2 Chronicles 32:4

2 Chronicles 32:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
• New International Version (NIV)They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said.
• English Standard Version (ESV)A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land, saying, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?”

Context of 2 Chronicles 32:4

2When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to make war against Jerusalem, 3he consulted with his leaders and mighty men about stopping up the waters of the springs outside the city, and they helped him carry it out. Many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said. 5Then Hezekiah worked resolutely to rebuild all the broken sections of the wall and to raise up towers on it. He also built an outer wall and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David, and he produced an abundance of weapons and shields. 6Hezekiah appointed military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying,

2 Chronicles 32:4 word by word

וַיִּקָּבְצ֣וּ עַם־רָ֔ב וַֽיִּסְתְּמוּ֙ אֶת־כָּל־הַמַּעְיָנ֔וֹת וְאֶת־הַנַּ֛חַל הַשּׁוֹטֵ֥ף בְּתוֹךְ־הָאָ֖רֶץ לֵאמֹ֑ר לָ֤מָּה יָב֙וֹאוּ֙ מַלְכֵ֣י אַשּׁ֔וּר וּמָצְא֖וּ מַ֥יִם רַבִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

• Manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• assembledקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
• and stoppedסָתַםsâtham ώâtham · to closeH5640
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• up allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• the springsמַעְיָןma‛yân ma‛yenô ma‛yânâh · springH4599
• and the streamנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
• that flowedשָׁטַףshâţaph · to overflowH7857
• throughתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• Whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• should the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• and findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• of waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 32:4

• 2 Chronicles 32:30It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.
• 2 Chronicles 30:14They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley.
• 2 Chronicles 32:1After all these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, intending to conquer them for himself.
• 2 Kings 18:9In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.
• 2 Kings 19:17Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands.
• Isaiah 10:8“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
• 1 Kings 3:9Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
• 1 Kings 19:21So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. Using the oxen’s equipment for fuel, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah.

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 32:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Stopped all the fountains - This was prudently done, for without water how could an immense army subsist in an arid country? No doubt the Assyrian army suffered much through this, as a Christian army did eighteen hundred years after this. When the crusaders came, in a.d. 1099, to besiege Jerusalem, the people of the city stopped up the wells, so that the Christian army was reduced to the greatest necessities and distress.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The “brook” intended is probably not the Kidron, but the natural water-course of the Gihon, which ran down the Tyropoeon valley (compare the 1 Kings 1:3 note).Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5Sennacherib's attack was not a surprise; Hezekiah provoked it by breaking a treaty (2 Kings 18:7, 20). Water was crucial for both attackers and defenders during sieges. Hezekiah ensured Sennacherib's army could not access the city's water supply. In a famous ancient engineering feat, Hezekiah's tunnel connected the fresh waters of the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, providing water within the city walls. This tunnel is almost 530 meters long (about…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-82-8. when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib ... was purposed to fight against Jerusalem--An account of the means taken to fortify Jerusalem against the threatened siege is given only in this passage. The polluting or filling up of wells, and the altering of the course of rivers, is an old practice that still obtains in the wars of the East. Hezekiah's plan was to cover the fountain heads, so that they might not be discovered by the enemy, and to carry the…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 32:4

• Cedron
• Gihon
• Hezekiah
• Jerusalem
• Kidron
• Sennacherib
• Siege

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Hezekiah
• Sennacherib
• Hezekiah (2)
• Jerusalem
• Kidron, the Brook
• Names, Proper
• Siloam; Siloah; Shelah; Shiloah

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 32

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings