King James Version
Isaiah 37
38 verses with commentary
Hezekiah's Prayer
And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.</strong> This verse records Hezekiah's response to Assyria's blasphemous threats delivered by the Rabshakeh (36:4-20). The king's actions demonstrate exemplary godly leadership in crisis. "Rent his clothes" (<em>vayiqra beyadav</em>, וַיִּקְרַ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXXVII.
(1) **Covered himself with sackcloth.**—The king was probably accompanied by his ministers, all in the penitential sackcloth of mourners (Joel 1:8-13; Jonah 3:5-6).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. The Gentile Church's joy at its free admission to gospel privileges (Ac 15:30, 31). She is one wall in the spiritual temple of the Holy Ghost, the Hebrew Church is the other; Jesus Christ, the common foundation, joins them (Ep 2:11-22).
**breasts ... towers--**alluding to the silver palace, which the bridal virgins proposed to build on her (So 8:9). "Breasts" of consolation (Is 66:11); faith...
Read full commentary →And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
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KJV Study Commentary
Hezekiah sending officials "covered with sackcloth" to Isaiah demonstrates proper spiritual priorities in crisis—seeking prophetic counsel before political solutions. Sackcloth symbolized mourning, repentance, and humility before God. The king includes both civil officials (Eliakim, Shebna) and priests, showing unity between governmental and religious leadership. Consulting Isaiah acknowledges tha...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Unto Isaiah the prophet.**—At last, then, the people did “see their teacher” (Isaiah 30:20). In that supreme hour of calamity the prophet, who had been despised and derided, was their one resource. What could he do to extricate them from the evil net which was closing round them, and to vindicate the honour of his God?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. The joint Church speaks of Jesus Christ's vineyard. Transference of it from the Jews, who rendered not the fruits, as is implied by the silence respecting any, to the Gentiles (Mt 21:33-43).
**Baal-hamon--**equivalent to the owner of a multitude; so Israel in Solomon's day (1Ki 4:20); so Is 5:1, "a very fruitful hill" abounding in privileges, as in numbers.
**thousand pieces--**namely, sil...
Read full commentary →And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. blasphemy: or, provocation
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KJV Study Commentary
The message "This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy" accurately diagnoses the situation's spiritual dimension. The metaphor "children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth" depicts hopeless desperation—life is near but impossible to achieve without intervention. This vivid imagery shows Hezekiah recognizes Judah's complete inability to save themselv...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **The children are come to the birth.**—The bold language of the text stands where we should use an adjective of which we half forget the meaning. Things had come to such a pass that all plans and counsels were literally *abortive. *(Comp. Isaiah 26:17-18, and Hosea 13:13 for a like simile.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12. "mine" by grant of the true Solomon. Not merely "let out to keepers," as in the Jewish dispensation of works, but "mine" by grace. This is "before me," that is, in my power [Maurer]. But though no longer under constraint of "keeping" the law as a mere letter and covenant of works, love to Jesus Christ will constrain her the more freely to render all to Solomon (Ro 8:2-4; 1Co 6:20; Ga 5:13; 1Pe...
Read full commentary →It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. left: Heb. found
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KJV Study Commentary
Hezekiah's request "lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left" demonstrates humility—the king asks the prophet to intercede rather than relying solely on his own prayers. The hope that "the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh" and "reprove" him shows faith that God has heard the blasphemy and will vindicate His name. The "remnant" concept is crucial—God preserves a faithful few thr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Lift up thy prayer for the remnant . . .**—Isaiah’s characteristic words (Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 10:21) had impressed itself on the king’s mind. Now that town after town of Judah had fallen into Sennacherib’s hands (forty-six, according to his inscriptions—*Records of the Past, *i. 38), those who were gathered within the walls of Jerusalem were as a mere remnant of the people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Jesus Christ's address to her; now no longer visibly present. Once she "had not kept" her vineyard (So 1:6); now she "dwells" in it, not as its owner, but its superintendent under Jesus Christ, with vinedressers ("companions"), for example, Paul, &c. (Ac 15:25, 26), under her (So 8:11, 12); these ought to obey her when she obeys Jesus Christ. Her voice in prayer and praise is to be heard c...
