JW subtitle extractor

O Jehovah our God,
save us out of his hand,
so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone are God, O Jehovah.
So you know that David wasn’t much older
than you boys when he went up against Goliath.
Can you imagine going up against such a huge giant?
Just how big was he, King Hezekiah?
Well, he was this tall.
His shoulders were this wide.
His sword was sharp and it was this long!
David must have been scared.
A little.
Do you remember what he said to Saul?
David said: ‘I killed a bear and a lion.
Jehovah will help me kill Goliath.’
And then what happened?
I know!
David puts five stones in a bag
and he says: “I am coming against you
in the name of Jehovah.”
Then he takes a stone out of his bag,
and he slings it with all his power and might
at Goliath’s head and kills him!
And then he cuts off his head.
I want to be brave like David.
You can be if you trust in Jehovah
just like David did.
And remember:
With Jehovah on our side, anything is possible.
King Hezekiah, look!
What have we here?
I found it in the garden over there.
It can’t fly.
What should I do?
It’s a young turtledove.
Perhaps it fell out of its nest.
You need to keep it close and warm.
And promise me something . . .
My lord, a moment, please.
What is it, Jahziel?
A man has just arrived from Samaria.
Is it as we expected?
Bring him to my council chamber.
Gather my advisors.
Call Isaiah too, but do so quietly.
We don’t want people to panic.
King Hezekiah,
what was I supposed to promise?
Ah, yes.
This is important.
You have to promise me not to keep
the bird locked up in a cage.
When it can fly, set it free.
I promise.
Good.
Now I must go.
Goodbye!
Bye!
Oh, my lord the king!
Please stand.
I am your brother.
This is Jahziel, who is with the army.
These are my advisors, Eliakim and Shebna.
And this is Isaiah.
What is your name?
I am Joel, my lord.
Joel, please, what happened in Samaria?
The Assyrians,
they finally broke through the wall.
They hacked off hands,
arms, heads.
They singled out the leading men
of the city and they skinned them alive.
How did you escape?
I disguised myself as one of the Assyrian soldiers.
And what of the survivors?
I didn’t have time to see much.
But the Assyrians were gathering people together.
I suppose they were taking them as captives.
And they bound their hands
with strips of leather.
My wife, my dear wife!
And my sons and my little daughter!
My lord, others are arriving from the north.
How many?
More than a hundred so far.
I am so very sorry, my brother.
Eliakim, please see that this man is taken care of.
Give him food and rest.
See that the others are cared for as well.
Yes, my lord.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Three years since the Assyrians
first laid siege to Samaria.
Three years behind those walls.
What happened to Samaria could happen to us.
How could Jehovah have allowed this to happen?
It happened because Samaria broke its alliance
to the king of Assyria.
They stopped paying the yearly tribute just as we have.
These things came upon them because they sinned against Jehovah.
The king is right.
From King Omri’s day, the people in Samaria
have served false gods.
That may be true, but . . .
They openly practiced idolatry.
Jehovah foretold that these consequences would come upon them,
but again and again, they rejected his warnings.
Are you saying that they are being punished by Jehovah?
I’m saying that if they were loyal to Jehovah,
this would not have happened.
What happened to Samaria will not happen to us.
It was right to break ties with Assyria.
Our trust is in Jehovah.
Of course we must trust in Jehovah.
Of course we will.
But there will be consequences.
The Assyrians will come for us.
It’s wise to take practical measures.
Did not Solomon say: ‘The shrewd person sees the danger
and does something about it?’
Perhaps we could ask Egypt . . .
No!
Remember our history, Shebna.
King Asa leaned on Syria,
and Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab.
Jehovah rebuked both of them.
Our first concern
is to care for the refugees from Samaria.
Let us go and see what can be done.
My great king, the couriers have brought tribute
from King Asardin:
10,000 cattle, 5,000 sheep,
2,000 camels, 1,000 horses,
300 wagons
filled with iron from their deposits . . .
Three hundred?
Three hundred wagons of iron?
We demand 500.
The king begs for your mercy and forgiveness in the matter.
He apologizes for any delay.
I have no need for apologies.
I need iron.
Without iron, I cannot equip my army.
Without an army, I cannot gather slaves to work in the fields.
He begs for my patience.
He should be begging for his life.
Kill all of his children.
Tell him I will do the same to him
if he does not send me the remaining 200 wagons
within 60 days.
As you wish, my lord.
What is this?
Why is there no tribute from Judah?
Ah, yes.
The king in Jerusalem refuses to pay.
He refuses?
Yes, his name is Hezekiah.
He is not like his father Ahaz, who was loyal to us.
He has struck down Philistine cities that were allied to us,
including Ekron.
Your loyal subject, King Padi, is now a prisoner in Jerusalem.
Hezekiah!
You dare to defy me?
Do you not know what I will do to you?
Reports from the field confirm
that the enemy continues to advance.
They already hold the territory to our north.
