Discovery Box2 Kings 18:1--19:37
Context18:1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 1 His mother 2 was Abi, 3 the daughter of Zechariah. 18:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. 5 He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time 6 the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. 7 18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. 8 18:6 He was loyal to 9 the Lord and did not abandon him. 10 He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to 11 Moses. 18:7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. 12 He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. 13 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. 14
18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched 15 up against Samaria 16 and besieged it. 18:10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel Samaria was captured. 18:11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel 17 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 18:12 This happened because they did not obey 18 the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. 19 They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 20
18:13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 18:14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. 21 If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” 22 So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents 23 of silver and thirty talents of gold. 18:15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in 24 the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 18:16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts which he had plated 25 and gave them to the king of Assyria.
18:17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser 26 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 27 along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went 28 and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 29 18:18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.
18:19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 30 18:20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 31 In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 18:21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 18:22 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ 18:23 Now make a deal 32 with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 18:24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 33 18:25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March 34 up against this land and destroy it.’”’” 35
18:26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 36 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 37 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 38 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 39
18:28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 40 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 18:29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! 41 18:30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 18:31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 42 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 18:32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 18:33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 43 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? 44 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 45 from my power? 46 18:35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 47 18:36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
18:37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn 48 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 19:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 49 clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 19:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 50 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 51 and humiliation, 52 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 53 19:4 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. 54 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 55 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 56
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. 57 19:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 58 he will receive 59 a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 60 with a sword in his own land.”’”
19:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 61 19:9 The king 62 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. 63 He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 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 64 to the king of Assyria.” 19:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 65 Do you really think you will be rescued? 66 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? 67 19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, 68 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
19:14 Hezekiah took the letter 69 from the messengers and read it. 70 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! 71 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 72 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! 73 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, 74 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. 75 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.”
19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. 76 19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: 77
“The virgin daughter Zion 78
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 79
19:22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted, 80
and looked so arrogantly? 81
At the Holy One of Israel! 82
19:23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 83
‘With my many chariots 84
I climbed up the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars,
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions, 85
its thickest woods.
19:24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands. 86
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
19:25 87 Certainly you must have heard! 88
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I planned 89 it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 90
19:26 Their residents are powerless, 91
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation. 92
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 93
when it is scorched by the east wind. 94
19:27 I know where you live,
and everything you do. 95
19:28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears; 96
I will put my hook in your nose, 97
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
19:29 98 This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: 99 This year you will eat what grows wild, 100 and next year 101 what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 102 19:30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 103
19:31 For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord 104 to his people 105 will accomplish this.
19:32 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. 106
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, 107
nor will he build siege works against it.
19:33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.
19:34 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” 108
19:35 That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they 109 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. 110 19:36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 111 19:37 One day, 112 as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, 113 his sons 114 Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 115 They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
2 Kings 24:1--25:30
Context24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, 116 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. 117 Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 118 24:2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. 119 24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. 120 24:4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them. 121
24:5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 122 24:6 He passed away 123 and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. 24:7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 124 His mother 125 was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 24:9 He did evil in the sight of 126 the Lord as his ancestors had done.
24:10 At that time the generals 127 of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city. 128 24:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 24:12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered 129 to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, 130 took Jehoiachin 131 prisoner. 24:13 Nebuchadnezzar 132 took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 24:14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 24:15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. 133 24:16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. 134 24:17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s 135 uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.
24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 136 His mother 137 was Hamutal, 138 the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 24:19 He did evil in the sight of 139 the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done. 140
24:20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. 141 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25:1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside 142 it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 143 25:2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 25:3 By the ninth day of the fourth month 144 the famine in the city was so severe the residents 145 had no food. 25:4 The enemy broke through the city walls, 146 and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. 147 They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. 148 (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 149 25:5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, 150 and his entire army deserted him. 25:6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 151 where he 152 passed sentence on him. 25:7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. 153 The king of Babylon 154 then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.
25:8 On the seventh 155 day of the fifth month, 156 in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard 157 who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 158 25:9 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 159 25:10 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 25:11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 160 25:12 But he 161 left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.
25:13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.” 162 They took the bronze to Babylon. 25:14 They also took the pots, shovels, 163 trimming shears, 164 pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. 165 25:15 The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers 166 and basins. 25:16 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple – including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” 167 and the movable stands – was too heavy to be weighed. 25:17 Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet 168 high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet 169 high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.