Read full commentary →So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
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KJV Study Commentary
The simple statement "So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah" shows completion of the king's command. This verse emphasizes the personal connection between faithful king and faithful prophet. The text doesn't elaborate on the journey because the focus is the spiritual consultation. This partnership between governmental and prophetic authority demonstrates proper relationship—civil leaders...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **So the servants . . .**—Literally, *And ***. . .** The Authorised Version suggests that there was only one coming of the messengers. Possibly. however, the words imply a withdrawal between the delivery of their message and their coming a second time to receive his answer.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. (See on So 2:17). As she began with longing for His first coming (So 1:2), so she ends with praying for His second coming (Psa 130:6; Php 3:20, 21; Re 22:20). Moody Stuart makes the roe upon spices to be the musk deer. As there are four gardens, so four mountains, which form not mere images, as Gilead, Carmel, &c., but part of the structure of the Song: (1) Bether, or division (So 2:17), G...
Read full commentary →And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah's message "Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid" directly addresses the core issue—fear. God's command not to fear the blasphemous words acknowledges their emotional impact but declares they cannot ultimately harm those under divine protection. The phrase "the servants of the king of Assyria" deliberately demotes Rabshakeh from his self-important posturing to mere servitude. God's perspective...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **The servants of the king of Assyria.**—Not the usual word for “servants,” which might include high officers of state, but a less honourable one (*na‘arâ*)*, *like *puer *in Latin, or *garçon *in French. He speaks of Rabshakeh (probably the king’s cup-bearer) as though he were only, after all, a *valet.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. send: or, put a spirit into him
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KJV Study Commentary
God's promise "I will send a blast upon him" refers to divine intervention in Sennacherib's spirit—God controls even the thoughts and decisions of pagan kings (Proverbs 21:1). The prophecy that he will "hear a rumour" and return home, then "cause him to fall by the sword in his own land" predicts specific details of judgment. This demonstrates God's sovereignty over history—He doesn't merely react...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **I will send a blast upon him.**—Better, *I will put a spirit in him. *The Authorised Version suggests the idea of some physical calamity, like that which actually destroyed the Assyrian army. Here, however, the “spirit,” stands for the impulse, strong and mighty, which overpowers previous resolves. (Comp. Isaiah 30:28.)
**He shall hear a rumour.**—The words admit of being explained either as...
Read full commentary →So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
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KJV Study Commentary
Rabshakeh's discovery that Sennacherib had moved from Lachish to Libnah shows the fluidity of military campaigns. The detail demonstrates historical accuracy—Isaiah provides specific geographical information verifiable through other records. The movement also shows that despite confident boasting, Assyrian operations weren't entirely smooth. God was already working behind the scenes, preparing del...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Warring against Libnah . . . Lachish.**—Both names occur in Joshua 15:39; Joshua 15:42, as belonging to Judah. The step would seem to indicate a strategic movement, intended to check the march of Tirhakah’s army; but in our ignorance of the topography, we can settle nothing further. By some writers Libnah has been identified with Pelusium, or some other town in the Delta of the Nile. The nar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
INTRODUCTION
Isaiah, son of Amoz (not Amos); contemporary of Jonah, Amos, Hosea, in Israel, but younger than they; and of Micah, in Judah. His call to a higher degree of the prophetic office (Is 6:1-13) is assigned to the last year of Uzziah, that is, 754 B.C. The first through fifth chapters belong to the closing years of that reign; not, as some think, to Jotham's reign: in the reign of the la...
Read full commentary →And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
The report about Tirhakah king of Ethiopia/Cush coming to fight disrupts Sennacherib's plans. God uses secondary causes—in this case, geopolitical competition—to accomplish His purposes. The text says Sennacherib "sent messengers again" to Hezekiah, showing that military pressure from another front motivated renewed attempts to secure Jerusalem's surrender quickly. God sovereignly orchestrates int...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Tirhakah.**—The third of the twenty-fifth, or Ethiopian dynasty of kings, So, or Sabaco, with whom Hoshea, the last king of Israel, allied himself, being the first (2Kings 17:4). He is described in Assurbanipal’s inscriptions (*Records of the Past, *i. 60) as king of Mizr and Cush—*i.e.*, Egypt and Ethiopia. The policy of Hezekiah’s counsellors had led them to court his alliance, as in Isaia...
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2. The very words of Moses (De 32:1); this implies that the law was the charter and basis of all prophecy (Is 8:20).
**Lord--**Jehovah; in Hebrew, "the self-existing and promise-fulfilling, unchangeable One." The Jews never pronounced this holy name, but substituted Adonai. The English Version, Lord in capitals, marks the Hebrew "Jehovah," though Lord is rather equivalent to "Adonai" than "Jehov...