We believe the Assyrians will go on
to subdue the cities south and west of us.
My lord, some cities are giving up without a fight.
The enemy is taking captives in large numbers.
Public torture and execution are persuasive.
Some cities simply open their gates.
It is likely that the Assyrians
will approach Jerusalem from the south.
But before they could successfully attack Jerusalem,
they would have to take Lachish.
Otherwise, they risk having Lachish at their backs.
Might Egypt fight against them?
That is a possibility.
Yes, the Egyptian army is strong.
Perhaps it’s time to consider a coalition.
With Egypt and Lachish beside us,
we could make a strong stand against Assyria.
I will make no alliance with Egypt.
However, we do need to prepare.
Rizia, you’re chief of the army, what do you suggest?
We cannot defeat the Assyrians in open warfare.
We must prepare for a siege.
The walls of Jerusalem need to be strengthened.
Also, I suggest
we build a second wall to provide added protection.
What else?
We need more shields and defensive weapons.
Agreed.
Then there’s the matter of water.
I’ve thought of that.
Water flows to the fields outside the city.
Our engineers say that a tunnel can be dug
to divert the water to the Pool of Siloam inside the city walls.
If the Assyrians do come here,
why should we provide water for them?
We must move quickly.
Make arrangements immediately.
My brothers,
we need not fear the king of Assyria
and all the multitude with him,
for there are more with us than there are with him.
With him is an arm of flesh,
but with us
is Jehovah our God to help us and to fight our battles.
My lord,
Padi, king of Ekron, wants to speak with you.
You wish to speak with me, Padi?
What do you want?
I want you to release me
and to send me back to Ekron to reclaim my kingship.
Why should I do that?
The Assyrian army is coming.
I can help you.
I can speak to King Sennacherib in your behalf.
I know him.
Maybe he will be merciful to you.
I will never kiss the feet of one who enslaved
and murdered our people.
I am not like you, you contemptible worm.
If I am a worm, I am a smart worm, Hezekiah,
and you are a fool.
You have no idea of the horror
that you are bringing upon your people.
The Assyrians are like a locust plague
devouring all in their path.
They will smash through these walls,
torture your mighty men, rape your women,
and slay your children.
And what do you think they will do to you, Hezekiah?
I’m not going to listen to this.
You will see, Hezekiah.
The terror is coming.
You’ll see.
You’ll see!
You’ll see!
You!
What have you done?
You’ve killed us all!
The Assyrians are coming!
Our children!
Our children will die!
You killer!
Killer!
Isaiah, I have known you all my life.
You have always helped me and guided me.
I am deeply troubled.
These are critical times.
Sit down, my son.
Tell me what’s in your heart.
City after city is falling to the Assyrians, but you know that.
I brought this upon our people.
Shebna warned me that there would be consequences
if I rebelled against Assyria, and he was right.
There is so much suffering.
I am to blame.
Was it wrong to rebel against Assyria?
It’s never a mistake to trust God.
Your father was a puppet in the hands of Assyria.
You, though, have always put your trust in Jehovah.
Since the day you became king,
you’ve worked to reestablish pure worship in our land.
You repaired and reopened the temple,
you destroyed the sacred pillars,
you pulled down the high places and altars,
and you cut down the sacred poles.
It was the right thing to do.
And now, you are constantly with the people of our city,
encouraging and strengthening them to stay faithful.
And so do you.
But now our people in other cities suffer.
Why?
I think you know the answer to that.
But let me show you something.
You gave me this when you were just a child
learning to write.
You kept this all these years?
“To you, O Jehovah, I turn.
My God, I trust in you.”
It’s the psalm of David.
Yes.
And you have always trusted in Jehovah,
and he has blessed you greatly.
I do read from the Law every day.
And you know that the Law warned
of the consequences of unfaithfulness.
There is still much unfaithfulness among our people.
You’ve instituted reforms,
but the people have been half-hearted in applying them.
I keep thinking about what it says in our Law
that Jehovah will bring punishment
for the error of fathers upon future generations.
My father filled this city with idols.
He sacrificed my brothers to a Canaanite god.
I remember well.
That was a dreadful time.
Will Jerusalem now suffer
for the error of former generations?
Trust in Jehovah, Hezekiah.
He never disappoints those who are loyal to him.
I need more faith.
Keep it, Hezekiah.
Never forget what you wrote as a boy.
Your faithfulness can be a positive example, Hezekiah,
not just for our people today
but for generations to come.
There is no longer any doubt, Lachish will fall.
The Assyrians moved siege engines in place
and are pounding the wall with battering rams.
Their soldiers attempt to scale the wall with ladders.
Jerusalem will be next.
Rizia, tell me, can Jerusalem withstand a siege?
We have water and stockpiles of food.
Our walls are strong, and we can defend them.
We are as prepared as we can be.
But the same could have been said for Lachish.
Eliakim, what is the spirit of the people of Jerusalem?
