After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.
After these things, and the establishment thereof - ie the restoration of the temple worship The precise After these things, and the establishment thereof - i:e., the restoration of the temple worship. The precise date is given, 2 Kings 18:13. Bent on recovering the independence of his country, Hezekiah had determined to refuse to pay the tribute which his father had bound himself to pay to Assyria.
Sennacherib ... entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities. The whole land was ravaged; the strong fortresses of Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1) and Lachish had fallen; the siege of Libnah had commenced; when the king of Judah, doubting his ability to resist, sent to acknowledge his fault, and offer terms of submission by paying the tribute. The commencement of this Assyrian war was disastrous to Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:13). But the misfortunes of the early period of the war are here passed over, as the historian hastens to relate the remarkable deliverance which God performed for his kingdom of Judah.