2 Kings 18:31
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
The verse stands just after the complete overthrow of the ten-tribe kingdom by Shalmaneser IV and Sargon in B.C. 721-722, when many were carried into captivity but a remnant was left in the land and the mixed peoples settled there became the Samaritans. It continues a history of transgression, war, strife, defeat, captivity and conspiracy under the kings from Jehu to Hoshea while Elisha, Hosea, Jonah and Amos were prophesying. It stands in the closing portion of Kings that moves quickly from the breakup of Samaria in chapter seventeen to the Babylonian captivity of Judah.
That closing record covers eight chapters and seven kings, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, with five chapters devoted to the two good kings Hezekiah and Josiah. Hezekiah was a devoted man of God despite his mistakes. The verse belongs to the account of Sennacherib's invasion of Palestine and siege of Jerusalem, an event also recorded on Sennacherib's cylinder. It was sent as a demand for Hezekiah's submission from Lachish to Jerusalem through Rabshakeh together with Rabsaris and Tartan.
Through the verse the Assyrian representatives urged the people not to listen to or trust Hezekiah and not to believe that God would deliver them. They tried to frighten them into yielding by boasting that the gods of no nation had been able to resist Assyria. The offer that each man could eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern promised that submission would let the people live securely for a time and enjoy the produce and water of their own land. That security was only until Sennacherib was ready to return and carry them all away captive.
Hezekiah refused to listen to the demand and commanded the people to give the messengers no answer. As part of Hezekiah's story, the verse shows that God befriends His people in trouble and that they can trust Him and bring their troubles to Him.