2 Chronicles 32:1

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Sennacherib Invades Judah After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אַחֲרֵ֨י הַדְּבָרִ֤ים וְהָאֱמֶת֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה בָּ֖א סַנְחֵרִ֣יב מֶֽלֶךְ־אַשּׁ֑וּר וַיָּבֹ֣א בִֽיהוּדָ֗ה וַיִּ֙חַן֙ עַל־הֶעָרִ֣ים הַבְּצֻר֔וֹת וַיֹּ֖אמֶר לְבִקְעָ֥ם אֵלָֽיו

Transliteration

ʾaḥărê the dəḇārîm wə-hāʾĕmeṯ the hāʾēlleh bāʾ sanchērîḇ meleḵ-ʾaššûr wa-yāḇōʾ in-yehûḏāh wa-yiḥan upon-the heʿārîm the habbeṣūrôṯ wa-yōʾmer to-biqqaʿām unto-him

Grammar Details

• *ʾaḥărê*: preposition - after
• *dəḇārîm*: masculine plural noun - words/things/matters
• *wə-hāʾĕmeṯ*: conjunction + definite article + feminine singular noun - and the faithfulness/truth
• *hāʾēlleh*: definite article + demonstrative pronoun, plural - these
• *bāʾ*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - came/entered
• *sanchērîḇ*: proper noun - Sennacherib
• *meleḵ*-*ʾaššûr*: construct chain - king of Assyria
• *wa-yāḇōʾ*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he came/entered
• *yehûḏāh*: proper noun - Judah
• *wa-yiḥan*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he encamped/camped
• *heʿārîm*: definite article + feminine plural noun - the cities
• *habbeṣūrôṯ*: definite article + passive participle, feminine plural - the fortified/strong
• *wa-yōʾmer*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he said/thought
• *biqqaʿām*: piel infinitive construct with 3rd masculine plural suffix - to break/split them open

Word Meanings

• *dəḇārîm*: words/things/matters/events
• *ʾĕmeṯ*: truth/faithfulness/reliability
• *bāʾ*: came/entered/arrived
• *biqqaʿām*: to break them open/split them apart/break through them

Referenced Verses

• 2 Kgs 18:13-37 : 13 Sennacherib Invades Judah In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish,“I have violated our treaty. If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in the LORD’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the LORD’s temple and from the posts which he had plated and gave them to the king of Assyria. 17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them. 19 The chief adviser said to them,“Tell Hezekiah:‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says:“What is your source of confidence? 20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 22 Perhaps you will tell me,‘We are trusting in the LORD our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem,‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ 23 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 25 Furthermore it was by the command of the LORD that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The LORD told me,‘March up against this land and destroy it.’”’” 26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser,“Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the chief adviser said to them,“My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,“Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says:‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! 30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the LORD when he says,“The LORD will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says,‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own– a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says,“The LORD will rescue us.” 33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered,“Don’t respond to him.” 37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.
• 2 Chr 20:1-2 : 1 The Lord Gives Jehoshaphat Military Success Later the Moabites and Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat. 2 Messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat,“A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead Sea, from the direction of Edom. Look, they are in Hazezon Tamar(that is, En Gedi).”
• Isa 7:17-18 : 17 The LORD will bring on you, your people, and your father’s family a time unlike any since Ephraim departed from Judah– the king of Assyria!” 18 At that time the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.
• Isa 8:6-8 : 6 “These people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 7 So look, the Lord is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River– the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel.”
• Isa 10:5-9 : 5 The Lord Turns on Arrogant Assyria Beware, Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 6 I sent him against a godless nation, I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, to take plunder and to carry away loot, to trample them down like dirt in the streets. 7 But he does not agree with this, his mind does not reason this way, for his goal is to destroy, and to eliminate many nations. 8 Indeed, he says:“Are not my officials all kings? 9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish? Hamath like Arpad? Samaria like Damascus? 10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s or Samaria’s. 11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.”
• Isa 36:1-37:38 : 1 Sennacherib Invades Judah In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him. 4 The chief adviser said to them,“Tell Hezekiah:‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says:“What is your source of confidence? 5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 7 Perhaps you will tell me,‘We are trusting in the LORD our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem,‘You must worship at this altar.’ 8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 10 Furthermore it was by the command of the LORD that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The LORD told me,‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’” 11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser,“Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the chief adviser said,“My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” 13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,“Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 This is what the king says:‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the LORD by saying,“The LORD will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says,‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own– a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says,“The LORD will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered,“Don’t respond to him.” 22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD’s temple. 2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 3 “This is what Hezekiah says:‘This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 4 Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them,“Tell your master this:‘This is what the LORD has said:“Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard– these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 7 Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land.”’” 8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 9 The king heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this:‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says,“Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued? 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyed– the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar– rescued by their gods? 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’” 14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the LORD’s temple and spread it out before the LORD. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: 16 “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. 17 Pay attention, LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, LORD, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 18 It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. 19 They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 20 Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.” 21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah:“This is what the LORD God of Israel has said:‘As to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22 this is what the LORD says about him:“The virgin daughter Zion despises you– she makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. 23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel! 24 Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. 25 I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’ 26 Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. 27 Their residents are powerless; they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind. 28 I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me. 29 Because you rage against me and the uproar you create has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came.” 30 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will accomplish this. 33 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria:‘He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. 34 He will go back the way he came– he will not enter this city,’ says the LORD. 35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 36 The LORD’s angel went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 38 One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
• Hos 11:5 : 5 They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent!
• Mic 2:13 : 13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. Their king will advance before them, The LORD himself will lead them.
• 2 Kgs 15:19 : 19 Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of the kingdom.
• 2 Kgs 17:6 : 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor(the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
• 2 Kgs 18:11 : 11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor(the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.