New Living Translation
2 Chronicles 32:4
4They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and 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 realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, 3he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city. They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?” 5Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the supporting terraces in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields. 6He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by 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 32:30He blocked up the upper spring of Gihon and brought the water down through a tunnel to the west side of the City of David. And so he succeeded in everything he did.
- 2 Chronicles 30:14They set to work and removed the pagan altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Chronicles 32:1After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls.
- 2 Kings 18:9During the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked the city of Samaria and began a siege against it.
- 2 Kings 19:17“It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations.
- Isaiah 10:8He will say, ‘Each of my princes will soon be a king.
- 1 Kings 3:9Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
- 1 Kings 19:21So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.
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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