Read full commentary →Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
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KJV Study Commentary
Sennacherib's message "Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee" directly attacks the object of Hezekiah's faith. The claim that God is a deceiver inverts truth—the father of lies accuses God of his own character. The continued assertion that Jerusalem will be delivered to Assyria maintains psychological pressure. This intensified attack shows that often trials increase in severity rig...
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3. (Jr 8:7).
**crib--**the stall where it is fed (Pr 14:4). Spiritually the word and ordinances.
**Israel--**The whole nation, Judah as well as Israel, in the restricted sense. God regards His covenant-people in their designed unity.
**not know--**namely, his Owner, as the parallelism requires; that is, not recognize Him as such (Ex 19:5, equivalent to "my people," Joh 1:10, 11).
**conside...
Read full commentary →Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
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KJV Study Commentary
The argument "Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands" appeals to empirical evidence—Assyria's unbroken record of conquest. The claim "by destroying them utterly" emphasizes total victory, leaving no room for hope. The rhetorical question "shalt thou be delivered?" assumes the obvious answer is no. This logical argument is actually fallacious—past patterns don't de...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. people--**the peculiar designation of God's elect nation (Ho 1:10), that they should be "laden with iniquity" is therefore the more monstrous. Sin is a load (Psa 38:4; Mt 11:28).
**seed--**another appellation of God's elect (Ge 12:7; Jr 2:21), designed to be a "holy seed" (Is 6:13), but, awful to say, "evildoers!"
**children--**by adoption (Ho 11:1), yet "evildoers"; not only so, but "cor...
Read full commentary →Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?
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KJV Study Commentary
The recitation of conquered peoples—"Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, Eden, Telassar"—aims to overwhelm hope through accumulated evidence. The question "Have the gods of the nations delivered them?" again equates YHWH with powerless idols. Sennacherib fundamentally misunderstands that false gods have no existence (1 Corinthians 8:4), while YHWH is the living God who acts in history. The litany of failures pr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Gozan . . .**—The induction drawn from the enumeration of conquered nations is continued. Strictly speaking, Sargon, the father of Sennacherib, was the founder of a new dynasty; but the “fathers” are, as commonly in the formulæ of Eastern kings, the predecessors of the reigning king. The position of Gozan is defined by 2Kings 17:6 as being on the Habor, or *Khabûr, *which flows into the Tig...
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**5. Why--**rather, as Vulgate, "On what part." Image from a body covered all over with marks of blows (Psa 38:3). There is no part in which you have not been smitten.
**head ... sick, &c.--**not referring, as it is commonly quoted, to their sins, but to the universality of their punishment. However, sin, the moral disease of the head or intellect, and the heart, is doubtless made its own pu...
Read full commentary →Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
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KJV Study Commentary
The continued list—"Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arphad, king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, Ivah?"—hammers home the message: all resistance fails. By mentioning kings specifically, Sennacherib emphasizes that even royal power cannot withstand Assyria. This comprehensive catalogue of defeated enemies demonstrates thorough preparation for psychological warfare. However, the very lengt...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Where is the king of Hamath . . .**—The question which had been asked in Isaiah 36:19 as to the gods of the cities named is now asked of their kings, and the implied answer is that they are in the dungeons of Nineveh.
**Hena, and Ivah.**—The sites have not been identified, but Anah is found as the name of a city on the Euphrates, and Ivah may be the same as the Ava of 2Kings 17:24.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. From the lowest to the highest of the people; "the ancient and honorable, the head, the prophet that teacheth lies, the tail." See Is 9:13-16. He first states their wretched condition, obvious to all (Is 1:6-9); and then, not previously, their irreligious state, the cause of it.
**wounds--**judicially inflicted (Ho 5:13).
**mollified with ointment--**The art of medicine in the East consists...
Read full commentary →And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
Hezekiah receiving the letter and reading it shows deliberate engagement with the threat—he doesn't ignore or minimize it but faces reality fully. Going "up unto the house of the LORD" demonstrates proper crisis response: bring the problem to God. The detail that Hezekiah "spread it before the LORD" is profound—physically displaying the threatening letter before God symbolizes complete transparenc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Hezekiah received the letter.**—The Hebrew noun is plural, as though the document consisted of more than one sheet.
**And spread it before the Lord.**—The act was one of mute appeal to the Supreme Arbiter. The *corpus delicti *was, as it were, laid before the judge, and then the appellant offered up his prayer. Mr. Cheyne quotes a striking parallel from the “Annals of Assurbanipal” (*Record...