There is great fear in the city, Hezekiah, and with good reason.
There’s nowhere to flee.
Many of the people say that we should surrender.
We will never open our gates to these hated men
and allow them to desecrate our temple.
Never!
Jehovah will save us, just as he did our forefathers at the Red Sea.
Jehovah did not save Samaria.
He has not saved the cities and towns of Judah.
Now, it seems that he will not save Lachish.
How long are we . . .
We must have faith that Jehovah will provide a way out.
What if
an alliance with Egypt
was our way out,
but we failed to take it when we could have?
There may be another option.
Sennacherib is coming against us
because we refused to pay tribute to him.
If we offer him money . . .
No.
If we give him money, he will expect us to do his bidding.
If we paid the tribute, we wouldn’t need to surrender,
and we wouldn’t need to fight.
Could this be the answer we are looking for?
All right.
Jahziel,
I want you to lead a delegation to the Assyrian forces.
Go to them at Lachish
and ask them what it would take to withdraw from us.
Do not promise them anything.
The great Sennacherib
has favorably heard your request.
He demands that you deliver to him here 300 talents of silver
and 30 talents of gold.
Would King Sennacherib not consider a lesser amount?
You are in no position to bargain!
Our king has authorized us to pay a generous tribute,
but what you are asking for is too much.
Be glad that the king has not demanded your heads.
If you do not bring the money,
we will take it from you, and you will die.
And one other matter,
you are to release to us King Padi.
It is the will of the king that he return to Ekron.
When you delivered the money,
did the Assyrians say anything to you?
They said nothing.
They just took the wagons with the money.
Where is Jahziel?
The Assyrians demanded that he stay behind.
They didn’t say why.
This is not good.
I worry about his safety.
So do I.
But I am thankful.
We have an agreement now.
Jerusalem will be spared a siege.
The cost was heavy.
The treasuries are empty.
Still, that money bought our very lives.
You do not stand before the king!
My lord, his weapon.
So you
are the man from Jerusalem.
And this is your sword.
It’s made of bronze,
not iron.
In Nineveh,
our children play with swords like these.
I am curious about this king of yours.
Who does he think will come to save him
from me?
What do you think, Rabshakeh Adar?
He hopes that Egypt will rescue him.
Is that true, man of Jerusalem?
No, it is not.
No?
Our king trusts . . .
We trust in Jehovah.
Yes, Jehovah.
You trust in him to save you?
If you trust in your God to save you,
then why is it
you bring me silver
and gold so that I should turn away from you?
But let us talk about Jehovah.
Was not Jehovah
the God of Samaria,
which my father
reduced to rubble?
Answer me!
Yes.
And is not Jehovah
the God of the cities
of Judah, which I have now conquered?
Yes.
And is not Jehovah
the God of Lachish,
whose walls
we will soon smash
to rubble?
Yes.
I can’t hear you.
Yes.
Jehovah, your God, is weak!
He will cringe before my god Asshur,
just as you
cringe before me now.
Tell me.
Do you fear me?
No.
I do not fear death.
A brave man!
The men of Lachish
also do not fear death;
they welcome it.
In fact, they beg for it.
He will take you to see them
so that you can see the imaginative ways
we discipline those who anger us.
Then
I will send you
back to Jerusalem
to report what you have seen here.
When your people
understand what we do to those
who resist,
they will throw open their gates
to us when we come.
We had an agreement.
Am I a mule that can be bought for money?
I will not tolerate rebellion!
Get him out of my sight.
“To you, O Jehovah, I turn.
My God, I trust in you.”
It’s the psalm of David.
David must have been scared.
A little.
Do you remember what he said to Saul?
‘Jehovah will help me kill Goliath.’
David puts five stones in a bag and he says:
“I am coming against you in the name of Jehovah.”
I want to be brave like David.
You can be if you trust in Jehovah just like David did.
And remember: With Jehovah on our side,
anything is possible.
Jahziel, are you all right?
You look terrible.
I’m fine.
But the Assyrians, they betrayed us.
They are coming.
My lord the king!
There’s a large military force of Assyrians outside the gates.
They demanded that you come to speak with them.
See to it that this man is taken care of.
Rest, Jahziel, you’ve done well.
We’ll talk later.
I must go out to them.
No, please, my lord. Don’t you go.
No! They will take you away.
Send me.
Take Shebna and Joah the recorder.
Do not give answer to them.
Listen and report back to me.
This is what the great king,
the king of Assyria, says:
“What is the basis for your confidence?
“You are saying,
“‘I have a strategy and the power to wage war,’
“but these are empty words.
“In whom have you put your trust,
“so that you dare to rebel against me?
“Now is it
“without authorization from Jehovah
“that I have come up against this place to destroy it?
“Jehovah himself said to me,
‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
Speak to your servants, please, in the Aramaic language,
for we can understand it;
do not speak to us in the language of the Jews
in the hearing of the people on the wall.
