Isaiah 37:21-22

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, ¹  37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: ² 

“The virgin daughter Zion ³ 

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ⁴ 

[37:21]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[37:22]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.