his king Sennacherib, and that he ruled over the Assyrians, and that he
made an expedition against all Asia and Egypt; and says thus:

5. "Now when Sennacherib was returning from his Egyptian war to
Jerusalem, he found his army under Rabshakeh his general in danger [by a
plague], for God had sent a pestilential distemper upon his army; and
on the very first night of the siege, a hundred fourscore and five
thousand, with their captains and generals, were destroyed. So the king
was in a great dread and in a terrible agony at this calamity; and being
in great fear for his whole army, he fled with the rest of his forces to
his own kingdom, and to his city Nineveh; and when he had abode there a
little while, he was treacherously assaulted, and died by the hands of
his elder sons, [3] Adrammelech and Seraser, and was slain in his own
temple, which was called Araske. Now these sons of his were driven away
on account of the murder of their father by the citizens, and went into
Armenia, while Assarachoddas took the kingdom of Sennacherib." And this
proved to be the conclusion of this Assyrian expedition against the
people of Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 2. How Hezekiah Was Sick, And Ready To Die; And How God Bestowed
Upon Him Fifteen Years Longer Life, [And Secured That Promise] By The
Going Back Of The Shadow Ten Degrees.

1. Now king Hezekiah being thus delivered, after a surprising manner,
from the dread he was in, offered thank-offerings to God, with all his
people, because nothing else had destroyed some of their enemies, and
made the rest so fearful of undergoing the same fate that they departed
from Jerusalem, but that Divine assistance. Yet, while he was very
zealous and diligent about the worship of God, did he soon afterwards
fall into a severe distemper, insomuch that the physicians despaired
of him, and expected no good issue of his sickness, as neither did
his friends: and besides the distemper [4] itself, there was a very
melancholy circumstance that disordered the king, which was the
consideration that he was childless, and was going to die, and leave his
house and his government without a successor of his own body; so he was
troubled at the thoughts of this his condition, and lamented himself,
and entreated of God that he would prolong his life for a little while
till he had some children, and not suffer him to depart this life before
he was become a father. Hereupon God had mercy upon him, and accepted of
his s