Is it just to your lord
and to you
that my lord sent me to speak these words?
Is it not also
to the men who sit on the wall, those who will
eat their own excrement
and drink their own urine along with you?
Do not listen to Hezekiah,
for this is what the king of Assyria says:
“Make peace with me and surrender,
“and each of you will eat
“from his own vine and from his own fig tree.
“Have any of the gods of the nations
“rescued their land
“out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
“Who among all the gods of these nations have rescued
“their land out of my hand,
“so that Jehovah should rescue Jerusalem
out of my hand?”
We will report your words
to our king.
Did he say anything else?
No, that was all.
How are the people of Jerusalem reacting?
They are terrified.
They thought—we all thought—
that the Assyrians would leave us alone.
Some are saying we should surrender,
but most are looking to you, Hezekiah.
Rizia, how do you see our situation?
We have done everything we can to prepare for a siege.
But the Assyrian siege engines are immense.
Jerusalem can withstand a siege for a time,
but without Jehovah’s help, it does not look good for us.
How long can the Assyrians sustain a siege?
Their siege of Samaria lasted three years.
It seems that they have a network of supply lines
that provide their forces with food and water.
My brothers,
we must remember that Jehovah is fully able
to rescue us just as he has in times past.
King Hezekiah,
will you not even now face the facts?
We are trapped!
We are like birds in a cage.
Either we open the door
to the cage ourselves
or we keep it closed until Sennacherib
rips it open!
Are even you suggesting that we surrender?
I cannot give Jehovah’s holy city
over to men who taunt the living God,
to men who will profane the temple of Jehovah
and carry off as spoil the ark of the covenant.
No, we will not surrender.
All the cities of Judah have been defeated.
Thousands have been taken away
—men, women,
children.
The Assyrians are at our gate,
and you cling to the belief that nothing bad will happen.
Do you not understand?
You will destroy everything you so hope to preserve
—the temple, Jerusalem, our very lives.
Shebna, I am not blind to the dangers that we face.
I too am afraid.
But if Jehovah allows Jerusalem to fall,
so be it.
How can we give up what belongs to Jehovah?
Oh, Jehovah our God, please see our peril.
Take notice of how our enemy is taunting you.
We look to you to deliver us.
We know that you are the Supreme One.
Act in behalf of your holy name.
Please help us,
and give me courage to do your will.
Please, go to Isaiah.
Take with you some of the elders and the priests.
Clothe yourselves in sackcloth
and ask Isaiah for the word of Jehovah.
Isaiah, my brother,
this is what Hezekiah says:
“This day is a day of distress,
“Perhaps Jehovah your God will hear the words
“of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his lord
“sent to taunt the living God,
“and he will call him to account for the words
“that Jehovah your God has heard.
“So offer up a prayer
in behalf of the remnant who have survived.”
This is what Jehovah says:
“Do not be afraid because of the words that you heard,
“the words with which the attendants
“of the king of Assyria blasphemed me.
“I am putting a thought in his mind,
“and he will hear a report
“and return to his own land;
and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”
Thank you, Isaiah.
Thank you.
Assyrians at the gate!
We bring a message for Hezekiah from Sennacherib,
king of the world.
I am Hezekiah.
What word do you have for me?
This is what the mighty Sennacherib,
favored of the great gods, says to you:
“Do not let your God in whom you trust
“deceive you
“by saying: ‘Jerusalem will not be delivered
“into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.’
“Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria
“did to all the lands by devoting them to destruction.
“Will you alone be rescued?
“Did the gods of the nations
“that my forefathers destroyed rescue them?
“Where are Gozan, Haran, Rezeph,
“and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
“Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad,
“and the king of the cities of Sepharvaim,
and of Hena, and of Ivvah?”
O Jehovah the God of Israel,
sitting enthroned above the cherubs,
you alone
are the true God of all the kingdoms of the earth.
Hear the words
that Sennacherib has sent to taunt the living God.
The kings of Assyria have
devastated the nations and their lands.
But now, O Jehovah our God,
please save us out of his hand,
so that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that you alone are God,
O Jehovah.
You have come from Isaiah?
Yes, my lord.
He says: “This is what Jehovah says about the king of Assyria.
“The virgin daughter of Zion despises you,
“she scoffs at you.
“The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.
“Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
“It is against the Holy One of Israel!
“Your rage against me
“and your roaring have reached my ears.
“So I will put my hook in your nose
“and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way you came.”
Rabshakeh Adar!
Adar!
Why are you still sleeping?
My lord!
My lord!
I went—
If went to the Tartan as you commanded,
but he’s dead!
He’s dead!
He’s dead.
Not a mark!
Not a mark on them!
I was at my post, my lord, all of the night,
my king, I swear it!
I heard nothing; I saw nothing!
What are we to do?
My lord, who could have done this?
Jehovah!
Jehovah!
My lord!
My lord!
My lord!