25:18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25:19 From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five 170 of the king’s advisers 171 who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens 172 for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city. 25:20 Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 25:21 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed 173 at Riblah in the territory 174 of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land.
25:22 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah. 175 25:23 All of the officers of the Judahite army 176 and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. 25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. 177 He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.” 25:25 But in the seventh month 178 Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, 179 came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, 180 as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. 25:26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for 181 Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.
25:27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh 182 day of the twelfth month, 183 King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned 184 King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him 185 from prison. 25:28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than 186 the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 25:29 Jehoiachin 187 took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 25:30 He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died. 188
2 Kings 25:2
Context25:2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.
2 Kings 1:1
Context1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 189
2 Kings 1:1
Context1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 190
Jeremiah 4:7
Context4:7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair 191
the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. 192
He is coming out to lay your land waste.
Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.
Jeremiah 39:1-3
Context39:1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. The siege began in the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 193 39:2 It lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 194 On that day they broke through the city walls. 39:3 Then Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, 195 and all the other officers of the king of Babylon came and set up quarters 196 in the Middle Gate. 197
Jeremiah 51:34
Context51:34 “King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
devoured me and drove my people out.
Like a monster from the deep he swallowed me.
He filled his belly with my riches.
He made me an empty dish.
He completely cleaned me out.” 198
Jeremiah 52:7
Context52:7 They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. 199 (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 200
Jeremiah 52:12-14
Context52:12 On the tenth 201 day of the fifth month, 202 in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard 203 who served 204 the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. 52:13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 52:14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.
[18:2] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:2] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[18:2] 3 tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”
[18:3] 4 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[18:4] 5 tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.
[18:4] 6 tn Heb “until those days.”
[18:4] 7 tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”
[18:5] 8 tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”
[18:6] 10 tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”
[18:6] 11 tn Heb “had commanded.”
[18:7] 12 tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”
[18:7] 13 tn Heb “and did not serve him.”
[18:8] 14 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.
[18:9] 15 tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).
[18:9] 16 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:11] 17 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
[18:12] 18 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
[18:12] 19 tn Heb “his covenant.”
[18:12] 20 tn Heb “all that Moses, the
[18:14] 21 tn Or “I have done wrong.”
[18:14] 22 tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”
[18:14] 23 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.
[18:15] 24 tn Heb “that was found.”
[18:16] 25 tn Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the
[18:17] 26 sn For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[18:17] 27 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:17] 28 tn Heb “and they went up and came.”
[18:17] 29 tn Heb “the field of the washer.”
[18:19] 30 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[18:20] 31 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[18:23] 32 tn Heb “exchange pledges.”
[18:24] 33 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[18:25] 35 sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[18:26] 36 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.
[18:27] 38 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[18:27] 39 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[18:28] 40 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”
[18:29] 41 tc The MT has “his hand,” but this is due to graphic confusion of vav (ו) and yod (י). The translation reads “my hand,” along with many medieval Hebrew
[18:31] 42 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[18:33] 43 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[18:34] 44 tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[18:34] 45 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:34] 46 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).
[18:35] 47 tn Heb “that the
[18:37] 48 sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
[19:2] 49 tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
[19:3] 50 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”
[19:3] 51 tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
[19:3] 53 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[19:4] 54 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:4] 55 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the
[19:4] 56 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[19:6] 57 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[19:7] 58 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
[19:7] 60 tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
[19:8] 61 tn 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.”
[19:9] 62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:9] 63 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
[19:10] 64 tn Heb “will not be given.”
[19:11] 65 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[19:11] 66 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[19:12] 67 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?”
[19:13] 68 sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[19:14] 69 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.
[19:14] 70 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.
[19:15] 71 sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.
[19:15] 72 tn Or “the heavens.”
[19:16] 73 tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:18] 74 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[19:18] 75 tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”
[19:20] 76 tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”
[19:21] 77 tn Heb “this is the word which the
[19:21] 78 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[19:21] 79 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[19:22] 80 tn Heb “have you raised a voice.”
[19:22] 81 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”
[19:22] 82 sn This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
[19:23] 83 tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew
[19:23] 84 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (bÿrekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (bÿrov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew
[19:23] 85 tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”
[19:24] 86 tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”
[19:25] 87 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[19:25] 88 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
[19:25] 90 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְּהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
[19:26] 91 tn Heb “short of hand.”
