Text -- Isaiah 37:35-38 (NET)

37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 37:36 The Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! 37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 37:38 One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 37:35

¹ tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”

NET Notes: Isa 37:36

¹ tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

² tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

³ tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.

⁴ tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”

NET Notes: Isa 37:37

¹ tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”

NET Notes: Isa 37:38

¹ sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.

² tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

³ sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.

⁴ sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.