Text -- 2 Chronicles 32:1-12 (NET)

Sennacherib Invades Judah

32:1 After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them. 32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had invaded and intended to attack Jerusalem, 32:3 he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs outside the city, and they supported him. 32:4 A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district. They reasoned, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” 32:5 Hezekiah energetically rebuilt every broken wall. He erected towers and an outer wall, and fortified the terrace of the City of David. He made many weapons and shields. 32:6 He appointed military officers over the army and assembled them in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, saying, 32:7 “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of the king of Assyria and this huge army that is with him! We have with us one who is stronger than those who are with him. 32:8 He has with him mere human strength, but the Lord our God is with us to help us and fight our battles!” The army was encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah. 32:9 Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read: 32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘Why are you so confident that you remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege? 32:11 Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will rescue us from the power of the king of Assyria.” But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst! 32:12 Hezekiah is the one who eliminated the Lord’s high places and altars and then told Judah and Jerusalem, “At one altar you must worship and offer sacrifices.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:1

¹ tn Heb “and he said to break into them for himself.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:2

¹ tn Heb “and his face was for war against Jerusalem.”

map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:3

¹ tn Heb “the waters of the springs.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:4

¹ tn Heb “and they closed up all the springs and the stream that flows in the midst of the land.” Here אָרֶץ (’arets, “land”) does not refer to the entire land, but to a smaller region like a district.

² tn Heb “land, saying.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:5

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hezekiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “strengthened himself and built.”

³ tn Heb “and outside the wall another one.”

⁴ sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:6

¹ tn Heb “and he placed officers of war over the people.”

² tn Heb “he spoke to their heart[s].”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:7

¹ tn Or perhaps, “and don’t be discouraged.”

² tn Heb “for with us [is] a greater [one] than with him.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:8

¹ tn Heb “With him is an arm of flesh.”

² tn Or “people.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:9

¹ tn Heb “servants.”

² tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” here by metonymy for the people of Judah.

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:10

¹ tn Heb “On what are you trusting that [you] are living during the siege in Jerusalem.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:11

¹ tn Heb “hand.”

² tn Heb “Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to die by hunger and thirst, saying, ‘The Lord our God will rescue us from the hand of the king of Assyria’?’

NET Notes: 2Ch 32:12

¹ tn Heb “Did not he, Hezekiah, eliminate…?” This rhetorical question presupposes a positive reply (“yes, he did”) and so has been translated here as a positive statement.

² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.