1 After ^athese deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself.  ‡

2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem,

3 he consulted with his leaders and¹ commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him.  ‡

4 Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the ^asprings and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the¹ kings of Assyria come and find much water?”  ‡

5 And ^ahe strengthened himself, ^bbuilt up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired¹ the ^cMillo in the City of David, and made² weapons and shields in abundance.  ‡

6 Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and ^agave them encouragement, saying,  ‡