2 Chronicles 32

Assyria’s king Sennacherib invades Judah and threatens Jerusalem. Hezekiah prepares the city, trusts the LORD, and prays with Isaiah, and God destroys the Assyrian army. The chapter ends with Hezekiah’s illness, his pride, and a test from God that shows what was in his heart.

2 Chronicles 32:1

Hezekiah had just led Judah in reform and renewed worship. Then the Assyrian king invaded anyway. Faithfulness does not guarantee an easy road. Sennacherib besieged the walled cities one by one, meaning to take them as his own.

BSA: fortified (“strong, walled”): Judah’s strongest cities, built to withstand attack, were the ones Assyria set out to break.

2 Chronicles 32:2-4

Hezekiah saw the danger and acted wisely. With his officers’ counsel and the help of many people, he blocked the springs outside Jerusalem so the invaders would find no water. Trusting God did not mean sitting idle.

BSA: consulted (“took counsel, advised with”): Hezekiah did not act alone but listened to his leaders before moving.

2 Chronicles 32:5

Hezekiah also strengthened the city’s defenses. He repaired the broken wall, added towers and a second outer wall, fortified the terraces of the City of David, and made weapons and shields in large numbers. Prayer and preparation go together here.

BSA: resolutely (“with courage and determination”): The work was done with firm purpose, not half-heartedly.

2 Chronicles 32:6-8

Hezekiah gathered the people at the city gate and spoke courage into them. Assyria had a huge army, but it was only human strength. Judah had the LORD, who fights for His people. His words steadied the people.

BSA: arm of flesh (“of human strength”): Assyria’s power, however large, was merely mortal and so limited. encouraged (“spoke comfortably to, gave heart to”): Hezekiah put heart into frightened people rather than merely giving orders.

See also: 2 Kings 6:16; Psalm 20:7.

2 Chronicles 32:9

While Sennacherib was besieging Lachish, a fortified city of Judah southwest of Jerusalem, he sent officials to Jerusalem with a message. Before attacking, he tried to break their spirit with words.

2 Chronicles 32:10-12

The Assyrian messengers challenged the people’s confidence. They claimed Hezekiah was leading them to starvation. They also twisted his reforms, as if removing the high places had insulted God, when it was in fact obedience to Him.

BSA: confidence (“trust, faith”): The real question was where their trust rested, and the enemy aimed straight at it.

2 Chronicles 32:13-15

Sennacherib boasted that no nation’s gods had saved them from Assyria. He lumped the LORD in with idols. His argument sounded strong, but it ignored that the LORD is not a man-made god. The people were told not to trust Hezekiah.

BSA: deliver (“rescue, save, snatch away”): The word suggests pulling someone out of an enemy’s grip, which is what the LORD alone could do.

See also: Isaiah 37:10-13.

2 Chronicles 32:16-17

More words followed, and Sennacherib also sent letters. He openly mocked the LORD, the God of Israel, and put Him on the same level as the gods of defeated nations. This was not only a threat against a city but an insult against God Himself.

BSA: mocking (“blaspheming, speaking against”): The Assyrian’s taunts were not mere politics but contempt aimed straight at God.

2 Chronicles 32:18-19

The Assyrians shouted in Hebrew so that everyone on the wall could understand. Their aim was to terrify the people into opening the gates. They treated the God of Jerusalem like idols, which are only the work of human hands.

Hebrew: יְהוּדִית (yehudit, H3066) — “in the language of Judah, Hebrew.” The enemy chose the people’s own language to reach their hearts directly. Spiritual attack often speaks in familiar voices.

See also: Psalm 115:4-8.

2 Chronicles 32:20

Faced with this, the king and the prophet did not argue back. Hezekiah and Isaiah cried out to heaven together. When human resources run out, the right move is to turn to God. King and prophet stood side by side.

BSA: cried out (“to cry out, shout for help”): This was a loud, urgent appeal, not a polite prayer.

See also: Isaiah 37:14-20.

2 Chronicles 32:21

God answered at once. He sent an angel who wiped out the Assyrian leaders and fighters. Sennacherib went home in shame, and later his own sons killed him in his god’s temple. The god he trusted could not protect him.

BSA: annihilated (“cut off, destroyed”): The Assyrian force was removed completely, not merely turned back.

See also: Isaiah 37:36-38.

2 Chronicles 32:22-23

The LORD saved Jerusalem and gave peace on every side. Nations then brought gifts to the LORD and to Hezekiah, and the king’s name was honored abroad. The honor came because God had shown Himself strong.

BSA: rest (“peace, guided them”): God not only rescued them but gave them settled quiet on all sides.

2 Chronicles 32:24

Around that time Hezekiah became deathly ill. He prayed, and God answered and gave him a sign confirming that he would recover. The same God who answered for the city also heard one sick man.

See also: 2 Kings 20:1-11.

2 Chronicles 32:25-26

Hezekiah did not respond to God’s kindness with thankfulness; pride crept in, and God’s anger rested on the land. But the king and the people humbled themselves, and the judgment was put off. God notices a changed heart.

BSA: proud (“exalted, lofty”): His heart lifted itself up instead of lowering itself in thanks. favor (“benefit, kindness”): God had done good to him, and gratitude was the proper return.

See also: Proverbs 16:18.

2 Chronicles 32:27-29

God blessed Hezekiah with great wealth and honor. He built storehouses for treasures, grain, wine and oil, and stalls and pens for animals, and he founded towns. The text says plainly that God was the giver of it all.

BSA: wealth (“property, substance”): All he owned was substance God had given him.

2 Chronicles 32:30

Hezekiah sealed the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled its water down into the City of David. This secured Jerusalem’s water supply inside the walls. The text adds that he prospered in all he did.

See also: 2 Kings 20:20.

2 Chronicles 32:31

When Babylonian envoys came to ask about the wonder in the land, God left Hezekiah to himself in order to test him. God was not learning something new; the test brought out what was in Hezekiah’s heart. Later this visit led to a warning about Babylon.

BSA: test (“try, prove”): The aim was to prove and reveal what was truly inside him.

See also: 2 Kings 20:12-19.

2 Chronicles 32:32-33

Hezekiah’s deeds of loving devotion were recorded in the prophet Isaiah’s writings and in the royal records. He died and was buried with honor in the upper tombs of David’s family. His son Manasseh took the throne.

BSA: loving devotion (“kindness, mercy”): His good deeds flowed from covenant faithfulness to God and to others.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) — “loyal love, steadfast kindness.” This word describes love that stays faithful to a promise. It marks Hezekiah’s acts as more than duty; they showed faithful love toward God and His people.