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

It [happened, that before] Isaiah had gone into the middle court, 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 forefathers says this,] I have heard your prayers & have seen your tears.

[Watch,] I will heal you on the 3rd day & you shall go up into the [Lord's] house. I will add 15 years onto your [life.] I will deliver you & this city for My own sake & for David, My [servant's] sake.

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

Isaiah said, [This is] the [Lord's] sign, that He will give you, that the Lord [God] will do [what He] has spoken. Shall the shadow go forward 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 back] 10 degrees. Then, Isaiah the prophet cried [out,] to the Lord & He made the shadow [go back] 10 degrees.

At that time, Berodach Baladan, [Baladan's] son, [Babylon's] king, sent letters & a present to Hezekiah. He had heard Hezekiah had been sick. 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? Hezekiah said, They [came] from a [distant] country, from Babylon. [Isaiah asked,] what have they seen in your house?

Hezekiah answered, They have seen all the things in [my palace]. There [aren't any of] my treasures that I [haven't shown] them. 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.

[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?

Hezekiah [died] & slept with his [forefathers]. 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 Hezekiah heard [the words of RabShakeh] he [tore] his clothes & covered himself with sackcloth [signs of mourning] & went into the [Lord's] house.

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

They said to [Isaiah,] Hezekiah [says,] This day is a day of trouble, [scolding & disgrace]! 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 sent to [ridicule] the living God.

He will [punish] him [for] the words [that] the Lord, your God has heard. [Therefore, lift up your prayer for the [rest who] are left. So, [Hezekiah's] servants came to Isaiah.

Isaiah said to them, You shall say 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 [were disrespectful] to Me.

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

When he heard [that] Tirhakah, [Ethiopia's] king, [has] come out to fight against you. He sent messengers 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 [false] gods of the nations delivered [those,] which my [forefathers] destroyed?

Gazan, Haran, Pezeph & the children [people] of Eden, [who] are in Thelasar? Where [are] the kings of: Hamath, Arphad, the city of Sepharvaim, Henna & Ivah? Hezekiah received the letter [by] the hand of the messenger & he read it.

Hezekiah went up to the [Lord's] house & spread [the letter out] before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord & said, O Lord God of Israel, [Who lives] between the cherubim [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] & [let] Your eyes see. 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.

[They] have [thrown] their [false] 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 out of his hand, [so,] all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the only God, You [alone]. Then, Isaiah, [Amoz'] son, sent to Hezekiah saying,

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

[Who have you ridiculed] & [cursed]? Against Whom have you lifted your voice & lifted your eyes [in pride]? 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 chariots, to the sides of Lebanon & I will cut down [its tall cedars] & [its best] fir trees & I will enter into lodgings at [its furthermost ] borders & into His forest, Carmel.

I have [dug wells & drank frozen] waters. With the soles of My feet, I have dried up all the streams of waters of [to be [able to] destroy fenced cities]. [Haven't] you heard long ago, how I, [the Lord God,] have done it & how I formed it [in ancient times?]

[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 grain scorched] before [it's totally] grown. I, [the Lord God,] know [where you live & when] you go out & [when] you come [back] in & your rage against Me.

Because your rage against Me & your [rudeness] has come to My ears, therefore, I will [put] My hook in your nose, My bridle [in between] your lips & I will turn you back the way you came.

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

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, will do this. 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.

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

It [happened,] as he was worshiping in the house of Nisrock, his [false] god, Adrammelech & Sharezer, his sons, [killed] him with the sword & escaped to the land of Armenia. 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]

It [happened] in the 3rd year Hoshea [ruled, Elah's] son, king of Israel, and 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 [places to worship false gods,] & cut down the groves [treed areas to worship false gods,]

[He] [broke] the images [idols] & [broke into] pieces the [brass] serpent Moses had made. For those days, the children [people] of Israel [burned] incense to it & called it Nehustan [a false god].

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.

[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.

In the 4th year king Hezekiah [ruled,] which was the 7th year Hoshea [ruled, who is Elah's] son, & Shalmaneser [Assyria's] king [camped] against Samaria & attacked it.

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

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. In king [Hezekiah's] 14th year, Senacherib, [Assyria's] king, [came & fought] against all the fenced cities of Judah & [captured] them.

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.

