2 Kings 19:10-19

19:10 “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 ¹  to the king of Assyria.” 19:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. ²  Do you really think you will be rescued? ³  19:12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? ⁴  19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, ⁵  Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

19:14 Hezekiah took the letter ⁶  from the messengers and read it. ⁷  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 19:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! ⁸  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ⁹  and the earth. 19:16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ¹⁰  19:17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 19:18 They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹¹  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. ¹²  19:19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”

¹ tn Heb “will not be given.”

² tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”

³ tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”

⁴ tn 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 Telassar?”

⁵ sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

⁶ tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.

⁷ tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.

⁸ sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.

⁹ tn Or “the heavens.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

¹² tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”