2 Kings 20:1-21 The Lord God Extends Hezekiah's Life 15 Years

 

The Lord God Extends Hezekiah's Life 15 Years

2 Kings 20:1-21                              2 Kings [in Smaller Chunks]

In those days, [king] Hezekiah was [deathly ill.] And the prophet, Isaiah, [Amoz'] son, came to him & said, The Lord [says this, Put] your house in order; for you [won't] live & shall die.

Then, [Hezekiah] turned & [faced] the wall & prayed to the Lord, saying, I [beg] You, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before You in truth & with a perfect heart & have done [what] is good in Your sight. And [Hezekiah] wept [bitterly.]

And it [happened, that before] Isaiah [had] gone into the middle court, that the Word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn [back] again & tell Hezekiah, My [people's ruler,] The Lord, the God of David, your [forefather, says this,] I have heard your prayer & have seen your tears.

[Watch,] I will heal you & on the 3rd day & you shall go up into the [Lord's] house. And I will add 15 years onto your [life.] And I will deliver you & this city out of the hand of [Assyria’s] king & I will defend this city for [My] Own sake & for [David,] My [servant's] sake.

And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs & they took [it] & laid it on the boil & [Hezekiah] recovered. [Prior to being healed:] Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What [is] the sign that the Lord will heal me & that I shall go into the Lord's house the 3rd day?

And Isaiah said, [This is] the [Lord's] sign, that the Lord [God] will do the thing that He has spoken. Shall the shadow go down 10 degrees or back 10 degrees?

Hezekiah answered, [It's an easy] thing for the shadow to go [forward] 10 degrees. [But] let the shadow [go backward] 10 degrees. [Then,] Isaiah, the prophet, cried [out,] to the Lord & He brought the shadow backward 10 degrees & which it had gone down [on] the [sundial] of Ahaz.

At that time, Berodach Baladan, [Baladan's] son, [Babylon's] king, sent letters & a present to Hezekiah. He had heard Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah [listened] to them & [showed] them all his [palace with] his precious [treasures.]

[Hezekiah's:] silver, gold, spices & precious ointment & all [of] the house [with] his armor & all his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his [kingdom] that Hezekiah [hadn't shown] them.

Then, Isaiah, the prophet, came to king Hezekiah & said to him, What [did]  these men say to you? And [where are] they from? Hezekiah said, They [came] from a [distant] country, even from Babylon. And [Isaiah asked,] What have they seen in your house?

And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all the things in [my palace.] There [aren't any of] my treasures that I haven't [shown] them. And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the Word of the Lord, [Watch,] the days come [when] all that is in your house & all your [forefathers stored] up [until] this day, shall be carried into Babylon.

Nothing shall be left, [said] the Lord. They shall take away your sons [that you father] & they shall be eunuchs in the king of [Babylon's] palace. Then, Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The Word of the Lord, which you have spoken is good.

[Also Hezekiah] said, [Wouldn't it be good] if peace & truth [existed during my life?] [Aren't] the rest of Hezekiah's [actions] & all of his might & how he made the pool & [an aqueduct] & brought water into the city, written in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And Hezekiah [died] & slept with his [forefathers.] And Manasseh, his son, [ruled] in his [place.]

2 Kings 19:1-37 Hezekiah Asks for the Prophet, Isaiah's, Guidance

 

Hezekiah Ask for the Prophet, Isaiah's, Guidance

2 Kings 19:1-37                              2 Kings [in Smaller Chunks]

It [happened,] when king Hezekiah heard [the words of RabShakeh,] he [tore] his clothes & covered himself with sackcloth [signs of mourning] & went into the [Lord's] house.

And [Hezekiah sent] Eliakim, [who] was over the household, Shebna, the scribe & the elders [over] the priests, [who] were covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, [Amoz'] son, [who was] the prophet.

They said to [Isaiah,] Hezekiah [says this,] This day is a day of trouble, [scolding] & blasphemy! For the children [to be born, haven't enough strength to push out.]

[Maybe,] the Lord your God hears all the words of RabShakeh, whom [Assyria's] king, his master has sent to [ridicule] the living God & [He] will [punish] him [for] the words [that] the Lord your God has heard.

[For this reason,] lift up your prayer for the [rest who] are left. So, king [Hezekiah's] servants [went] to Isaiah.

