Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 18:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Sennacherib takes Judah's cities and receives tribute.”
In the fourteenth year the fenced cities fall
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 18:13–16. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 18:13–16
Read 2 Kings 18:15 with 18:13–16. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Sennacherib captures fortified Judean cities, Hezekiah admits offense, and Jerusalem strips temple and palace wealth to pay tribute.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Sennacherib takes Judah's cities and receives tribute,” 2 Kings 18:15 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: After recalling Samaria's fall, the narrative turns to Assyria's capture of Judah's fortified cities and Hezekiah's tribute, keeping Judean communities visible before Jerusalem's deliverance.
Read 2 Kings 18:13–16 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 18:13–16 forms one scene or regnal notice: Sennacherib captures fortified Judean cities, Hezekiah admits offense, and Jerusalem strips temple and palace wealth to pay tribute.
Verse 13. 13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
Verse 14. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
Verse 15. 15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house.
Verse 16. 16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
Follow the Context
- Sennacherib captures fortified Judean cities, Hezekiah admits offense, and Jerusalem strips temple and palace wealth to pay tribute.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “Sennacherib takes Judah's cities and receives tribute” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 18:15 does not permit the wording “And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Jerusalem's survival must not erase Lachish and other conquered communities, deportees, tribute burdens, or Hezekiah's costly political reversal.
What Remains True
Theological interpretation never makes imperial domination morally clean or turns displaced and subjected people into scenery for a ruler's story. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Sennacherib captures fortified Judean cities, Hezekiah admits offense, and Jerusalem strips temple and palace wealth to pay tribute. In 2 Kings 18:15, the concrete line “And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 18:15's role in 18:13–16. Paraphrase “And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 18:13–16 — Sennacherib takes Judah's cities and receives tributeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Assyrian annals and reliefs corroborate campaign, tribute, and Lachish's fall from imperial perspectives; sequence and relation to chapters 18-19 remain debated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 18:13–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 18:13–16
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 655–657, translation and translator notes for 18:13–16
Open source ↗