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7. Judah had not in Uzziah's reign recovered from the ravages of the Syrians in Joash's reign (2Ch 24:24), and of Israel in Amaziah's reign (2Ch 25:13, 23, &c.). Compare Isaiah's contemporary (Am 4:6-11), where, as here (Is 1:9, 10), Israel is compared to "Sodom and Gomorrah," because of the judgments on it by "fire."
**in your presence--**before your eyes: without your being able to prevent...
Read full commentary →And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
Hezekiah's prayer begins with worship: addressing "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubim" grounds his petition in God's character and covenant relationship. "Thou art the God, even thou alone" is confession of monotheism against Assyrian polytheism. The declaration "thou hast made heaven and earth" establishes God's creative authority over all existence. Right theology...
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**8. daughter of Zion--**the city (Psa 9:14), Jerusalem and its inhabitants (2Ki 19:21): "daughter" (feminine, singular being used as a neuter collective noun), equivalent to sons (Is 12:6, Margin) [Maurer]. Metropolis or "mother-city" is the corresponding term. The idea of youthful beauty is included in "daughter."
**left--**as a remnant escaping the general destruction.
**cottage--**a hut, m...
Read full commentary →O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
The petition "Incline thine ear, O LORD" and "open thine eyes" uses anthropomorphic language—God doesn't literally have ears or eyes needing attention, but this vivid imagery expresses the prayer for divine attention and action. "See" emphasizes that God should observe Sennacherib's blasphemy. The phrase "all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God" correctly identifie...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **That dwellest between the cherubims.**—A like phrase in Psalm 18:10 refers, apparently, to the dark thunder-clouds of heaven. Here, probably, the reference is to the glory-cloud which was the symbol of the Divine presence, and which rested, when it manifested itself, between the cherubim of the ark (Numbers 7:89), those figures also symbolising the elemental forces of the heavens. (Comp. Ps...
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9. Jehovah of Sabaoth, that is, God of the angelic and starry hosts (Psa 59:5; 147:4; 148:2). The latter were objects of idolatry, called hence Sabaism (2Ki 17:16). God is above even them (1Ch 16:26). "The groves" were symbols of these starry hosts; it was their worship of Sabaoth instead of the Lord of Sabaoth, which had caused the present desolation (2Ch 24:18). It needed no less a power than Hi...
Read full commentary →Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.
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KJV Study Commentary
The repeated "Incline thine ear...open thine eyes" emphasizes urgency and intensity. The additional "O LORD" is personal appeal to covenant relationship. "Hear all the words of Sennacherib" asks God to pay attention to every blasphemy. Hezekiah doesn't minimize or sanitize the enemy's words but lays them fully before God. This honest presentation of the threat demonstrates faith that God can handl...
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**10. Sodom--**spiritually (Ge 19:24; Jr 23:14; Eze 16:46; Re 11:8).
Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, nations: Heb. lands
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KJV Study Commentary
The acknowledgment "Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations" is remarkably honest—Hezekiah admits Sennacherib's claims are factually accurate. This confession shows mature faith doesn't require denying reality or pretending circumstances aren't dire. Recognizing the enemy's genuine power makes the subsequent trust in God's greater power more meaningful. Faith built o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Of a truth, Lord . . .**—The facts of Rabshakeh’s induction are admitted, but the inference denied, on the ground that the cases were not parallel. The gods of the nations had been cast into the fire (an alternative to their being taken as trophies for the temples of Asshur and Ishtar), but this could never happen to Jehovah, of whom there was no graven image, and He would show that He alon...
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11. God does not here absolutely disparage sacrifice, which is as old and universal as sin (Ge 3:21; 4:4), and sin is almost as old as the world; but sacrifice, unaccompanied with obedience of heart and life (1Sa 15:22; Psa 50:9-13; 51:16-19; Ho 6:6). Positive precepts are only means; moral obedience is the end. A foreshadowing of the gospel, when the One real sacrifice was to supersede all the sh...
Read full commentary →And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. cast: Heb. given
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KJV Study Commentary
Hezekiah explains why previous gods failed: "they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone." This theological clarity distinguishes YHWH from idols. False gods couldn't save because they don't exist as persons—they're mere human creations. The phrase "therefore they have destroyed them" shows that destruction of idols proves nothing about the true God. This argument cuts the heart...
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**12. appear before me--**in the temple where the Shekinah, resting on the ark, was the symbol of God's presence (Ex 23:15; Psa 42:2).