And Isaiah said to them, You shall say [this] to your master, The Lord [says this, Don't] be afraid of the words [that you've] heard, [from] the servants of [Assyria's] king, that have blasphemed Me.

[Look,] I will send [some news to] him & he will hear a rumor & shall return to his own land. And I will cause him to [die] by the sword in his own land. So, RabShakeh returned & found [Assyria's] king [attacking] Libnah: for he had heard that he [had left] from Lachish.

And when he heard [what was said] of Tirhakah, [Ethiopia's] king, [Look,] he [has] come out to fight against you.

He sent messengers again to Hezekiah, [Judah's king,] saying, You shall [say this] to Hezekiah, [Judah’s] king, saying, [Don't] let your God, in Whom you trust, deceive you [by] saying, Jerusalem [won't] be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

[Look, you've] heard what [Assyria's] kings have done to all [the] lands, by [totally] destroying them & shall you be delivered? Have [any] of the gods of the nations delivered them, which my [forefathers] have destroyed?

[Like:] Gozan, Haran, Rezeph & the children [people] of Eden, [who] were in Thelasar? Where [are] the [kings] of: Hamath, Arpad, the city of Sepharvaim, Hena & Ivah? And Hezekiah received the letter [by] the hand of the messenger & read it.

And Hezekiah went up into the [Lord's] house & spread [the letter out] before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord & said, O Lord God of Israel, [Who lives] between the cherubims, [angelic statues above the Ark,] You are the [only] God & You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.

You have made heaven & earth. Lord, [lean] down your ear, Lord & [listen] & Lord, open Your eyes & see. And hear the words of Sennacherib, [who] has sent him to [ridicule] the living God. [It's true,] Lord, [Assyria's] kings have destroyed the nations & their lands.

And [they] have [thrown] their gods into the fire: for they [weren't] gods, but the work of men's hands, [made of] wood & stone. Therefore, they have destroyed them.

Therefore, O Lord, our God, I beg You, save us now out of his hand, [so,] that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You only are the Lord God, even You [alone.] Then, Isaiah, [Amoz'] son, sent to Hezekiah saying,

The Lord God of Israel [says this,] I have heard [what] you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib, [Assyria's king.] This is the Word the Lord has spoken [about] him; The virgin daughter of Zion, has despised you & laughed you to scorn & the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.

Whom have you ridiculed] & blasphemed? And against Whom have you [lifted] your voice & lifted up your eyes [in pride?] Even against the Holy One of Israel. By your messenger, you have [ridiculed] the Lord,

& have said, I have come up to the height of the mountains with my multitude of my chariots, to the sides of Lebanon & I will cut down [its] tall cedar trees [of it] & [its best] fir trees & I will enter into the lodgings of His borders & into the forest of His Carmel.

I have [dug wells & [have] drunk strange waters. And with the [soles] of My feet, I have dried up all the rivers & streams of the [surrounding] places. Haven't you heard long ago, how I have done it & how I formed it [in] ancient times?

Now, [after all of this, do you think I will allow you] to be [able to] destroy fenced cities [& turn them] into ruinous heaps? Therefore, their inhabitants had [little] power & were [discouraged & disgraced.]

They were [like:] the grass of the field, the green herb, the grass [grown] on the housetops & [like] corn [scorched] before [it's totally] grown. But I know [where you live & when] you go out & [when] you come [back] in & your rage against Me.

Because your rage against Me & your [riotous actions have] come up to My ears, therefore, I will put My hook in your nose, My bridle in [between] your lips & I will [return] you back the way you came.

[This] shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year [from] things that grow [on their own.] And in the 2nd year, [it will be the same.]  And in the 3rd year, you [will plant seeds & harvest them] & plant vineyards & eat of [its] fruit.

And the [rest] of Judah's house, [who] have escaped, shall again take root downward [in the land of their inheritance] & [produce] fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem, a remnant shall go [out] & [with those from] Mount Zion, [who] have escaped.

The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts, shall do this. Therefore, the Lord [says this, about Assyria's] king, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor [build a mound of dirt] against it.

He shall return by [the same road] he came [on] & shall not come into the city, [says] the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it for [My] Own sake, for My servant, David's sake.

And it [happened] that night, that the Angel of the Lord went out & [killed] in the camp 185,000 Assyrians. And when they arose in the morning, they [saw all these] were dead corpses. So, Sennacherib, [Assyria's] king, [left,] went & returned & [lived] in Nineveh.

And it [happened,] as [Sennacherib] was worshiping in the house of Nisroch, his god, Adrammelech & Sharezer, his sons, [killed] him with the sword & they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar Haddon, his son, [ruled] in his [place.]

2 Kings 18:1-37 No King of Judah Trusted the Lord Like Hezekiah Did

 

No King of Judah Trusted the Lord Like Hezekiah Did

2 Kings 18:1-37                              2 Kings [in Smaller Chunks]

Now, it [happened] in the 3rd year Hoshea [ruled, Elah's] son, king of Israel, that Hezekiah, [Ahaz's] son, king of Judah, began to [rule,] at 25 years old. He [ruled] 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi, [Zachariah's] daughter.

[Hezekiah] did [what] was right in the sight of the Lord [God,] according to all David, his [forefather] did. [Hezekiah] removed the high places & cut down the groves.

[Deuteronomy 12:2 You shall [totally] destroy all the places, [in which] the nations [that] you shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains & upon the hills & under every green tree.]

[Hezekiah broke] the images & [broke into] pieces the [brass] serpent Moses had made. For [until] those days, the children [people] of Israel [burned] incense to it & he called it Nehushtan.

None of the kings of Judah [either] before or after him, trusted in the Lord God of Israel like [Hezekiah did.] For [Hezekiah held tight] to the Lord & [didn't stop] from following him & kept [the Lord God's] commandments, [that] the Lord commanded Moses.

The Lord was with [Hezekiah] & he prospered [wherever] he went [out.] And [Hezekiah] rebelled against [Assyria's] king & [didn't] serve him. He [attacked] the Philistines [all the way] to Gaza & the borders [of it] from the [Watchman's] Tower to the fenced city.

And it [happened] in the 4th year king Hezekiah [ruled,] which was the 7th year Hoshea [ruled, who is Elah's] son & [Israel’s] king, that Shalmaneser, [Assyria's] king, came up against Samaria & [surrounded] it.

And at the end of 3 years, they [captured] it & in the 6th year Hezekiah [ruled,] that [was] the 9th year of [the rule of] Hoshea, [Israel's] king, Samaria was [captured.]

And [Assyria's] king [carried] away [the Israelites] to Assyria & put them in Halah & in Habor by the River of Gozan & in the cities of the Medes, because they [didn't] obey the voice of the Lord, their God.

But [the Israelites sinned against God's] covenant [contract] & all that Moses, the [Lord God's] servant commanded & wouldn't [listen to] them, nor do them. Now, in king [Hezekiah's] 14th year, Sennacherib, [Assyria's] king, [came up & fought] against all the fenced cities of Judah & [captured] them.

And Hezekiah, [Judah's] king, sent to the king of Assyria [at] Lachish, saying, I have [done wrong. Turn away & leave] from me [& I will pay you whatever you request] of me.

And [Assyria's] king [charged] Hezekiah, [Judah's] king, 300 talents of silver & 30 talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord & in the [treasury] of the king's house.

At that time, Hezekiah cut off the gold [covering the temple's] doors & from the pillars, [that he] had overlaid & gave it to [Assyria's] king. And [Assyria's] king sent Tartan, Rabsaris & RabShakeh from Lachish & [sent them] to king Hezekiah with a [large army] against Jerusalem.

And [when] they came up to Jerusalem, they stood by the [aqueduct near] the Upper Pool, [that] is [by] the highway of the [Washerman's] Field.

And when they called [out] to king [Hezekiah,] Eliakim, [Hilkiah's] son, [who] was over the household & Shebna, the scribe & Joah, [Asaph's] son, the recorder, came out to them.

And RabShakeh said to them, Now [say] to Hezekiah, The great king of Assyria [says this, On what do you base this] confidence [you have?] You [say,] I have [advice] & strength for war, (but they are [just worthless] words.)

On whom [do] you now trust now, that you [dare to] rebel against me?  [Look,] you trust upon Egypt, the [walking stick made from a] bruised reed, [that] if a man [leans on] it, [it will break] & will go into his hand & pierce it.

Pharaoh, [Egypt's] king, [is like that] to all [who] trust in him. But if you say to me, We trust in the Lord, our God, [but aren't] they [God's] high places & altars Hezekiah has taken away & said to Judah & Jerusalem, You shall [only] worship [in front of] this altar in Jerusalem?

