God’s Word Translation
2 Chronicles 32:4
4A large crowd gathered as they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land. They said, “Why should the kings of Assyria find plenty of 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
2When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to wage war against Jerusalem, 3he, his officers, and his military staff made plans to stop the water from flowing out of the springs outside the city. They helped him do it. A large crowd gathered as they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land. They said, “Why should the kings of Assyria find plenty of water?” 5Hezekiah worked hard. He rebuilt all the broken sections of the wall, made the towers taller, built another wall outside ⌞the city wall⌟, strengthened the Millo in the City of David, and made plenty of weapons and shields. 6He appointed military commanders over the troops and gathered the commanders in the square by the city gate. He spoke these words of encouragement:
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 32:30Hezekiah was the one who stopped the water from flowing from the upper outlet of Gihon. He channeled the water directly underground to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.
- 2 Chronicles 30:14Then the people got rid of the ⌞idols’⌟ altars in Jerusalem. They got rid of all the altars for incense by dumping them in the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Chronicles 32:1After everything Hezekiah had done so faithfully, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to invade Judah. He set up camp ⌞to attack⌟ the fortified cities. He intended to conquer them himself.
- 2 Kings 18:9In Hezekiah’s fourth year as king (which was the seventh year in the reign of King Hoshea, son of Elah of Israel) King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked Samaria, blockaded it,
- 2 Kings 19:17It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have leveled nations.
- Isaiah 10:8They ask, ‘Aren’t all our commanders kings?
- 1 Kings 3:9Give me a heart that listens so that I can judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?”
- 1 Kings 19:21Elisha left him, took two oxen, and butchered them. He boiled the meat, using the oxen’s yoke ⌞for firewood⌟. He gave the meat to the people to eat. Then he left to follow and assist 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
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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