Isaiah 37:32-38

37:32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies ¹  will accomplish this.

37:33 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. ² 

He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, ³ 

nor will he build siege works against it.

37:34 He will go back the way he came –

he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.

37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” ⁴ 

37:36 The Lord’s messenger ⁵  went out and killed 185,000 troops ⁶  in the Assyrian camp. When they ⁷  got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! ⁸  37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. ⁹  37:38 One day, ¹⁰  as he was worshiping ¹¹  in the temple of his god Nisroch, ¹²  his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ¹³  They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

[37:32]  ¹ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.

[37:33]  ² tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.

[37:33]  ³ tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[37:35]  ⁴ tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”

[37:36]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[37:36]  ⁶ tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[37:36]  ⁷ tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.

[37:36]  ⁸ tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”

[37:37]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”

[37:38]  ¹⁰ sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.

[37:38]  ¹¹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[37:38]  ¹² sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.

[37:38]  ¹³ 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.