Therefore, I pray [that] you [make a deal with] my lord, [Assyria's] king & I will deliver 2,000 horses [to] you, if you [are] able [to have enough] riders to [put] on them. Then, how [can] you [disgust even] 1 captain of the least of my master's servants & put your trust [in] Egypt for chariots & horsemen?

[Have] I now come [to attack] & destroy this place without the Lord? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land & destroy it. Then, Eliakim, [Hilkiah's] son, Shebna & Jonah said to RabShakeh, I pray [that] you speak in the Syrian [language; because] we understand it.

[Don't] talk with us in the Jew's language [where] the people on the wall [can hear.] But RabShekeh said to them, Has my master sent me to [only] speak these words to your master & you?

[Hasn't] he [also] sent me [to speak to] the men [who] sit on the wall, [so] they may eat their own [feces] & drink their own [urine] with you? Then, Rabshekeh stood & cried [out] with a loud voice in the Jew's language, saying, Hear the [words] of [Assyria's] great king.

The king says [this, Don't] let Hezekiah deceive you, for he won't be able to deliver you out of [Assyria's] hand. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, Surely, the Lord will [certainly] deliver us & this city won't be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

[Don't listen] to Hezekiah: for [Assyria's] king [says this,] Make an agreement with me & come out to me [with] a present & then, every man [will] eat his own vine & his fig tree & drink water [from] his [own well.]

[Don't listen] to Hezekiah when he persuades you saying, The Lord will deliver us. I come [to] take you away to a land like your own land. A land of corn, wine, oil, bread, vineyards, olive oil & honey, [so] you may live & not die.

Have any of the gods of the nations delivered [their] land out of the king of [Assyria's] hand? Where are the gods of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena & Ivah [a.k.a. Ivvah?] Have they delivered Samaria out of [my] hand?

Who are they among all the gods of the countries & they [haven't] delivered their country out of [my] hand. [How shall] the Lord deliver Jerusalem out of [my] hand? But the people held their peace & [didn't] answer him a word: for king [Hezekiah] commanded, [Don't] answer him.

Then, Eliakim, [Hilkiah's] son, [who] was over the household, Shebna, the scribe & Jonah, [Asaph's] son, the recorder, [went] to Hezekiah with their clothes [torn] [a sign of mourning]    came & told him the words of RabShakeh.

2 Kings 17:1-41 The People of Israel Make Extremely Idolatrous Choices

 

The People of Israel Make Extremely Idolatrous Choices

2 Kings 17:1-41                              2 Kings [in Smaller Chunks]

In the 12th year of Ahaz, [that Judah's] king [ruled,] Hoshea, [Elah's] son, began to [rule] over Israel, in Samaria [for] 9 years. And [Hoshea,] did [what] was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not [like] the kings of Israel, that were before him.

Shalmaneser, [Assyria's] king, came up to attack Hoshea, [who] became his servant & gave him presents. And [Assyria's] king found [out] Hoshea [was involved in the] conspiracy.

For he had sent messengers to So, [Egypt's] king & [didn't bring presents to Assyria's] king, [like] he had done [each previous] year. Therefore, [Assyria's] king shut [Hoshea] up & bound him in prison. Then, [Assyria's] king came up & [invaded] throughout all the land & went up to Samaria & [attacked] it 3 years.

In the 9th year of Hoshea, [Assyria's] king, [captured] Samaria & carried [up Israelites away captive] into Assyria. And [he] placed them in Halah & in Habor by the River of Gozan & in the cities of the Medes.

For it [happened, because] the children [people] of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, [Who] had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, [Egypt's] king & had feared [respected] other gods.

And [they] walked in the [mandates] of the heathen, [that] they had made, whom the Lord cast out [of Canaan] before the children [people] of Israel & the kings of Israel.

And the children [people] of Israel secretly did those things, that weren’t right & [were] against the Lord their God. And they built [themselves] high places in all their cities, from the [Watchman's] Tower to the fenced city.

And they set up images & groves [for themselves] in every high hill & under every green tree. And they burnt incense there in all the high places, [like] the heathen did, whom the Lord carried away [from Canaan] before the [Israelites.]

And [they did] wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger. For they served idols, [even though] the Lord had said to them, You shall not do this thing.

[Still,] the Lord testified against Israel & Judah, by all the prophets & seers, saying, Turn [away] from your evil ways & keep My commandments & My [mandates,] according to all the [Laws that] I commanded your [forefathers.]