[19:26] 92 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[19:26] 93 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[19:26] 94 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isaa in Isa 37:27).
[19:27] 95 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line).
[19:28] 96 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.
[19:28] 97 sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[19:29] 98 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).
[19:29] 99 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[19:29] 100 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[19:29] 101 tn Heb “and in the second year.”
[19:29] 102 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 §34.4.c.
[19:30] 103 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[19:31] 104 tn Traditionally “the
[19:31] 105 tn Heb “the zeal of the
[19:32] 107 tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.
[19:34] 108 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[19:35] 109 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[19:35] 110 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”
[19:36] 111 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[19:37] 112 sn The assassination probably took place in 681
[19:37] 113 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.
[19:37] 114 tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew
[19:37] 115 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.
[24:1] 116 tn Heb “In his days.”
[24:1] 117 tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.
[24:1] 118 tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”
[24:2] 119 tn Heb “he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the
[24:3] 120 tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the
[24:4] 121 tn Heb “and also the blood of the innocent which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the
[24:5] 122 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[24:6] 123 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[24:8] 124 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:8] 125 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[24:9] 126 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[24:10] 127 tn Heb “servants.”
[24:10] 128 tn Heb “went up [to] Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”
[24:12] 129 tn Heb “came out.”
[24:12] 130 sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597
[24:12] 131 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:13] 132 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:15] 133 tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
[24:16] 134 tn Heb “the entire [group], mighty men, doers of war.”
[24:18] 136 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:18] 137 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[24:18] 138 tc Some textual witnesses support the consonantal text (Kethib) in reading “Hamital.”
[24:19] 139 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[24:19] 140 tn Heb “according to all which Jehoiakim had done.”
[24:20] 141 tn Heb “Surely [or, ‘for’] because of the anger of the
[25:1] 143 sn This would have been Jan 15, 588
[25:3] 144 tn The MT has simply “of the month,” but the parallel passage in Jer 52:6 has “fourth month,” and this is followed by almost all English translations. The word “fourth,” however, is not actually present in the MT of 2 Kgs 25:3.
[25:3] 145 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[25:4] 146 tn Heb “the city was breached.”
[25:4] 147 tn The Hebrew text is abrupt here: “And all the men of war by the night.” The translation attempts to capture the sense.
[25:4] 148 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
[25:4] 149 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from Jer 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
[25:5] 150 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[25:6] 151 sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.
[25:6] 152 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the parallel passage in Jer 52:9 has the singular.
[25:7] 153 tn Heb “were killed before his eyes.”
[25:7] 154 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:8] 155 tn The parallel account in Jer 52:12 has “tenth.”
[25:8] 156 sn The seventh day of the month would have been August 14, 586
[25:8] 157 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2, and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
[25:8] 158 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[25:9] 159 tn Heb “and every large house he burned down with fire.”
[25:11] 160 tc The MT has “the multitude.” But הֶהָמוֹן (hehamon) should probably be emended to הֶאָמוֹן (he’amon).
[25:12] 161 tn Heb “the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and contemporary English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.
[25:13] 162 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
[25:14] 163 sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.
[25:14] 164 sn These were used to trim the wicks.
[25:14] 165 tn Heb “with which they served [or, ‘fulfilled their duty’].”
[25:15] 166 sn These held the embers used for the incense offerings.
[25:16] 167 tc The MT lacks “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the וְהָ (vÿha-) on וְהַבָּקָר (vÿhabbaqar), “and the bulls,” to the וְהָ on וְהַמְּכֹנוֹת (vÿhammÿkhonot), “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20.
[25:17] 168 tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.
[25:17] 169 tn Heb “three cubits.” The parallel passage in Jer 52:22 has “five.”
[25:19] 170 tn The parallel passage in Jer 52:25 has “seven.”
[25:19] 171 tn Heb “five seers of the king’s face.”
[25:19] 172 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[25:21] 173 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
[25:22] 175 tn Heb “And the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.”
[25:23] 176 tn Heb “of the army.” The word “Judahite” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[25:24] 177 tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[25:25] 178 sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).
[25:25] 179 tn Heb “[was] from the seed of the kingdom.”
[25:25] 180 tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”
[25:26] 181 tn Heb “arose and went to.”
[25:27] 182 sn The parallel account in Jer 52:31 has “twenty-fifth.”
[25:27] 183 sn The twenty-seventh day would be March 22, 561
[25:27] 184 tn Heb “lifted up the head of.”