**who hath required this--**as if you were doing God a service by such hypocritical offerings (Job 35:7). God did require it (Ex 23:17), but not in this spirit (Mi 6:6, 7).
**courts--**areas, in which the worshippers were. None but priests entered the temple it...
Read full commentary →Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.
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KJV Study Commentary
The climactic petition "Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand" moves from theological foundation to specific request. The purpose clause "that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only" reveals Hezekiah's primary motivation—not merely Judah's safety but God's glory among the nations. This God-centered prayer prioritizes divine reputation over pers...
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**13. oblations--**unbloody; "meat (old English sense, not flesh) offerings," that is, of flour, fruits, oil, &c. (Le 2:1-13). Hebrew, mincha.
**incense--**put upon the sacrifices, and burnt on the altar of incense. Type of prayer (Psa 141:2; Re 8:3).
**new moons--**observed as festivals (Nu 10:10; 28:11, 14) with sacrifices and blowing of silver trumpets.
**sabbaths--**both the seventh ...
Read full commentary →Sennacherib's Fall
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah's message "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel" comes in direct response to Hezekiah's prayer, demonstrating that God hears and answers. The phrase "Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib" acknowledges the king's intercession. God's immediate response through His prophet shows that He was waiting for His people to turn to Him in faith. The prophetic answer validates Hezekiah's app...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Then Isaiah the son of Amoz . . .**—According to the rectified chronology, the grand burst of prophecy which follows was the last of Isaiah’s recorded utterances. As such, it will be interesting to note any points of contact that present themselves either with his earlier prophecies or with the great prophetic poem (Isaiah 40-66) traditionally ascribed to him. The prayer of Hezekiah, if he ...
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**14. appointed--**the sabbath, passover, pentecost, day of atonement, and feast of tabernacles [Hengstenberg]; they alone were fixed to certain times of the year.
**weary--**(Is 43:24).
This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
The oracle's opening "This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him" identifies Sennacherib as the object of judgment. The personification of Jerusalem as "the virgin, the daughter of Zion" emphasizes her protected status under God's care. The verbs "despised...laughed to scorn" and "shaken her head" depict victorious mockery—a complete reversal where the threatened becomes the mocker...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **The virgin, the daughter of Zion.**—The same phrase had been used in Isaiah 23:12 of Zidon. There the virgin had been “oppressed,” *i.e., “*ravished” by the invaders, but Zion was to escape the ravisher, and laugh his lust to scorn.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. (Psa 66:18; Pr 28:9; La 3:43, 44).
**spread ... hands--**in prayer (1Ki 8:22). Hebrew, "bloods," for all heinous sins, persecution of God's servants especially (Mt 23:35). It was the vocation of the prophets to dispel the delusion, so contrary to the law itself (De 10:16), that outward ritualism would satisfy God.
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's rhetorical questions "Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed?" make Sennacherib's true offense explicit—his insults targeted not merely Judah but "the Holy One of Israel." The phrase "exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high" depicts arrogant presumption. Assyria's pride consisted of not recognizing the difference between conquering pagan nations and challenging YHWH. God will n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Whom hast thou reproached . . .**—The manifold iteration of the question emphasises the force of the answer. The “Holy One of Israel,” at whom the scornful revellers had sneered (Isaiah 30:11), was now seen to be the one mighty deliverer.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. God saith to the sinner, "Wash you," &c., that he, finding his inability to "make" himself "clean," may cry to God, Wash me, cleanse me (Psa 51:2, 7, 10).
**before mine eyes--**not mere outward reformation before man's eyes, who cannot, as God, see into the heart (Jr 32:19).
By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. By thy: Heb. By the hand of thy servants the tall: Heb. the tallness of the cedars thereof and the choice of the fir trees thereof the forest: or, the forest and his fruitful field
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KJV Study Commentary
God quotes Sennacherib's boasting: "By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord" shows the blasphemy came through Rabshakeh. The boasts about chariots, conquering mountain heights, and cutting down cedars of Lebanon demonstrate Assyrian pride in military and engineering achievements. "I will enter into the height of his border" claims access to inaccessible places. The "forest of his Carmel" ref...
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(24) **By the multitude of my chariots.**—The words refer apparently to the taunt of Isaiah 36:8. The inscriptions of the Assyrian king are full of like boasts. Shalmaneser, “Trackless paths and difficult mountains **. . .** I penetrated” (*Records of the Past, iii.* 85): and Assumacirpal, “Rugged mountains, difficult paths, which for the passage of chariots were not suited, I passed” (*Ibid. *p. ...
