16. The Assyrian officials said even worse things about the Lord God and Hezekiah, the Lord's servant.
17. The letter that the emperor wrote defied the Lord, the God of Israel. It said, “The gods of the nations have not saved their people from my power, and neither will Hezekiah's god save his people from me.”
18. The officials shouted this in Hebrew in order to frighten and discourage the people of Jerusalem who were on the city wall, so that it would be easier to capture the city.
19. They talked about the God of Jerusalem in the same way that they talked about the gods of the other peoples, idols made by human hands.
20. Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed to God and cried out to him for help.
21. The Lord sent an angel that killed the soldiers and officers of the Assyrian army. So the emperor went back to Assyria disgraced. One day when he was in the temple of his god, some of his sons killed him with their swords.
22. In this way the Lord rescued King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the power of Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, and also from their other enemies. He let the people live in peace with all the neighbouring countries.
23. Many people came to Jerusalem, bringing offerings to the Lord and gifts to Hezekiah, so that from then on all the nations held Hezekiah in honour.
24. About this time King Hezekiah fell ill and almost died. He prayed, and the Lord gave him a sign that he would recover.
25. But Hezekiah was too proud to show gratitude for what the Lord had done for him, and Judah and Jerusalem suffered for it.