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2 Kings Chapter Nineteen

 

2 Kings 19 Outline of Contents

Isaiah Assures Deliverance (v.1~7)

Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer (v.8~19)

The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib (v.20~34)

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death (v.35~37)

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 19

This chapter relates that King Hezekiah, on a report made to him of Rabshakeh's speech, sent a message to the prophet Isaiah to pray for him, who returned him a comfortable and encouraging answer, 2 Kings 19:1 and that upon Rabshakeh's return to the king of Assyria, he sent to Hezekiah a terrifying letter, 2 Kings 19:8, which Hezekiah spread before the Lord, and prayed unto him to save him and his people out of the hands of the king of Assyria, 2 Kings 19:14, to which he had a gracious answer sent him by the prophet Isaiah, promising him deliverance from the Assyrian army, 2 Kings 19:20, which accordingly was destroyed by an angel in one night, and Sennacherib fleeing to Nineveh, was slain by his two sons, 2 Kings 19:35.

 

2 Kings 19:1  And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

   YLT  1And it cometh to pass, at king Hezekiah's hearing, that he rendeth his garments, and covereth himself with sackcloth, and entereth the house of Jehovah,

Verses 1-37

And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it,.... The report of Rabshakeh's speech, recorded in the preceding chapter:

that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth; rent his clothes because of the blasphemy in the speech; and he put on sackcloth, in token of mourning, for the calamities he feared were coming on him and his people: and he went into the house of the Lord; the temple, to pray unto him. The message he sent to Isaiah, with his answer, and the threatening letter of the king of Assyria, Hezekiah's prayer upon it, and the encouraging answer he had from the Lord, with the account of the destruction of the Assyrian army, and the death of Sennacherib, are the same "verbatim" as in Isaiah 37:1 throughout; and therefore the reader is referred thither for the exposition of them; only would add what RauwolffF20Travels, par. 3. ch. 22. p. 317. observes, that still to this day (1575) there are two great holes to be seen, wherein they flung the dead bodies (of the Assyrian army), one whereof is close by the road towards Bethlehem, the other towards the right hand against old Bethel.

 

2 Kings 19:2  2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

   YLT  2and sendeth Eliakim, who [is] over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covering themselves with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz,

 

2 Kings 19:3  3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.

   YLT  3and they say unto him, `Thus said Hezekiah -- A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising [is] this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bring forth.

 

2 Kings 19:4  4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

   YLT  4`It may be Jehovah thy God doth hear all the words of the chief of the butlers with which the king of Asshur his lord hath sent him to reproach the living God, and hath decided concerning the words that Jehovah thy God hath heard, and thou hast lifted up prayer for the remnant that is found.'

 

2 Kings 19:5  5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

   YLT  5And the servants of king Hezekiah come in unto Isaiah,

 

2 Kings 19:6  6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

   YLT  6and Isaiah saith to them, `Thus do ye say unto your lord: Thus said Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have reviled Me.

 

2 Kings 19:7  7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

   YLT  7Lo, I am giving in him a spirit, and he hath heard a report, and hath turned back to his land, and I have caused him to fall by the sword in his land.'

 

2 Kings 19:8  8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.

   YLT  8And the chief of the butlers turneth back and findeth the king of Asshur fighting against Libnah, for he hath heard that he hath journeyed from Lachish.

 

2 Kings 19:9  9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

   YLT  9And he heareth concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, saying, `Lo, he hath come out to fight with thee;' and he turneth and sendeth messengers unto Hezekiah, saying,

 

2 Kings 19:10  10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

   YLT  10`Thus do ye speak unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God lift thee up in whom thou art trusting, saying, Jerusalem is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur.

 

2 Kings 19:11  11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?

   YLT  11Lo, thou hast heard that which the kings of Asshur have done to all the lands -- to devote them; and thou art delivered!

 

2 Kings 19:12  12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

   YLT  12did the gods of the nations deliver them whom my fathers destroyed -- Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who [are] in Thelassar?

 

2 Kings 19:13  13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’”

   YLT  13Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'

 

2 Kings 19:14  14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

   YLT  14And Hezekiah taketh the letters out of the hand of the messengers, and readeth them, and goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spreadeth it before Jehovah.

 

2 Kings 19:15  15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

   YLT  15And Hezekiah prayeth before Jehovah, and saith, `O Jehovah, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubs, Thou [art] God Himself -- Thyself alone -- to all the kingdoms of the earth: Thou hast made the heavens and the earth.