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**17. seek judgment--**justice, as magistrates, instead of seeking bribes (Jr 22:3, 16).
**judge--**vindicate (Psa 68:5; Jas 1:27).
I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. besieged: or, fenced and closed
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KJV Study Commentary
The boasting continues: "I have digged, and drunk water" claims ability to find water even in deserts through engineering. "With the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places" is hyperbolic pride—claiming to conquer even natural obstacles. This exemplifies human hubris, believing technology and power make one invincible. The comprehensive claims "all the rivers" shows t...
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(25) **I have digged, and drunk water . . .**—This, again, was one of the common boasts of the Assyrian conquerors. It was Sennacherib’s special glory, as recorded in his inscriptions, that he had provided cities with water which were before scantily supplied, that he had made wells even in the deserts (*Records of the Past, i.* 29, 31, 9:23).
**All the rivers of the besieged places.**—As the word...
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18. God deigns to argue the case with us, that all may see the just, nay, loving principle of His dealings with men (Is 43:26).
**scarlet--**the color of Jesus Christ's robe when bearing our "sins" (Mt 27:28). So Rahab's thread (Jos 2:18; compare Le 14:4). The rabbins say that when the lot used to be taken, a scarlet fillet was bound on the scapegoat's head, and after the high priest had confess...
Read full commentary →Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. Hast: or, Hast thou not heard how I have made it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? should I now bring it to be laid waste, and defenced cities to be ruinous heaps?
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KJV Study Commentary
God's response "Hast thou not heard?" begins His rebuke. The revelation "long ago" and "of ancient times" shows that Assyria's success wasn't their achievement but God's sovereign plan. "I have formed it" and "now have I brought it to pass" reveals God as the actual cause of Assyrian military victories. This demonstrates crucial theology: God uses even pagan nations as instruments (Isaiah 10:5-6)....
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(26) **Hast thou not heard . . .**—The speech of Sennacherib ends, and that of Jehovah begins. The adverb “long ago” should be connected with the words that follow. The events of history had all been foreseen and ordered, as in the remote past, by the counsels of Jehovah. Kings and armies were but as His puppets in the drama of the world’s history. The words “hast thou not heard” suggest the thoug...
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19-20. Temporal blessings in "the land of their possession" were prominent in the Old Testament promises, as suited to the childhood of the Church (Ex 3:17). New Testament spiritual promises derive their imagery from the former (Mt 5:5).
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. of small: Heb. short of hand
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KJV Study Commentary
God explains the reality behind Assyria's victories: "their inhabitants were of small power" describes those conquered as deliberately weakened by God. "Dismayed and confounded" shows God caused their psychological defeat. The agricultural metaphors "as the grass of the field...as the green herb...as corn blasted before it be grown up" depict divinely-ordained weakness. This reveals that Assyria c...
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(27) **Therefore.**—Better, *and.*
**They were as the grass of the field.**—One symbol of weakness follows after another. The “grass upon the housetops” was, in this respect, a proverbial emblem (Psalm 129:6). The italics in *as corn *seem to suggest some error in transcription. The words as they stand give *a field before the blades; *those in 2Kings 19:26, *a blasting.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-20. Temporal blessings in "the land of their possession" were prominent in the Old Testament promises, as suited to the childhood of the Church (Ex 3:17). New Testament spiritual promises derive their imagery from the former (Mt 5:5).
But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. abode: or, sitting
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KJV Study Commentary
The declaration "I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in" demonstrates omniscience—God observes every movement and plan. "Thy rage against me" identifies the core sin: not military action but rebellion against divine authority. God sees both external actions and internal attitudes. The comprehensive knowledge "I know" repeated emphasizes nothing escapes divine awareness. This sets u...
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(28) **Thy abode . . .**—The three words include, in the common speech of the Hebrews, the whole of human life in every form of activity (Psalm 121:8; Psalm 139:2).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. faithful--**as a wife (Is 54:5; 62:5; Ho 2:19, 20).
**harlot--**(Eze 16:28-35).
**righteousness lodged--**(2Pe 3:13).
**murderers--**murderous oppressors, as the antithesis requires (see on Is 1:15; 1Jo 3:15).
Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
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KJV Study Commentary
The judgment imagery "I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips" depicts Sennacherib as a wild animal God will control. Ancient Near Eastern conquerors led captives with hooks and bridles, humiliating them. God will do to Assyria what Assyria did to others. "I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest" promises forced retreat without conquering Jerusalem. The punishment f...
