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.
At that time, Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord's temple and from the pillars that he himself had covered with gold, and gave all of it to the king of Assyria.
King Hezekiah was forced to strip gold from God's temple to pay tribute to the powerful Assyrian king who was threatening his nation.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred around 701 BC when the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judah and demanded tribute from King Hezekiah. Ironically, Hezekiah had previously beautified the temple by overlaying these same pillars with gold during his religious reforms. Now he was forced to remove that very gold to appease a foreign ruler and try to save his kingdom from destruction.
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