Commentary
Old Testament : Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
![](images/minus.gif)
Text -- Isaiah 37:1-20 (NET)
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Strongs On/Off
Context
37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes , put on sackcloth , and went to the Lord’s temple .
37:2 Eliakim the palace supervisor , Shebna the scribe , and the leading priests , clothed in sackcloth , sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz :
37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says : ‘This is a day of distress , insults , and humiliation , as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal , but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.
37:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master , the king of Assyria , who sent him to taunt the living God . When the Lord your God hears , perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains .’”
37:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah ,
37:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this : ‘This is what the Lord says : “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.
37:7 Look , I will take control of his mind ; he will receive a report and return to his own land . I will cut him down with a sword in his own land .”’”
37:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish , he left and went to Libnah , where the king was campaigning.
37:9 The king heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. He again sent messengers to Hezekiah , ordering them:
37:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this : ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says , “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria .”
37:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands . Do you really think you will be rescued ?
37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyed – the nations of Gozan , Haran , Rezeph , and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods ?
37:13 Where are the king of Hamath , the king of Arpad , and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim , Hena , and Ivvah ?’”
37:14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord .
37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord :
37:16 “O Lord who commands armies , O God of Israel , who is enthroned on the cherubim ! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth . You made the sky and the earth .
37:17 Pay attention , Lord , and hear ! Open your eyes , Lord , and observe ! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God !
37:18 It is true , Lord , that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands .
37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations , for they are not really gods , but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone . That is why the Assyrians could destroy them .
37:20 Now , O Lord our God , rescue us from his power , so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord .”
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus_head.gif)
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Isa 37:1; Isa 37:2; Isa 37:3; Isa 37:3; Isa 37:3; Isa 37:3; Isa 37:4; Isa 37:4; Isa 37:4; Isa 37:6; Isa 37:7; Isa 37:7; Isa 37:8; Isa 37:9; Isa 37:9; Isa 37:9; Isa 37:9; Isa 37:11; Isa 37:11; Isa 37:12; Isa 37:12; Isa 37:13; Isa 37:14; Isa 37:14; Isa 37:16; Isa 37:16; Isa 37:17; Isa 37:18; Isa 37:19; Isa 37:19; Isa 37:20
NET Notes: Isa 37:1 The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:2 Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:3 Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:8 Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish....
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:9 The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשׁ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:11 Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:12 Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telas...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:13 Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:14 In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preced...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:16 Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavensR...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Isa 37:18 The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)