“O Jehovah, . . . I Trust in You”
- 

“O Jehovah, . . . I Trust in You”

O Jehovah our God,
save us out of his hand,
so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone are God, O Jehovah.
So you know that David wasn’t much older
than you boys when he went up against Goliath.
Can you imagine going up against such a huge giant?
Just how big was he, King Hezekiah?
Well, he was this tall.
His shoulders were this wide.
His sword was sharp and it was this long!
David must have been scared.
A little.
Do you remember what he said to Saul?
David said: ‘I killed a bear and a lion.
Jehovah will help me kill Goliath.’
And then what happened?
I know!
David puts five stones in a bag
and he says: “I am coming against you
in the name of Jehovah.”
Then he takes a stone out of his bag,
and he slings it with all his power and might
at Goliath’s head and kills him!
And then he cuts off his head.
I want to be brave like David.
You can be if you trust in Jehovah
just like David did.
And remember:
With Jehovah on our side, anything is possible.
King Hezekiah, look!
What have we here?
I found it in the garden over there.
It can’t fly.
What should I do?
It’s a young turtledove.
Perhaps it fell out of its nest.
You need to keep it close and warm.
And promise me something . . .
My lord, a moment, please.
What is it, Jahziel?
A man has just arrived from Samaria.
Is it as we expected?
Bring him to my council chamber.
Gather my advisors.
Call Isaiah too, but do so quietly.
We don’t want people to panic.
King Hezekiah,
what was I supposed to promise?
Ah, yes.
This is important.
You have to promise me not to keep 
the bird locked up in a cage.
When it can fly, set it free.
I promise.
Good.
Now I must go.
Goodbye!
Bye!
Oh, my lord the king!
Please stand.
I am your brother.
This is Jahziel, who is with the army.
These are my advisors, Eliakim and Shebna.
And this is Isaiah.
What is your name?
I am Joel, my lord.
Joel, please, what happened in Samaria?
The Assyrians,
they finally broke through the wall.
They hacked off hands,
arms, heads.
They singled out the leading men
of the city and they skinned them alive.
How did you escape?
I disguised myself as one of the Assyrian soldiers.
And what of the survivors?
I didn’t have time to see much.
But the Assyrians were gathering people together.
I suppose they were taking them as captives.
And they bound their hands
with strips of leather.
My wife, my dear wife!
And my sons and my little daughter!
My lord, others are arriving from the north.
How many?
More than a hundred so far.
I am so very sorry, my brother.
Eliakim, please see that this man is taken care of.
Give him food and rest.
See that the others are cared for as well.
Yes, my lord.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Three years since the Assyrians
first laid siege to Samaria.
Three years behind those walls.
What happened to Samaria could happen to us.
How could Jehovah have allowed this to happen?
It happened because Samaria broke its alliance
to the king of Assyria.
They stopped paying the yearly tribute just as we have.
These things came upon them because they sinned against Jehovah.
The king is right.
From King Omri’s day, the people in Samaria
have served false gods.
That may be true, but . . .
They openly practiced idolatry.
Jehovah foretold that these consequences would come upon them,
but again and again, they rejected his warnings.
Are you saying that they are being punished by Jehovah?
I’m saying that if they were loyal to Jehovah,
this would not have happened.
What happened to Samaria will not happen to us.
It was right to break ties with Assyria.
Our trust is in Jehovah.
Of course we must trust in Jehovah.
Of course we will.
But there will be consequences.
The Assyrians will come for us.
It’s wise to take practical measures.
Did not Solomon say: ‘The shrewd person sees the danger
and does something about it?’
Perhaps we could ask Egypt . . .
No!
Remember our history, Shebna.
King Asa leaned on Syria,
and Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab.
Jehovah rebuked both of them.
Our first concern
is to care for the refugees from Samaria.
Let us go and see what can be done.
My great king, the couriers have brought tribute
from King Asardin:
10,000 cattle, 5,000 sheep,
2,000 camels, 1,000 horses,
300 wagons
filled with iron from their deposits . . .
Three hundred?
Three hundred wagons of iron?
We demand 500.
The king begs for your mercy and forgiveness in the matter.
He apologizes for any delay.
I have no need for apologies.
I need iron.
Without iron, I cannot equip my army.
Without an army, I cannot gather slaves to work in the fields.
He begs for my patience.
He should be begging for his life.
Kill all of his children.
Tell him I will do the same to him
if he does not send me the remaining 200 wagons 
within 60 days.
As you wish, my lord.
What is this?
Why is there no tribute from Judah?
Ah, yes.
The king in Jerusalem refuses to pay.
He refuses?
Yes, his name is Hezekiah.
He is not like his father Ahaz, who was loyal to us.
He has struck down Philistine cities that were allied to us,
including Ekron.
Your loyal subject, King Padi, is now a prisoner in Jerusalem.
Hezekiah!
You dare to defy me?
Do you not know what I will do to you?
Reports from the field confirm
that the enemy continues to advance.
