Hezekiah destroyed the high places. He broke the memorial stones and cut down the Asherah poles. At that time the Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake made by Moses. This bronze snake was called "Nehushtan." Hezekiah broke this bronze snake into pieces.
Hezekiah defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza and the area around it. He defeated all the Philistine cities—from the smallest town to the largest city.
King Shalmaneser of Assyria went to fight against Samaria. His army surrounded the city. This happened during the fourth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah. (This was also the seventh year that Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel.)
At the end of the third year Shalmaneser captured Samaria. He took Samaria during the sixth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah. (This was also the ninth year that Hoshea was king of Israel.)
The king of Assyria took the Israelites as prisoners to Assyria. He made them live in Halah, on the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
This happened because the Israelites did not obey the Lord their God. They broke his agreement and did not obey everything that Moses, the Lord's servant, had commanded. The Israelites would not listen to the Lord's agreement or do what it taught them to do.
Then King Hezekiah of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. Hezekiah said, "I have done wrong. Leave me alone, and I will pay whatever you want." Then the king of Assyria told King Hezekiah of Judah to pay over 11 tons of silver and over 1 ton of gold.
The king of Assyria sent his three most important officers with a large army to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. They left Lachish and went to Jerusalem. They stood near the aqueduct by the Upper Pool, on the street that leads up to Laundryman's Field.
These men called for the king, but Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah son of Asaph went out to meet them. Eliakim was the palace manager, Joah was the record keeper, and Shebna was the royal secretary.
If you say, "I trust in power and great battle plans," then that is useless. Now I ask you, who do you trust so much that you are willing to rebel against me?
Are you depending on Egypt to help you? Egypt is like a broken walking stick. If you lean on it for support, it will only hurt you and make a hole in your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, cannot be trusted by anyone who depends on him for help.
Maybe you will say, "We trust the Lord our God to help us." But I know that Hezekiah destroyed the altars and high places where people worshiped the Lord. Hezekiah told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship only at this one altar here in Jerusalem."
'If you still want to fight my master, the king of Assyria, I will make this agreement with you. I promise that I will give you 2000 horses if you can find enough men to ride them into battle.
'Now, do you think I came to this country to destroy it without the Lord's help? No, the Lord said to me, "Go up against this country and destroy it!"'"
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the commander, "Please speak to us in Aramaic. We understand that language. Don't speak to us in the language of Judah because the people on the wall will understand you."
But the commander said to them, "My master did not send me to speak only to you and your master. I was also sent to speak to those people sitting on the wall. They, too, will not have enough food or water; they, too, will eat their own waste and drink their own urine like you! "
But don't listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says this: 'Do this favor for me; come out to me and then everyone will be free to have grapes from their own vines, figs from their own trees, and water from their own well.
You can do this until I come and take you away to a land like your own. In that new land, you will have good grain and new wine, bread, vineyards, olive oil, and honey. Then you can live and not die. But don't listen to Hezekiah. He is trying to change your mind. He is saying, "The Lord will save us."
Then the palace manager (Eliakim son of Hilkiah), the royal secretary (Shebna), and the record keeper (Joah son of Asaph) went to Hezekiah. Their clothes were torn to show they were upset. They told Hezekiah everything the Assyrian commander had said.