17 King Sennacherib also wrote letters insulting the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what his letters said: “The gods of the other nations could not save their people from me. In the same way Hezekiah’s god won’t be able to save his people from me.”

18 Then the king’s officers shouted out in Hebrew. They called out to the people of Jerusalem who were on the city wall. The officers wanted to scare the people away so they could capture Jerusalem.

19 They said evil things about the gods the people of the world worshiped. They are only things people have made with their hands. In the same way the officers said evil things about the God of Jerusalem.