2 Kings 18:13-16·~1 min

Sennacherib Invades Judah

Sennacherib captures Judah's fortified cities, and Hezekiah sends to him at Lachish, acknowledging wrong and offering whatever payment is demanded.

I¹³n the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁴So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.”

The demanded tribute drains Judah's wealth: silver from the temple and palace, and even the gold from the temple doors and doorposts, is handed over to Assyria.

¹⁵And the king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. ¹⁶At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.

Section summaryAssyria now turns on Judah and takes its fortified cities. Hezekiah responds by admitting fault and paying a crushing tribute, emptying palace and temple treasuries and stripping gold from the LORD's house.

Role in the chapterThis short section narrows the pressure from regional threat to immediate loss. It shows Judah weakened before the larger confrontation at Jerusalem begins.