2 Chronicles 32:13-23

13 'Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? ¹Were the gods of the nations of the lands able at all to deliver their land from my hand?

14 '²Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand?

15 'Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for ³no * god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much * less will your God deliver you from my hand?' "

16 His servants spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.

17 He also wrote letters to insult the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, "⁴As the gods of the nations of the lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand."

18 ⁵They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city.

19 They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of ⁶the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of men's hands.

Hezekiah's Prayer Is Answered

20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and cried out to heaven.

21 And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame * to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children * killed him there with the sword.

22 So the LORD ⁷saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

23 And ⁸many were bringing gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem and choice presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that ⁹he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter * *.

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2 Chronicles 32:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 32

This chapter relates Sennacherib's invasion of the land of Judah, the preparations Hezekiah made to resist him, and the encouragement he gave his people to trust in the Lord, 2Ch 32:1-8 the messages and letters Sennacherib sent to Hezekiah and his subjects, full of arrogance and blasphemy, to solicit them to deliver up Jerusalem to him, 2Ch 32:9-19 the destruction of his army by an angel, and the deliverance of the Jews at the prayers of Hezekiah and Isaiah, 2Ch 32:20-23 the sin Hezekiah fell into after this, and his recovery from a fit of illness; but, upon his humiliation for it, wrath was averted, 2Ch 32:24-26 and the chapter is concluded with an account of his honours, riches, and exploits, and of his death and burial, 2Ch 32:27-33.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 9

1. 2 Kings 18:33-35
2. Isaiah 10:9-11
3. Exodus 5:2; Isaiah 36:18-20; Daniel 3:15
4. 2 Chronicles 32:14
5. 2 Kings 18:28
6. Psalms 115:4-8
7. Isaiah 31:5
8. 2 Samuel 8:10
9. 2 Chronicles 1:1

Footnotes 4

[a]. Lit "who have"
[b]. Lit "to"
[c]. Lit "in shame of face"
[d]. Another reading is "gave them rest"