They already hold the territory to our north.
We believe the Assyrians will go on
to subdue the cities south and west of us.
My lord, some cities are giving up without a fight.
The enemy is taking captives in large numbers.
Public torture and execution are persuasive.
Some cities simply open their gates.
It is likely that the Assyrians
will approach Jerusalem from the south.
But before they could successfully attack Jerusalem,
they would have to take Lachish.
Otherwise, they risk having Lachish at their backs.
Might Egypt fight against them?
That is a possibility.
Yes, the Egyptian army is strong.
Perhaps it’s time to consider a coalition.
With Egypt and Lachish beside us,
we could make a strong stand against Assyria.
I will make no alliance with Egypt.
However, we do need to prepare.
Rizia, you’re chief of the army, what do you suggest?
We cannot defeat the Assyrians in open warfare.
We must prepare for a siege.
The walls of Jerusalem need to be strengthened.
Also, I suggest
we build a second wall to provide added protection.
What else?
We need more shields and defensive weapons.
Agreed.
Then there’s the matter of water.
I’ve thought of that.
Water flows to the fields outside the city.
Our engineers say that a tunnel can be dug
to divert the water to the Pool of Siloam inside the city walls.
If the Assyrians do come here,
why should we provide water for them?
We must move quickly.
Make arrangements immediately.
My brothers,
we need not fear the king of Assyria
and all the multitude with him,
for there are more with us than there are with him.
With him is an arm of flesh,
but with us
is Jehovah our God to help us and to fight our battles.
My lord,
Padi, king of Ekron, wants to speak with you.
You wish to speak with me, Padi?
What do you want?
I want you to release me
and to send me back to Ekron to reclaim my kingship.
Why should I do that?
The Assyrian army is coming.
I can help you.
I can speak to King Sennacherib in your behalf.
I know him.
Maybe he will be merciful to you.
I will never kiss the feet of one who enslaved
and murdered our people.
I am not like you, you contemptible worm.
If I am a worm, I am a smart worm, Hezekiah,
and you are a fool.
You have no idea of the horror
that you are bringing upon your people.
The Assyrians are like a locust plague
devouring all in their path.
They will smash through these walls,
torture your mighty men, rape your women,
and slay your children.
And what do you think they will do to you, Hezekiah?
I’m not going to listen to this.
You will see, Hezekiah.
The terror is coming.
You’ll see.
You’ll see!
You’ll see!
You!
What have you done?
You’ve killed us all!
The Assyrians are coming!
Our children!
Our children will die!
You killer!
Killer!
Isaiah, I have known you all my life.
You have always helped me and guided me.
I am deeply troubled.
These are critical times.
Sit down, my son.
Tell me what’s in your heart.
City after city is falling to the Assyrians, but you know that.
I brought this upon our people.
Shebna warned me that there would be consequences
if I rebelled against Assyria, and he was right.
There is so much suffering.
I am to blame.
Was it wrong to rebel against Assyria?
It’s never a mistake to trust God.
Your father was a puppet in the hands of Assyria.
You, though, have always put your trust in Jehovah.
Since the day you became king,
you’ve worked to reestablish pure worship in our land.
You repaired and reopened the temple,
you destroyed the sacred pillars,
you pulled down the high places and altars,
and you cut down the sacred poles.
It was the right thing to do.
And now, you are constantly with the people of our city,
encouraging and strengthening them to stay faithful.
And so do you.
But now our people in other cities suffer.
Why?
I think you know the answer to that.
But let me show you something.
You gave me this when you were just a child
learning to write.
You kept this all these years?
“To you, O Jehovah, I turn.
My God, I trust in you.”
It’s the psalm of David.
Yes.
And you have always trusted in Jehovah,
and he has blessed you greatly.
I do read from the Law every day.
And you know that the Law warned
of the consequences of unfaithfulness.
There is still much unfaithfulness among our people.
You’ve instituted reforms,
but the people have been half-hearted in applying them.
I keep thinking about what it says in our Law
that Jehovah will bring punishment
for the error of fathers upon future generations.
My father filled this city with idols.
He sacrificed my brothers to a Canaanite god.
I remember well.
That was a dreadful time.
Will Jerusalem now suffer
for the error of former generations?
Trust in Jehovah, Hezekiah.
He never disappoints those who are loyal to him.
I need more faith.
Keep it, Hezekiah.
Never forget what you wrote as a boy.
Your faithfulness can be a positive example, Hezekiah,
not just for our people today
but for generations to come.
There is no longer any doubt, Lachish will fall.
The Assyrians moved siege engines in place
and are pounding the wall with battering rams.
Their soldiers attempt to scale the wall with ladders.
Jerusalem will be next.
Rizia, tell me, can Jerusalem withstand a siege?
We have water and stockpiles of food.
Our walls are strong, and we can defend them.
We are as prepared as we can be.
But the same could have been said for Lachish.
Eliakim, what is the spirit of the people of Jerusalem?