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(29) **Therefore will I put my hook in thy nose . . .**—The Assyrian sculptures represent both beasts and men as dragged in this way (Ezekiel 38:4). (Comp. the same image in Isaiah 30:28.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. Thy princes and people are degenerate in "solid worth," equivalent to "silver" (Jr 6:28, 30; Eze 22:18, 19), and in their use of the living Word, equivalent to "wine" (So 7:9).
**mixed--**literally, "circumcised." So the Arabic, "to murder" wine, equivalent to dilute it.
And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
The "sign" given to Hezekiah provides tangible evidence of God's promise. "Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself" and next year "that which springeth of the same" describes two years without normal planting due to Assyrian invasion's disruption. "In the third year sow ye" promises return to normalcy, indicating Assyria will be gone. This sign requires faith—waiting two years for fulfill...
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(30) **And this shall be a sign unto thee.**—The prophet now turns to Hezekiah, and offers, as was his wont (Isaiah 7:11; Isaiah 38:8), a sign within the horizon of the nearer future as the pledge of the fulfilment of a prediction which had a wider range. It was then autumn, probably near the equinox, which was the beginning of a new year. The Assyrian invasion had stopped all tillage in the previ...
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**23. companions of thieves--**by connivance (Pr 29:24).
**gifts--**(Eze 22:12). A nation's corruption begins with its rulers.
And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: the remnant: Heb. the escaping of the house of Judah that remaineth
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KJV Study Commentary
The metaphor "the remnant that is escaped...shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward" uses agricultural imagery for spiritual reality. Deep roots represent firm foundation in God's promises; upward fruit represents visible blessing. This promise assures that despite devastation, the remnant will not just survive but thrive. The vertical metaphor emphasizes both hidden depth (relations...
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(31) **And the remnant that is escaped.**—We note the “remnant” of the familiar formula of Isaiah’s earlier days. The name of Shear-jashub had not ceased to be an omen of good (Isaiah 7:3). And that remnant should be as the scion from which should spring in due course the goodly tree of the future (Isaiah 6:13).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. Lord ... Lord--**Adonai, Jehovah.
**mighty One of Israel--**mighty to take vengeance, as before, to save.
**Ah--**indignation.
**ease me--**My long tried patience will find relief in at last punishing the guilty (Eze 5:13). God's language condescends to human conceptions.
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. they: Heb. the escaping
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The promise "out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant" identifies the city as source of renewal. The parallel "out of mount Zion...they that escape" uses Zion (temple mount) to emphasize spiritual center of restoration. The declaration "the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this" attributes everything to divine initiative, not human effort. God's "zeal" (Hebrew qin'ah) indicates passionate commi...
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(32) **The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.**—Here, again, the prophet returns in his old age to the formula of the earlier days of Isaiah 9:7, with an implied reference to the grand promise with which it had then been associated.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. turn ... hand--**not in wrath, but in grace (Zec 13:7), "upon thee," as Is 1:26, 27 show; contrasted with the enemies, of whom He will avenge Himself (Is 1:24).
**purely--**literally, "as alkali purifies."
**thy dross--**not thy sins, but the sinful persons (Jr 6:29); "enemies" (Is 1:24); degenerate princes (see on Is 1:22), intermingled with the elect "remnant" of grace.
**tin--**Hebr...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.
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KJV Study Commentary
The prophecy "he shall not come into this city" is unambiguous—Sennacherib will not enter Jerusalem. The specifics "nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it" enumerate siege tactics that won't happen. This detailed prediction demonstrates God's comprehensive protection. The precision serves as test of true prophecy—any deviation would prove Isaiah false...
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(33) **Nor come before it with shields.**—The clause points to the two forms of attack: (1) the invaders marching to the assault, protected by their serried shields against the darts and stones which were flung by hand or from engines by the besieged; and (2) the earthworks which were piled up to make the attack on the walls more feasible. (Comp. Habakkuk 1:10; Ezekiel 4:2.) Isaiah’s prediction is...
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26. As the degeneracy had shown itself most in the magistrates (Is 1:17-23), so, at the "restoration," these shall be such as the theocracy "at the first" had contemplated, namely, after the Babylonish restoration in part and typically, but fully and antitypically under Messiah (Is 32:1; 52:8; Jr 33:7; Mt 19:28).
**faithful--**no longer "an harlot."
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
The declaration "By the way that he came, by the same shall he return" promises complete retreat. "Shall not come into this city" repeats the promise for emphasis. Sennacherib's retreat by the same route he came depicts total military failure—no conquest, no plunder, just humiliating withdrawal. The repetition underscores certainty. This reversal demonstrates that human pride and power mean nothin...
