Christian Standard Bible
2 Chronicles 32:4
4Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”
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
2Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned war on Jerusalem, 3so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the water of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land; they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 5Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall and heightening the towers and the other outside wall. He repaired the supporting terraces of the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields. 6He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying,
Read all of 2 Chronicles 322 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- So there was gatheredקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- muchרַבrab · manyH7227
- peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- who stoppedסָתַםsâtham ώâtham · to closeH5640
- all the fountainsמַעְיָןma‛yân ma‛yenô ma‛yânâh · springH4599
- and the brookנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
- that ranשָׁטַףshâţaph · to overflowH7857
- through the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Why should the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- and findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 32:4
- 2 Chronicles 32:30This same Hezekiah blocked the upper outlet of the water from the Gihon Spring and channeled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.
- 2 Chronicles 30:14They proceeded to take away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Chronicles 32:1After Hezekiah’s faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended to break into them.
- 2 Kings 18:9In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and besieged it.
- 2 Kings 19:17Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.
- Isaiah 10:8For he says, “Aren’t all my commanders kings?
- 1 Kings 3:9So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”
- 1 Kings 19:21So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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