The Assyrians Threaten Jerusalem
(2 Kings 18.13-372 19.14-192 35-37Isaiah 36.1-22Isaiah 37.8-38)1 After these events, in which King Hezekiah served the Lord faithfully, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities and gave orders for his army to break their way through the walls. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib intended to attack Jerusalem also, 3-4 he and his officials decided to cut off the supply of water outside the city in order to keep the Assyrians from having any water when they got near Jerusalem. The officials led a large number of people out and stopped up all the springs, so that no more water flowed out of them. 5 The king strengthened the city's defenses by repairing the wall, building towers on it, and building an outer wall. In addition, he repaired the defenses built on the land that was filled in on the east side of the old part of Jerusalem. He also had a large number of spears and shields made. 6 He placed all the men in the city under the command of army officers and had them assemble in the open square at the city gate. He said to them, 7 “Be determined and confident, and don't be afraid of the Assyrian emperor or of the army he is leading. We have more power on our side than he has on his. 8 He has human power, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by these words of their king.
9 Some time later, while Sennacherib and his army were still at Lachish, he sent the following message to Hezekiah and the people of Judah who were with him in Jerusalem: 10 “I, Sennacherib, Emperor of Assyria, ask what gives you people the confidence to remain in Jerusalem under siege. 11 Hezekiah tells you that the Lord your God will save you from our power, but Hezekiah is deceiving you and will let you die of hunger and thirst. 12 He is the one who destroyed the Lord's shrines and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship and burn incense at one altar only. 13 Don't you know what my ancestors and I have done to the people of other nations? Did the gods of any other nation save their people from the emperor of Assyria? 14 When did any of the gods of all those countries ever save their country from us? Then what makes you think that your god can save you? 15 Now don't let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like that. Don't believe him! No god of any nation has ever been able to save his people from any Assyrian emperor. So certainly this god of yours can't save you!”
16 The Assyrian officials said even worse things about the Lord God and Hezekiah, the Lord's servant. 17 The letter that the emperor wrote defied the Lord, the God of Israel. It said, “The gods of the nations have not saved their people from my power, and neither will Hezekiah's god save his people from me.” 18 The officials shouted this in Hebrew in order to frighten and discourage the people of Jerusalem who were on the city wall, so that it would be easier to capture the city. 19 They talked about the God of Jerusalem in the same way that they talked about the gods of the other peoples, idols made by human hands.
20 Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed to God and cried out to him for help. 21 The Lord sent an angel that killed the soldiers and officers of the Assyrian army. So the emperor went back to Assyria disgraced. One day when he was in the temple of his god, some of his sons killed him with their swords.
22 In this way the Lord rescued King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the power of Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, and also from their other enemies. He let the people live in peace with all the neighboring countries. 23 Many people came to Jerusalem, bringing offerings to the Lord and gifts to Hezekiah, so that from then on all the nations held Hezekiah in honor.
Hezekiah's Illness and Pride
(2 Kings 20.1-32 12-19Isaiah 38.1-3Isaiah 39.1-8)24 About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. He prayed, and the Lord gave him a sign that he would recover. 25 But Hezekiah was too proud to show gratitude for what the Lord had done for him, and Judah and Jerusalem suffered for it. 26 Finally, however, Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem humbled themselves, and so the Lord did not punish the people until after Hezekiah's death.
Hezekiah's Wealth and Splendor
27 King Hezekiah became very wealthy, and everyone held him in honor. He had storerooms built for his gold, silver, precious stones, spices, shields, and other valuable objects. 28 In addition, he had storehouses built for his grain, wine, and olive oil; barns for his cattle; and pens for his sheep. 29 Besides all this, God gave him sheep and cattle and so much other wealth that he built many cities. 30 It was King Hezekiah who blocked the outlet for Gihon Spring and channeled the water to flow through a tunnel to a point inside the walls of Jerusalem. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did, 31 and even when the Babylonian ambassadors came to inquire about the unusual event that had happened in the land, God let Hezekiah go his own way only in order to test his character.
The End of Hezekiah's Reign
(2 Kings 20.202 21)32 Everything else that King Hezekiah did and his devotion to the Lord are recorded in The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah Son of Amoz and in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah died and was buried in the upper section of the royal tombs. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem paid him great honor at his death. His son Manasseh succeeded him as king.
Sanheerib ta homona Jerusalem Exupifo likumwifa laJerusalem
1 Konima yoinima ei noyokweenda kwa yuka kwaHiskia, Sanheerib, ohamba yaAsiria, ye uya, ndele tai homona Juda, ndele ya fitikinina oilando yomusho i neehotekuma ndele ya hala oku i nangala. 2 Ndele Hiskia eshi a mona nokutya Sanheerib ote uya nokwa hala okuhomona Jerusalem, 3 okwa kundafana novakulunhu vaye novaladi vaye a fitike po eefifiya di li pondje yoshilando. Ndele vo ove mu kwafa. 4 Novanhu vahapu va ongala ndele va fitika po eefifiya, nosho yo okamulonga taka tondokele mokati koshilongo, ndele tava ti: “Omolwashike eehamba daAsiria mokuuya kwado di mone omeva mahapu?” 5 Nokwe linyatipaleka nokwa tungulula ohotekuma ya li ya ngumaunwa po, ndele ta tungu kuyo eeshungongulu. Nokwa tunga yo ohotekuma onhivali pondje. Nokwa tunga eehote muMillo shomoshilando shaDavid ndele ta hambulifa omaonga noikelelifo ihapu. 6 Nokwa tula po ovakulunhu vomatanga ovakwaita, nokwe va ifana kuye monhele ya lalakana yoposhivelo shoshilando ndele te va hekeleke, ta ti: 7 “Kaleni mwa pama, mwa nyatipala. Inamu tila ndele inamu haluka molwohamba yaAsiria ile molwongudu aishe oyo tai uya pamwe nayo. Osheshi ava ve li pufye ovahapu, ve dule venya ve li puyo. 8 Puyo ope nokwooko kwombelela, ndelenee pufye ope nOmwene Kalunga ketu te tu kwafa mokulwa moita yetu!” Novakwaita ve lineekela eendjovo daHiskia, ohamba yaJuda.
9 Konima yaashi Sanheerib, ohamba yaAsiria, ya tuma, osheshi yoovene nomatanga ayo aeshe ovakwaita va li puLakis, ya tuma ovapiya vayo kuJerusalem, kuHiskia, ohamba yaJuda, nokOvajuda aveshe ovo va li muJerusalem, oku va lombwela: 10 “Sanheerib, ohamba yaAsiria, tai ti ngaha: ‘Tamu lineekele lyelye, eshi tamu kala mwe liidilila muJerusalem? 11 Hiskia ite mu pukifa mbela, mu fye ondjala nenota, ye eshi ta ti: “Omwene Kalunga ketu te ke tu xupifa mo meke lohamba yaAsiria?” 12 Hiskia oye tuu ou, ndishi, a hanauna po oikulundu yaye neealtari daye nokwa lombwela Juda naJerusalem: “Mu nokutwa eengolo koaltari imwe aike, nokutwimina kuyo?” 13 Kamu shi shii eshi ame nootate va ningila oiwana aishe yoilongo? Oikalunga yoiwana yoilongo oya xupifa tuu oilongo yayo meke lange? 14 Olyelye womoikalunga yoiwana oyo aishe ya hanaunwa po kootate, ya dula okuxupifa oshiwana shaye meke lange opo Kalunga keni a dule oku mu xupifa meke lange? 15 Inamu itavela Hiskia e mu kengelele ndele te mu pukifa ngaha. Ndele inamu mu lineekela, osheshi kalunga nande kamwe koiwana ile koshilongo nande shimwe, ina xupifa oshiwana shaye meke lange ile momake ootate. Hano ngahelipi Kalunga keni ta dulu oku mu xupifa meke lange?’ ”
16 Ovapiya vayo va popya eendjovo dimwe dihapu dondubo nokusheka Omwene Kalunga nomupiya waye Hiskia. 17 Ndele yo oya shanga yo onhumwafo i sheke Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael nokupopya Omwene nokutya: “Ngaashi oikalunga yoiwana yoilongo ya nyengwa okuxupifa oiwana yayo meke lange, osho yo Kalunga kaHiskia ita ka xupifa ovanhu vaye meke lange.” 18 Ndele vo ova popya mOshiheberi kovakwaita vomuJerusalem, ve li kekuma lohote, opo va tilifwe nokuhaluka, venya va dule okunangala oshilando shavo. 19 Ndele va popya Kalunga kaJerusalem ngaashi oikalunga imwe yoiwana yokombada yedu, nande yo oilonga yomake ovanhu.
