📖 2 Kings — Chapter 18 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
2 Kings 18:1 Now it came to pass Rin the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that THezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
2 Kings 18:2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was RTAbi, the daughter of Zachariah.
2 Kings 18:3 And he did that which was Rright in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
2 Kings 18:4 He Rremoved the high places, and brake the Timages, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it TNehushtan.
2 Kings 18:5 He Rtrusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
2 Kings 18:6 For Rhe clave to the LORD, and departed not Tfrom following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
2 Kings 18:7 RAnd the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
2 Kings 18:8 He smote Rthe Philistines, even unto TGaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
2 Kings 18:9 And it came to pass in Rthe fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
2 Kings 18:10 And at the end of three years Rthey took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.
2 Kings 18:11 And Rthe king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:
2 Kings 18:12 Because Rthey obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.
2 Kings 18:13 Now in Rthe fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did TSennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
2 Kings 18:14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, RI have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
2 Kings 18:15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house.
2 Kings 18:16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the Rgold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave Tit to the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 18:17 And Rthe king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a Tgreat host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
2 Kings 18:18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them REliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the Tscribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.
2 Kings 18:19 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, RThus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
2 Kings 18:20 Thou Tsayest, (but they are but Tvain words,) RTI have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
2 Kings 18:21 Now, behold, thou Ttrustest upon Rthe staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
2 Kings 18:22 But if ye say unto me, RWe trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
2 Kings 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give Tpledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and RI will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
2 Kings 18:24 RHow then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
2 Kings 18:25 RAm I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
2 Kings 18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants Rin the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
2 Kings 18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may Reat their own dung, and drink Ttheir own piss with you?
2 Kings 18:28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, Rthe king of Assyria:
2 Kings 18:29 Thus Rsaith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
2 Kings 18:30 Neither let Hezekiah Rmake you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 18:31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, RTMake an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his Tcistern:
2 Kings 18:32 Until RI come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he Tpersuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.
2 Kings 18:33 RHath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
2 Kings 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? Rhave they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
2 Kings 18:35 RWho are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?
2 Kings 18:36 But the people Rheld their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
2 Kings 18:37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah Rwith their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Kings 18:1–12 — Hezekiah reforms worship
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Hezekiah removes high places, images, and even the brass serpent because people burn incense to it. He trusts and follows the LORD. Israel’s captivity is recalled as a contrasting consequence of refusing the covenant.
Key Truth: Even an object with a sacred history must not become an idol.
Check What You Remember
1. Who began to reign over Judah? (2 Kings 18:1)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:1 (KJV).
2. Who had made the brass serpent? (2 Kings 18:4)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:4 (KJV).
3. In whom did Hezekiah trust? (2 Kings 18:5)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:5 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Kings 18:13–25 — Assyria threatens Judah
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Sennacherib takes fortified cities, and Hezekiah sends tribute. Assyrian officials then threaten Jerusalem and question its confidence. Rabshakeh’s claim that the LORD authorized him is the invader’s speech, not automatically the narrator’s endorsement.
Key Truth: Powerful claims should be tested rather than accepted because they are forceful.
Check What You Remember
1. Which Assyrian king invaded? (2 Kings 18:13)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:13 (KJV).
2. From where were the officials sent? (2 Kings 18:17)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:17 (KJV).
3. Which official voiced the challenge? (2 Kings 18:19)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:19 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
2 Kings 18:26–37 — Public intimidation meets silence
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Rabshakeh speaks so Jerusalem’s people can hear, urging surrender and comparing the LORD with defeated idols. The people obey the instruction not to answer, and officials report his words in distress. Silence here is a deliberate response to intimidation.
Key Truth: You need not answer every attempt to provoke fear.
Check What You Remember
1. In which language did Rabshakeh address the people? (2 Kings 18:28)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:28 (KJV).
2. Did the people answer him? (2 Kings 18:36)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:36 (KJV).
3. To whom did the officials report? (2 Kings 18:37)
Find it in 2 Kings 18:37 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Numbers 21:9 — This earlier account explains the original purpose of Moses’ brass serpent.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What threatening voice might be shaping your confidence? Consider how to distinguish intimidation from truth.
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. Why does Hezekiah break the brass serpent?
2. What characterizes Hezekiah’s relation to the LORD?
3. What resources does Hezekiah use for Sennacherib’s demand?
4. Why do Judah’s officials request the Syrian language?
5. Why do the people remain silent before Rabshakeh?
Notes
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