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**27. redeemed--**temporarily, civilly, and morally; type of the spiritual redemption by the price of Jesus Christ's blood (1Pe 1:18, 19), the foundation of "judgment" and "righteousness," and so of pardon. The judgment and righteousness are God's first (Is 42:21; Ro 3:26); so they become man's when "converted" (Ro 8:3, 4); typified in the display of God's "justice," then exhibited in delivering H...
Read full commentary →For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
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God's promise "I will defend this city to save it" shows divine commitment. The dual motivation "for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake" reveals two reasons: God's glory and covenant faithfulness. God's "own sake" means His reputation is at stake—if Jerusalem falls after He promised protection, His name would be blasphemed. The Davidic covenant promise (2 Samuel 7:16) obligates God to ...
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(35) **For mine own sake . . .**—The words set forth, as it were, the two motives of Jehovah’s action: “for His own sake,” as asserting His majesty against the blasphemy of the Assyrians; for “David’s sake,” as mindful of the promise made to him, showing, in the spirit of the second commandment, that the good as well as the evil influences of men survive, and that a later generation may profit by ...
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**28. destruction--**literally, "breaking into shivers" (Re 2:27). The prophets hasten forward to the final extinction of the ungodly (Psa 37:20; Re 19:20; 20:15); of which antecedent judgments are types.
Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
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KJV Study Commentary
The fulfillment "the angel of the LORD went forth" describes supernatural intervention. The devastating result "smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand" (185,000 dead) shows God's power. The detail "when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses" emphasizes the sudden, overnight nature of judgment. No human army killed these soldiers—...
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(36) **Then the angel of the Lord.**—The words do not exclude—rather, as interpreted by 1Chronicles 21:14, they imply—the action of some form of epidemic disease, dysentery or the plague, such as has not seldom turned the fortunes of a campaign, spreading, it may be, for some days, and then, aggravated by atmospheric conditions, such as the thunderstorm implied in Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:27-30, cul...
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**29. ashamed--**(Ro 6:21).
**oaks--**Others translate the "terebinth" or "turpentine tree." Groves were dedicated to idols. Our Druids took their name from the Greek for "oaks." A sacred tree is often found in Assyrian sculpture; symbol of the starry hosts, Saba.
**gardens--**planted enclosures for idolatry; the counterpart of the garden of Eden.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
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KJV Study Commentary
The simple statement "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed" fulfills God's prophecy exactly. "Went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh" shows complete abandonment of the campaign and retreat to Assyria's capital. The brevity emphasizes how anticlimactic Assyria's withdrawal was after all the threatening rhetoric. What seemed an unstoppable force simply evaporated when God intervened. The contras...
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(37) **So Sennacherib . . .**—We have to remember that the Assyrian king had been engaged in the siege of Libnah, probably also in an Egyptian expedition, which from some cause or other was unsuccessful. The course of events was probably this: that in Egypt he heard of the ravages of the pestilence, returned to find his army too weak to fight, and then, abandoning all further action in the south, ...
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**30. oak--**Ye shall be like the "oaks," the object of your "desire" (Is 1:29). People become like the gods they worship; they never rise above their level (Psa 135:18). So men's sins become their own scourges (Jr 2:9). The leaf of the idol oak fades by a law of necessary consequence, having no living sap or "water" from God. So "garden" answers to "gardens" (Is 1:29).
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. Armenia: Heb. Ararat
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The final judgment "as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god" shows ironic timing—Sennacherib is killed while honoring the deity that couldn't protect him. "Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword" fulfills God's prophecy (verse 7) precisely. Assassination by his own sons demonstrates that fleeing God's judgment provides no safety. "Esarhaddon his son reigned in his...
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(38) **And it came to pass.**—The Assyrian inscriptions fill up the gap of twenty years between the events which appear here, as if in immediate sequence, with five campaigns in the north and east of the Assyrian Empire, chiefly against the Babylonians, who revolted again under the son of Merôdach-baladan.
**Nisroch.**—Some experts (Oppert and Schrader) have found the name in the Khorsabad inscrip...
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**31. strong--**powerful rulers (Am 2:9).
**maker of it--**rather, his work. He shall be at once the fuel, "tow," and the cause of the fire, by kindling the first "spark."
**both--**the wicked ruler, and "his work," which "is as a spark."