20 Ndelenee ohamba Hiskia nomuxunganeki Jesaja yaAmos, eshi va ilikanena oshiwana eshi ndele va kuwa keulu, 21 Omwene okwa tuma omweengeli, ndele a dipaa ovaladi aveshe novakulunhu vomatanga novaneyovi vomonhanda yohamba yaAsiria, onghee yo ya li i nokushuna nokufya ohoni koshilongo shayo. Ndele yo eshi ye uya mongulu yakalunga kayo, ovo va dja molutu layo vene, ve i dipaa neongamukonda.
22 NOmwene okwa xupifa Hiskia noonakukala muJerusalem meke laSanheerib, ohamba yaAsiria nomomake aveshe. Ndele Ye e va twala metulumuko keembinga adishe. 23 Ndele vahapu va etela Omwene muJerusalem eeshali neeshali di nondilo kuHiskia, ohamba yaJuda, onghee ye a tumbalekwa moipafi yoiwana aishe.
Oudu waHiskia, oupuna waye nefyo laye
24 Pomafiku enya Hiskia okwa hangika koudu, hanga a fya. Ndelenee okwa indila kOmwene ndele Ye okwe mu nyamukula ndele e mu pa edidiliko loshikumwifa. 25 Ndelenee ouwa ye e u pewa, Hiskia ine u alulila ouwa, osheshi omutima waye we linenepeka. Onghee hano ehandu la kala kombada yaye nokombada yaJerusalem. 26 Ndelenee melinenepeko laye Hiskia okwe lininipika nomutima aushe, ye mwene noonakukala muJerusalem, onghee hano ehandu lOmwene inali uya kombada yavo pomafiku aa aHiskia.
27 Ndele Hiskia okwa li e noupuna muhapu unene netumbalo nokwe litungila omalimba emona loisiliveli noloingoldo nolomamanya mawa noloinima yedimba liwa noloikelelifo noinima i lili nai lili i nondilo, 28 nomaanda oilya nomaviinyu nomaadi, neenhele doimuna yomaludi e lili nae lili, noyuunda yoimuna. 29 Okwe litungila yo oilando nokwe likongela eengudu dinene deedi nodeengobe, osheshi Kalunga e mu pa emona lihapu. 30 Hiskia tuu ou a fitika po omakungulukilo omeva okamulonga kaGihon nokwe a popolela koshi kwi lwokouninginino koshilando shaDavid. Ndele Hiskia okwa li e nelao mwaashishe e shi ninga. 31 Onghee hano Kalunga e mu tala, opo a shiive ashishe osho shi li momutima waye, okwe mu yandja momake ovatumwa veehamba daBabilon, ovo va tuminwa okupula oshikumwifa osho sha ningwa moshilongo.
32 Noinima imwe tai hepaulula Hiskia noilonga yaye youyuki, tala, oya shangwa membo lomuxunganeki Jesaja yaAmos, membo leehamba daJuda nodaIsrael. 33 Ndele Hiskia okwa ka nangala pooxe, nokwa pakwa moshikulundu kusho taku londwa eshi taku iwa keembila doludalo laDavid. Ndele Juda ashishe noonakukala muJerusalem ve mu fimaneka pokufya kwaye. Nomona waye Manasse okwa ninga ohamba ponhele yaye.