[25:27] 185 tn The words “released him” are supplied in the translation on the basis of Jer 52:31.
[25:28] 186 tn Heb “made his throne above the throne of.”
[25:29] 187 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:30] 188 tc The words “until the day he died” do not appear in the MT, but they are included in the parallel passage in Jer 52:34. Probably they have been accidentally omitted by homoioteleuton. A scribe’s eye jumped from the final vav (ו) on בְּיוֹמוֹ (bÿyomo), “in his day,” to the final vav (ו) on מוֹתוֹ (moto), “his death,” leaving out the intervening words.
[1:1] 189 sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.
[1:1] 190 sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.
[4:7] 191 tn Heb “A lion has left its lair.” The metaphor is turned into a simile for clarification. The word translated “lair” has also been understood to refer to a hiding place. However, it appears to be cognate in meaning to the word translated “lair” in Ps 10:9; Jer 25:38, a word which also refers to the abode of the
[39:1] 193 sn 2 Kgs 25:1 and Jer 52:4 give the more precise date of the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year which would have been Jan 15, 588
[39:2] 194 sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586
[39:3] 195 tn English versions and commentaries differ on the number of officials named here and the exact spelling of their names. For a good discussion of the options see F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations (NAC), 341, n. 71. Most commentaries follow the general lead of J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 243) as the present translation has done here. However, the second name is not emended on the basis of v. 13 as Bright does, nor is the second Nergal-Sharezer regarded as the same man as the first and the information on the two combined as he does. The first Nergal-Sharezer is generally identified on the basis of Babylonian records as the man who usurped the throne from Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Awel-Marduk or Evil-Merodach as he is known in the OT (Jer 52:31; 2 Kgs 25:27). The present translation renders the two technical Babylonian terms “Rab-Saris” (only in Jer 39:3, 13; 2 Kgs 18:17) and “Rab-Mag” (only in Jer 39:3, 13) as “chief officer” and “high official” without knowing precisely what offices they held. This has been done to give the modern reader some feeling of their high position without specifying exactly what their precise positions were (i.e., the generic has been used for the [unknown] specific).
[39:3] 196 tn Heb “sat.” The precise meaning of this phrase is not altogether clear, but J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 243) is undoubtedly correct in assuming that it had to do with setting up a provisional military government over the city.
[39:3] 197 tn The Hebrew style here is typically full or redundant, giving a general subject first and then listing the specifics. The Hebrew text reads: “Then all the officers of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, Nergal-Sharezer…and all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.” In the translation the general subject has been eliminated and the list of the “real” subjects used instead; this eliminates the dashes or commas typical of some modern English versions.
[51:34] 198 tn This verse is extremely difficult to translate because of the shifting imagery, the confusion over the meaning of one of the verbs, and the apparent inconsistency of the pronominal suffixes here with those in the following verse which everyone agrees is connected with it. The pronominal suffixes are first common plural but the versions all read them as first common singular which the Masoretes also do in the Qere. That reading has been followed here for consistency with the next verse which identifies the speaker as the person living in Zion and the personified city of Jerusalem. The Hebrew text reads: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon devoured me [cf. 50:7, 17] and threw me into confusion. He set me down an empty dish. He swallowed me like a monster from the deep [cf. BDB 1072 s.v. תַּנִּין 3 and compare usage in Isa 27:1; Ezek 29:3; 32:2]. He filled his belly with my dainties. He rinsed me out [cf. BDB s.v. דּוּח Hiph.2 and compare the usage in Isa 4:4].” The verb “throw into confusion” has proved troublesome because its normal meaning does not seem appropriate. Hence various proposals have been made to understand it in a different sense. The present translation has followed W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:428) in understanding the verb to mean “disperse” or “route” (see NAB). The last line has seemed out of place and has often been emended to read “he has spewed me out” (so NIV, NRSV, a reading that presupposes הִדִּיחָנִי [hiddikhani] for הֱדִיחָנִי [hedikhani]). The reading of the MT is not inappropriate if it is combined with the imagery of an empty jar and hence is retained here (see F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 425, n. 59; H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 344; NJPS). The lines have been combined to keep the imagery together.
[52:7] 199 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
[52:7] 200 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
[52:12] 201 tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 25:8 has “seventh.”
[52:12] 202 sn The tenth day of the month would have been August 17, 586
[52:12] 203 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2 and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