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

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

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

RabShakeh said to them, Now speak [this] 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, that you [dare to] rebel against me?  [Look,] you trust upon Egypt, the [splintered walking stick] that a man [leans on, but a splinter] 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 [have enough] riders to [put] on them. 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 to us in the Jew's [language where] the people on the wall [can hear]. 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 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,] Make an agreement with me & come out to me [with] a present & then, every man [will] eat his own vine & own fig tree & drink water [from] his [own well].

[Don't listen] to Hezekiah when he [falsely] 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] the [false] gods of [any] of the nations delivered [their] land out of the king of Assyria's hand? Where are the [false] 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? The people held their peace & [didn't] answer him 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] & 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,]  Hoseah, [Elah's] son, began to [rule] over Israel, in Samaria [for] 9 years. [Hoshea,] did [what] was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not [like] the kings of Israel, before him.

Shalmaneser, [Assyria's] king, came up to attack Hoshea, [who had been] his servant & gave him presents. [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] 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. [He] placed them in Halah & Habor by the River of Gozan, in the city of the Medes.

It was, [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 [& they had worshiped false gods instead of the Lord their God.]

[They] walked in the [rules] of the heathen, [nations that worship false gods,] whom the Lord cast out [of Canaan] before the [people] of Israel & the [heathen rituals to false gods introduced by the] kings of Israel.

The [people] of Israel secretly did [those] things [rituals to the false gods & worshiping them] [which was] against the Lord their God & weren't right. They built [themselves] high places [to worship false gods] in all their cities, from the [Watchman's] Tower to the fenced city.

They set up images [idols] & groves in every high hill & under every green tree [where they worshiped false gods]. They burnt incense [to their false gods] there in all their high places [like] the heathen [nations that worship false gods,] whom the Lord carried away [from Canaan] before the [Israelites].

[They did] wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger. For they [worshiped &] 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 [rules], according to all the laws, [that] I commanded your [forefathers].

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

They rejected the [Lord God's rules,] His covenant [contract] that He made with their [forefathers] & His testimonies [that the Lord] testified against them. They [chose to] follow [worthless idols] & became [idolatrous] & [followed] after the heathen [nations that worship false gods] around them.

The Lord had [warned] them, that they shouldn't [worship false gods] like [those nations].

They [abandoned] all [of] the Lord their God's commandments & made [molded] images [idols,] & even 2 [gold] calves [false gods] & made a grove [to worship the idols],

And [they] worshiped all the [hosts] of heaven [astrology] & served Baal [a false god]. They [made] their [children] to pass through the fire [a sacrificial ritual to false gods].

[They] used divination [to get supposed holy answers about future events,] enchantments [witchcraft] & 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 was only the tribe of Judah left. Judah didn't keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but [followed the laws of idolatry] [worshiping false gods,] that Israel had done.

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. 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 [when Jeroboam made 2 gold calves for Israelites to worship instead of the Lord God] & made them sin [tremendously].

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

[Assyria's] king brought men from Babylon & Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, Sepharvain & 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 kion's among them, [that killed] some of them. They spoke to [Assyria's] king, saying, The nations you have removed & you have [resettled] in the cities of Samaria, [don't know the type] of God of the land.

Therefore, [God] has sent lions among them, [because] they don't know [what God requires]. [Assyria's] king commanded, saying, [Take] 1 of the priests you brought from there & let him [live] there & teach them the [rituals] of the God of the land.

1 of the priests 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 [idols] of their own & put them in the houses [used to worship false gods] in the high places [that] the Samaritans had made [to worship the false gods].

Then men of Babylon made the [false god] Succoth Benoth & the men of Cuth made [the false god] Nergal & the men of Hamath made [the false god] Ahima, the Avites made [the false gods] Nibhaz & Tarkak.

The Sepharvites burnt their children in fire [as a human sacrificial ritual to the false gods] to Adrammelech & Anammelech, the [false] gods of Sepharvaim.

So, they feared [respected] the Lord & [also] made the lowest of [people, the] priests [who] sacrificed [to their false gods] in the high places [where they worshiped false gods].

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

To this day, they [continue to] do their former rituals [to their false gods] & they don't fear [respect] the Lord, nor do they [follow the Lord's rules, regulations, 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 [rules, regulations, 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 [instead only worship] the Lord your God, [whom] you shall fear & [hold in awesome reverence] & He shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.

[However] they [didn't pay attention] & did like [they had] [by continuing to worship false gods]. So, [while] these nations feared [respected] the Lord, they, their children & [grandchildren also] served their [carved] images [idols], as did their [forefathers & they continue] to do so [until] this day.