Isaiah 37:10

37:10 “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 to the king of Assyria.”

Isaiah 37:12-23

37:12 Were the nations whom my predecessors ¹  destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? ²  37:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, ³  Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ⁴  from the messengers and read it. ⁵  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! ⁶  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ⁷  and the earth. 37:17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ⁸  37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations ⁹  and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  37:20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” ¹² 

37:21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, ¹³  37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: ¹⁴ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ¹⁵ 

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ¹⁶ 

37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted

and looked so arrogantly? ¹⁷ 

At the Holy One of Israel! ¹⁸ 

[37:12]  ¹ tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”

[37:12]  ² 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?”

[37:13]  ³ sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.

[37:14]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).

[37:14]  ⁵ tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).

[37:16]  ⁶ sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.

[37:16]  ⁷ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[37:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

[37:18]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”

[37:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[37:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).

[37:20]  ¹² tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”

[37:21]  ¹³ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 reads, “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense: “because.”

[37:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[37:22]  ¹⁵ 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.

[37:22]  ¹⁶ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[37:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”

[37:23]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.