 

2 Kings 19:16  16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.

   YLT  16Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes, and see; and hear Thou the words of Sennacherib with which he hath sent him to reproach the living God.

 

2 Kings 19:17  17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,

   YLT  17`Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste the nations, and their land,

 

2 Kings 19:18  18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.

   YLT  18and have put their gods into fire, for they [are] no gods, but work of the hands of man, wood and stone, and destroy them.

 

2 Kings 19:19  19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.”

   YLT  19And now, O Jehovah our God, save us, we pray Thee, out of his hand, and know do all kingdoms of the earth that Thou [art] Jehovah God -- Thyself alone.'

 

2 Kings 19:20  20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.’

   YLT  20And Isaiah son of Amoz sendeth unto Hezekiah, saying, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed unto Me concerning Sennacherib king of Asshur I have heard:

 

2 Kings 19:21  21 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back!

   YLT  21this [is] the word that Jehovah spake concerning him: `Trampled on thee -- laughed at thee, Hath the virgin daughter of Zion Behind thee shaken the head -- Hath the daughter of Jerusalem?

 

2 Kings 19:22  22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.

   YLT  22Whom hast thou reproached and reviled? And against whom lifted up a voice? Yea, thou dost lift up on high thine eyes -- Against the Holy One of Israel!

 

2 Kings 19:23  23 By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: “By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, To its fruitful forest.

   YLT  23By the hand of thy messengers Thou hast reproached the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of mountains -- The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the lodging of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel.

 

2 Kings 19:24  24 I have dug and drunk strange water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.”

   YLT  24I have digged, and drunk strange waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark.

 

2 Kings 19:25  25 ‘Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.

   YLT  25Hast thou not heard from afar, it I made, From days of old that I formed it? Now I have brought it in, And it becometh a desolation, Ruinous heaps [are] fenced cities,

 

2 Kings 19:26  26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown.

   YLT  26And their inhabitants [are] feeble-handed, They were broken down, and are dried up, They have been the herb of the field, And the greenness of the tender grass, Grass of the roofs, And blasted corn -- before it hath risen up!

 

2 Kings 19:27  27 ‘But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me.

   YLT  27And thy sitting down, and thy going out, And thy coming in, I have known, And thine anger towards Me;

 

2 Kings 19:28  28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.

   YLT  28Because of thine anger towards Me, And thy noise -- it came up into Mine ears, I have put My hook in thy nose, And My bridle in thy lips, And have caused thee to turn back, In the way in which thou camest.

 

2 Kings 19:29  29 ‘This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.

   YLT  29And this to thee [is] the sign, Food of the year [is] the spontaneous growth, And in the second year the self-produced, And in the third year sow ye, and reap, And plant vineyards, and eat their fruits.

 

2 Kings 19:30  30 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward.

   YLT  30And it hath continued -- The escaped of the house of Judah That hath been left -- to take root beneath, And hath made fruit upward.

 

2 Kings 19:31  31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts[a] will do this.’

   YLT  31For from Jerusalem goeth out a remnant, And an escape from mount Zion; The zeal of Jehovah [of Hosts] doth this.

 

2 Kings 19:32  32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it.

   YLT  32Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Concerning the king of Asshur: He doth not come in unto this city, Nor doth he shoot there an arrow, Nor doth he come before it with shield. Nor doth he pour out against it a mount.

 

2 Kings 19:33  33 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the Lord.

   YLT  33In the way that he cometh in -- In it he turneth back, And unto this city he doth not come in, The affirmation of Jehovah –

 

2 Kings 19:34  34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”

   YLT  34And I have covered over this city, To save it, for Mine own sake, And for the sake of David My servant.'

 

2 Kings 19:35  35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel[b] of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.

   YLT  35And it cometh to pass, in that night, that a messenger of Jehovah goeth out, and smiteth in the camp of Asshur a hundred eighty and five thousand, and they rise early in the morning, and lo, all of them [are] dead corpses.

 

2 Kings 19:36  36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

   YLT  36And Sennacherib king of Asshur journeyeth, and goeth, and turneth back, and dwelleth in Nineveh;

 

2 Kings 19:37  37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

   YLT  37and it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adramelech and Sharezar [his sons] have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.

 

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 19:31 Following many Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions (compare Isaiah 37:32); Masoretic Text omits of hosts.
  2. 2 Kings 19:35 Or Angel