Revised Literal Translation
2 Chronicles 32:4
4So 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?1
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
2And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 3He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. 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? 5Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. 6And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to 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
- 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 also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
- 2 Chronicles 30:14And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron.
- 2 Chronicles 32:1After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.
- 2 Kings 18:9And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
- 2 Kings 19:17Of a truth, Yhwh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,
- Isaiah 10:8For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
- 1 Kings 3:9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
- 1 Kings 19:21And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto 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
Notes
- 1. 2 Chronicles 32:4 ran: Heb. overflowed. ↩
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries