2 Kings 19:12-13

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? ¹  19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, ²  Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

2 Kings 19:17-18

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, ³  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. ⁴ 

2 Kings 19:2

19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, ⁵  clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:

2 Kings 1:14-17

1:14 Indeed, ⁶  fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. ⁷  So now, please have respect for my life.” 1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down ⁸  with him to the king.

1:16 Elijah ⁹  said to the king, ¹⁰  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! ¹¹  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” ¹² 

1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. ¹³  In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. ¹⁴ 

2 Kings 1:1

Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders

1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 10:10

10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, ¹⁶ 

whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s ¹⁷  or Samaria’s.

Isaiah 36:18-20

36:18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ¹⁸  36:19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ¹⁹  Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria ²⁰  from my power? ²¹  36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” ²² 

[19:12]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

[19:18]  ³ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[19:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”

[19:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “elders of the priests.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “their fifty.”

[1:15]  ⁸ sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

[1:16]  ¹² sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

[1:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke through Elijah.”

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.

[10:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Just as my hand found the kingdoms of the idol[s].” The comparison is expanded in v. 11a (note “as”) and completed in v. 11b (note “so”).

[10:10]  ¹⁷ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[36:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”

[36:19]  ¹⁹ tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”

[36:19]  ²⁰ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[36:19]  ²¹ 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. 18, 20).

[36:20]  ²² tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?