuller's field.

After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half district of Beth-zur, unto the place opposite the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was man made, and unto the house of the mighty men.

So there were gathered many people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

Now after this he built a wall outside the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the fish gate, and enclosed Ophel, and raised it up to a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fortified cities of Judah.

And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and an aqueduct, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller's field;

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.

The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the refuse gate.

This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper water outlet of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even to the jackal's well, and to the refuse gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down; and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the animal that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.

You have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have you broken down to fortify the wall. You made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but you have not looked unto its maker, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.


Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, That which you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion has despised you, and laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? and against whom have you exalted your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. read more.
By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the extremity of its borders, and into the forest of its Carmel. I have dug and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. Have you not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that you should lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blighted before it is grown up. But I know your dwelling place, and your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against me. Because your rage against me and your tumult has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back in the way by which you came. And this shall be a sign unto you, You shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year sow you, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, says the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the ruler of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And of your sons that shall descend from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will add unto your days fifteen years. And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has spoken; read more.
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which has gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it had gone down.

Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And of your sons that shall issue from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Micah the Moresthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD relented himself of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.


And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD relented himself of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and did that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.


Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,

And Uzziah begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah;


And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak you now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this in which you trust?

And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. And they found rich and good pasture, and the land was broad, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there formerly. And these recorded by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and destroyed their tents, and the Meunim that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their place: because there was pasture there for their flocks. read more.
And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their leaders Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. And they destroyed the rest of the Amalekites that had escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.


But Hezekiah returned not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who were sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from where came they unto you? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. read more.
And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And of your sons that shall descend from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?


In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, } Thus says the LORD, { Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech you, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. read more.
And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the ruler of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shall you have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus says the LORD, Set your house in order: for you shall die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. read more.
Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will add unto your days fifteen years. And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which has gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it had gone down.

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spoke unto him, and he gave him a sign.


Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he raised up altars for Baalim, and made idol poles, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.

He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.


And the LORD was with him; and he prospered wherever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.

And Hezekiah had exceedingly great riches and honor: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of costly articles; Storehouses also for the increase of grain, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of animals, and folds for flocks. Moreover he provided himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him very great possessions. read more.
This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper water outlet of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.


And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he had come into the house of his god, sons that came forth of his own body struck him down there with the sword.


And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper sepulchers of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.


After these things, and the establishment of them, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were outside the city: and they did help him. read more.
So there were gathered many people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall outside, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance. And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed by the king of Assyria, nor by all the multitude that is with him: for there are more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people encouraged themselves by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his forces with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, On what do you trust, that you remain in the siege in Jerusalem? Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, You shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? Know you not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand? Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this way, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand? And his servants spoke yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. He wrote also letters to revile the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of my hand. Then they cried with a loud voice in the language of Judah unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to frighten them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.


The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.

The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.



He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.


And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD. He appointed also the king's portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings, the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. read more.
And as soon as the commandment was spread abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps. In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have plenty left: for the LORD has blessed his people; and that which is left is this great abundance. Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was in charge, and Shimei his brother was next. And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the offerings to the LORD, and the most holy things. And under him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, assisting him to give the portions to their brethren by divisions, to the old as well as to the young: Besides their males enrolled by genealogy, from three years old and upward, even unto everyone that enters into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their work according to their divisions; And to the priests enrolled by genealogy according to their fathers' house, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their work by their divisions; And to all enrolled by genealogy, their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their faithfulness they sanctified themselves in holiness: Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the pasture lands of their cities, in every city, men were designated by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were listed by genealogies among the Levites. And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and did that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.


The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the rest of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. read more.
My age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off from the loom: from day even to night will you make an end of me. I considered till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night will you make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: my eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. What shall I say? he has both spoken unto me, and he himself has done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so will you restore me, and make me to live. Behold, for my peace I had great bitterness: but you have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death can not celebrate you: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for your truth. The living, the living, he shall praise you, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known your truth. The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD. For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?


Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,


And the sons of Neariah; Elioenai, and Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three.


These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.


Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.


Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.


And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. read more.
For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.



Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.


And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the nations, which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he raised up altars for Baalim, and made idol poles, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. read more.
Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he practiced soothsaying, and used sorcery, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums, and with wizards: he did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever: Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; if only they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the nations, which the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spoke to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, and bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he sought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he received his entreaty, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. Now after this he built a wall outside the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the fish gate, and enclosed Ophel, and raised it up to a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fortified cities of Judah. And he took away the foreign gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed on it peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. His prayer also, and how God received his entreaty, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set up idol poles and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers. So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.


Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. read more.
He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered wherever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. He struck the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.


And the LORD was with him; and he prospered wherever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.



For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.



And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.


And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. read more.
And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it for a long time in the way in which it was written. So the runners went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, You children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. And be not like your fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as you see. Now be you not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified forever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if you turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return unto him. So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Nevertheless some from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. Also the hand of God was upon Judah to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.

Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD. He appointed also the king's portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings, the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. read more.
Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. And as soon as the commandment was spread abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps. In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have plenty left: for the LORD has blessed his people; and that which is left is this great abundance.


I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the rest of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. My age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off from the loom: from day even to night will you make an end of me. read more.
I considered till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night will you make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: my eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. What shall I say? he has both spoken unto me, and he himself has done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so will you restore me, and make me to live. Behold, for my peace I had great bitterness: but you have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death can not celebrate you: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for your truth.


For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

When you said, Seek my face; my heart said unto you, your face, LORD, will I seek.

Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?


For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and did that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.


For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.


Behold, for my peace I had great bitterness: but you have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for you have cast all my sins behind your back.


And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and did that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God.


The living, the living, he shall praise you, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known your truth.


And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he heeded their prayer; because they put their trust in him.

Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech you, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD God, even you only. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, That which you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.


Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,


Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, That which you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.


For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon everyone


Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,


But Hezekiah returned not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.


But Hezekiah returned not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.


Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.


And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down your ear, and hear: open, LORD, your eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, who has sent him to reproach the living God. read more.
Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech you, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD God, even you only.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. read more.
For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered wherever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.


And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and did that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God.


Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, and cut down the idol poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.


Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?


Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. read more.
He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the idol poles, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made: for until those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clung to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered wherever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.


At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from where came they unto you? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. read more.
And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And of your sons that shall descend from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.


And Hezekiah had exceedingly great riches and honor: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of costly articles; Storehouses also for the increase of grain, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of animals, and folds for flocks. Moreover he provided himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him very great possessions.


And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, } Thus says the LORD, { Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech you, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. read more.
And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the ruler of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shall you have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.


And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.


And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.


And Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?


And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.


At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from where came they unto you? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. read more.
And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And of your sons that shall descend from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which you have spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days? And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and an aqueduct, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armory, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from where came they unto you? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. read more.
Then said he, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.

Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And of your sons that shall issue from you, whom you shall beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.


And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and did that which was good and right and true before the LORD his God.


He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.


References

Hastings

Easton

American

Fausets