2 Kings 19:5-7

19:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 19:6 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. ¹  19:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; ²  he will receive ³  a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down ⁴  with a sword in his own land.”’”

2 Kings 22:15-20

22:15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 22:16 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which the king of Judah has read. ⁵  22:17 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices ⁶  to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. ⁷  My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 22:18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard: 22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit ⁸  and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. ⁹  You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 22:20 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. ¹⁰  You will not have to witness ¹¹  all the disaster I will bring on this place.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.

¹ tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”

² tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.

³ tn Heb “hear.”

⁴ tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”

⁵ tn Heb “all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read.”

⁶ tn Or “burned incense.”

⁷ tn Heb “angering me with all the work of their hands.” The translation assumes that this refers to idols they have manufactured (note the preceding reference to “other gods,” as well as 19:18). However, it is possible that this is a general reference to their sinful practices, in which case one might translate, “angering me by all the things they do.”

⁸ tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”

⁹ tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Therefore, look, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”

¹¹ tn Heb “your eyes will not see.”