This chapter relates Sennacherib's invasion of the land of Judah, the preparations Hezekiah made to resist him, and the encouragement he gave his people to trust in the Lord, 2Ch 32:1 the messages and letters Sennacherib sent to Hezekiah and his subjects, full of arrogance and blasphemy, to solicit them to deliver up Jerusalem to him, 2Ch 32:9 the destruction of his army by an angel, and the deliverance of the Jews at the prayers of Hezekiah and Isaiah, 2Ch 32:20 the sin Hezekiah fell into after this, and his recovery from a fit of illness; but, upon his humiliation for it, wrath was averted, 2Ch 32:24 and the chapter is concluded with an account of his honours, riches, and exploits, and of his death and burial, 2Ch 32:27.
Ver. 1. After these things, and the establishment thereof,.... What are recorded in the preceding chapters, when matters were well settled, especially with respect to religion and temple service, and when Hezekiah was well established in the throne of his kingdom, had fought with and defeated the Philistines, and cast off the Assyrian yoke, and was in very prosperous circumstances; for it was in the fourteenth year of his reign that what follows was done:Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself; or to break them, or into them; or through them to break down the walls to take them, and join them to himself, as the Targum, and he did take them, see 2Ki 18:13.