There is great fear in the city, Hezekiah, and with good reason.
There’s nowhere to flee.
Many of the people say that we should surrender.
We will never open our gates to these hated men
and allow them to desecrate our temple.
Never!
Jehovah will save us, just as he did our forefathers at the Red Sea.
Jehovah did not save Samaria.
He has not saved the cities and towns of Judah.
Now, it seems that he will not save Lachish.
How long are we . . .
We must have faith that Jehovah will provide a way out.
What if
an alliance with Egypt
was our way out,
but we failed to take it when we could have?
There may be another option.
Sennacherib is coming against us
because we refused to pay tribute to him.
If we offer him money . . .
No.
If we give him money, he will expect us to do his bidding.
If we paid the tribute, we wouldn’t need to surrender,
and we wouldn’t need to fight.
Could this be the answer we are looking for?
All right.
Jahziel,
I want you to lead a delegation to the Assyrian forces.
Go to them at Lachish
and ask them what it would take to withdraw from us.
Do not promise them anything.
The great Sennacherib
has favorably heard your request.
He demands that you deliver to him here 300 talents of silver
and 30 talents of gold.
Would King Sennacherib not consider a lesser amount?
You are in no position to bargain!
Our king has authorized us to pay a generous tribute,
but what you are asking for is too much.
Be glad that the king has not demanded your heads.
If you do not bring the money,
we will take it from you, and you will die.
And one other matter,
you are to release to us King Padi.
It is the will of the king that he return to Ekron.
When you delivered the money,
did the Assyrians say anything to you?
They said nothing.
They just took the wagons with the money.
Where is Jahziel?
The Assyrians demanded that he stay behind.
They didn’t say why.
This is not good.
I worry about his safety.
So do I.
But I am thankful.
We have an agreement now.
Jerusalem will be spared a siege.
The cost was heavy.
The treasuries are empty.
Still, that money bought our very lives.
You do not stand before the king!
My lord, his weapon.
So you
are the man from Jerusalem.
And this is your sword.
It’s made of bronze,
not iron.
In Nineveh,
our children play with swords like these.
I am curious about this king of yours.
Who does he think will come to save him
from me?
What do you think, Rabshakeh Adar?
He hopes that Egypt will rescue him.
Is that true, man of Jerusalem?
No, it is not.
No?
Our king trusts . . .
We trust in Jehovah.
Yes, Jehovah.
You trust in him to save you?
If you trust in your God to save you,
then why is it
you bring me silver
and gold so that I should turn away from you?
But let us talk about Jehovah.
Was not Jehovah
the God of Samaria,
which my father
reduced to rubble?
Answer me!
Yes.
And is not Jehovah
the God of the cities
of Judah, which I have now conquered?
Yes.
And is not Jehovah
the God of Lachish,
whose walls
we will soon smash
to rubble?
Yes.
I can’t hear you.
Yes.
Jehovah, your God, is weak!
He will cringe before my god Asshur,
just as you
cringe before me now.
Tell me.
Do you fear me?
No.
I do not fear death.
A brave man!
The men of Lachish
also do not fear death;
they welcome it.
In fact, they beg for it.
He will take you to see them
so that you can see the imaginative ways
we discipline those who anger us.
Then
I will send you
back to Jerusalem
to report what you have seen here.
When your people
understand what we do to those
who resist,
they will throw open their gates
to us when we come.
We had an agreement.
Am I a mule that can be bought for money?
I will not tolerate rebellion!
Get him out of my sight.
“To you, O Jehovah, I turn.
My God, I trust in you.”
It’s the psalm of David.
David must have been scared.
A little.
Do you remember what he said to Saul?
‘Jehovah will help me kill Goliath.’
David puts five stones in a bag and he says:
“I am coming against you in the name of Jehovah.”
I want to be brave like David.
You can be if you trust in Jehovah just like David did.
And remember: With Jehovah on our side,
anything is possible.
Jahziel, are you all right?
You look terrible.
I’m fine.
But the Assyrians, they betrayed us.
They are coming.
My lord the king!
There’s a large military force of Assyrians outside the gates.
They demanded that you come to speak with them.
See to it that this man is taken care of.
Rest, Jahziel, you’ve done well.
We’ll talk later.
I must go out to them.
No, please, my lord. Don’t you go.
No! They will take you away.
Send me.
Take Shebna and Joah the recorder.
Do not give answer to them.
Listen and report back to me.
This is what the great king,
the king of Assyria, says:
“What is the basis for your confidence?
“You are saying,
“‘I have a strategy and the power to wage war,’
“but these are empty words.
“In whom have you put your trust,
“so that you dare to rebel against me?
“Now is it
“without authorization from Jehovah
“that I have come up against this place to destroy it?
“Jehovah himself said to me,
‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
Speak to your servants, please, in the Aramaic language,
for we can understand it;
do not speak to us in the language of the Jews
in the hearing of the people on the wall.
Is it just to your lord
and to you
that my lord sent me to speak these words?
Is it not also
to the men who sit on the wall, those who will
eat their own excrement
and drink their own urine along with you?
Do not listen to Hezekiah,
for this is what the king of Assyria says:
“Make peace with me and surrender,
“and each of you will eat
“from his own vine and from his own fig tree.
“Have any of the gods of the nations
“rescued their land
“out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
“Who among all the gods of these nations have rescued
“their land out of my hand,
“so that Jehovah should rescue Jerusalem
out of my hand?”
We will report your words
to our king.
Did he say anything else?
No, that was all.
How are the people of Jerusalem reacting?
They are terrified.
They thought—we all thought—
that the Assyrians would leave us alone.
Some are saying we should surrender,
but most are looking to you, Hezekiah.
Rizia, how do you see our situation?
We have done everything we can to prepare for a siege.
But the Assyrian siege engines are immense.
Jerusalem can withstand a siege for a time,
but without Jehovah’s help, it does not look good for us.
How long can the Assyrians sustain a siege?
Their siege of Samaria lasted three years.
It seems that they have a network of supply lines
that provide their forces with food and water.
My brothers,
we must remember that Jehovah is fully able
to rescue us just as he has in times past.
King Hezekiah,
will you not even now face the facts?
We are trapped!
We are like birds in a cage.
Either we open the door
to the cage ourselves
or we keep it closed until Sennacherib
rips it open!
Are even you suggesting that we surrender?
I cannot give Jehovah’s holy city
over to men who taunt the living God,
to men who will profane the temple of Jehovah
and carry off as spoil the ark of the covenant.
No, we will not surrender.
All the cities of Judah have been defeated.
Thousands have been taken away
—men, women,
children.
The Assyrians are at our gate,
and you cling to the belief that nothing bad will happen.
Do you not understand?
You will destroy everything you so hope to preserve
—the temple, Jerusalem, our very lives.
Shebna, I am not blind to the dangers that we face.
I too am afraid.
But if Jehovah allows Jerusalem to fall,
so be it.
How can we give up what belongs to Jehovah?
Oh, Jehovah our God, please see our peril.
Take notice of how our enemy is taunting you.
We look to you to deliver us.
We know that you are the Supreme One.
Act in behalf of your holy name.
Please help us,
and give me courage to do your will.
Please, go to Isaiah.
Take with you some of the elders and the priests.
Clothe yourselves in sackcloth
and ask Isaiah for the word of Jehovah.
Isaiah, my brother,
this is what Hezekiah says:
“This day is a day of distress, 
“Perhaps Jehovah your God will hear the words
“of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his lord
“sent to taunt the living God,
“and he will call him to account for the words
“that Jehovah your God has heard.
“So offer up a prayer
in behalf of the remnant who have survived.”
This is what Jehovah says:
“Do not be afraid because of the words that you heard,
“the words with which the attendants
“of the king of Assyria blasphemed me.
“I am putting a thought in his mind,
“and he will hear a report
“and return to his own land;
and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”
Thank you, Isaiah.
Thank you.
Assyrians at the gate!
We bring a message for Hezekiah from Sennacherib,
king of the world.
I am Hezekiah.
What word do you have for me?
This is what the mighty Sennacherib,
favored of the great gods, says to you:
“Do not let your God in whom you trust
“deceive you 
“by saying: ‘Jerusalem will not be delivered
“into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.’
“Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria
“did to all the lands by devoting them to destruction.
“Will you alone be rescued?
“Did the gods of the nations
“that my forefathers destroyed rescue them?
“Where are Gozan, Haran, Rezeph,
“and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
“Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad,
“and the king of the cities of Sepharvaim,
and of Hena, and of Ivvah?”
O Jehovah the God of Israel,
sitting enthroned above the cherubs,
you alone
are the true God of all the kingdoms of the earth.
Hear the words
that Sennacherib has sent to taunt the living God.
The kings of Assyria have
devastated the nations and their lands.
But now, O Jehovah our God,
please save us out of his hand,
so that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that you alone are God,
O Jehovah.
You have come from Isaiah?
Yes, my lord.
He says: “This is what Jehovah says about the king of Assyria.
“The virgin daughter of Zion despises you,
“she scoffs at you.
“The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.
“Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? 
“It is against the Holy One of Israel!
“Your rage against me
“and your roaring have reached my ears.
“So I will put my hook in your nose
“and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way you came.”
Rabshakeh Adar!
Adar!
Why are you still sleeping?
My lord!
My lord!
I went—
If went to the Tartan as you commanded,
but he’s dead!
He’s dead!
He’s dead.
Not a mark!
Not a mark on them!
I was at my post, my lord, all of the night,
my king, I swear it!
I heard nothing; I saw nothing!
What are we to do?
My lord, who could have done this?
Jehovah!
Jehovah!
My lord!
My lord!
My lord!


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