And [what] I sent to you by My servants, the prophets. [But] they wouldn't [listen,] but they hardened their necks, like the necks of their [forefathers, who didn't] believe in the Lord their God.

And they rejected the [Lord God's mandates,] His covenant [contract] that He made with their [forefathers] & His testimonies [that the Lord] testified against them. And they followed [what was] vanity & became [arrogant] & [followed] after the heathen [around] them.

[Of] whom, the Lord had [warned about] them, [so] that they shouldn't do like [those nations.]

And they [abandoned] all [of] the Lord their [God's] commandments & made [molded] images, even 2 [gold] calves & made a grove.

And [they] worshiped all the [hosts] of heaven, [a.k.a. stars & constellations] & served Baal. And they [made] their sons & daughters to pass through the fire.

And [they] used divination & enchantments & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel & removed them out of His sight!

There were none left, but only the tribe of Judah was left. Also, Judah [didn't keep] the commandments of the Lord their God, but [followed in the mandates that] Israel [had] made.

And the Lord rejected all the [descendants] of Israel & afflicted them & delivered them into the hand of the [plunderers] until He had cast them from His sight. For the [Lord God tore] Israel from the house of David & they made Jeroboam, [Nebat's] son, king.

Jeroboam [led Israel astray] from following the Lord & made them sin [tremendously.] [1 Kings 12:28-30 [Upon which] king [Jeroboam] took counsel & made 2 calves of gold & said to [the Israelites,] It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem [to sacrifice.]

[See,] your gods, O Israel [that] brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And [Jeroboam put] the one in BethEl & he put up the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan.]

For the children [people] of Israel [followed] in all the sins [that] Jeroboam [did] & they [didn't] depart from them. So, Israel was carried away [captive from] their own land to Assyria to this day, [because] the Lord removed Israel from His sight [like] He had said by all His prophets [to warn them.]

And [Assyria's] king brought men from Babylon & Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, Sepharvaim & placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the [people] of Israel. They lived in [it] & possessed Samaria & [its] cities. [When they 1st lived] there, they [didn't fear] [respect] the Lord.

Therefore, the Lord sent lion's among them, [that killed] some of them. [For this reason,] they spoke to [Assyria's] king, saying, The nations you have removed & you have [resettled] in the cities of Samaria, [don't] know the [customs] of the God of the land.

Therefore, [God] has sent lions among them & [look, the lions kill] them, because they [don't] know the [customs] of the God of the land.

Then, [Assyria's] king commanded, saying, [Take] 1 of the priests, whom you brought from there & let [him live] there & teach them the [customs] of the God of the land.

Then, one of the priests, whom they had carried away from Samaria, came & [lived] in BethEl & taught them how they should fear [respect] the Lord.

[However,] in every nation & in the cities where they [lived, they] made gods of their own & put them in the houses [in] the high places [that] the Samaritans had made.

And the men of Babylon made the Succoth Benoth & the men of Cuth made Nergal & the men of Hamath made Ashima & the Avites made Nibhaz & Tarkak.

And the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech & Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

So, they feared [respected] the Lord & [also] made [for] themselves, the lowest of [people, the] priests [who] sacrificed for them in the high places.

They feared [respected] the Lord & [also] served their own gods [like the customs] of the nations, [where they had been captive.]

To this day, they [continue to] do their former [customs] & they [don't] fear [respect] the Lord, [nor] do they [follow the Lord's mandates, rules, laws & commandments that] the Lord [God] commanded the children [people] of Jacob, whom He named Israel.

With whom the Lord had made a covenant [contract & ordered] them, saying, You shall not fear [respect] other gods, nor bow yourselves [down] to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.

But the Lord, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power & an [outstretched] arm, you shall [only] fear [respect] & worship Him. You shall [make sacrifices only] to Him.

You shall [obey &] do the [mandates, rules, laws & commandments] forever, [that] He wrote for you. You shall not fear [respect] other gods & you shall not forget the covenant [contract] I have made with you.

Neither shall you fear [respect] other gods. But [only] fear [respect] the Lord your God & He shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.

[However] they [didn't pay attention,] but they did like [their previous customs.] So, [while] these nations feared [respected] the Lord, they, their children & [grandchildren also] served their [carved] images, as did their [forefathers & they continue] to do so [until] this day.