Isaiah 37:14-20

Hezekiah's Prayer in the Temple

14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.

15 Hezekiah prayed to the LORD saying,

16 "O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ¹who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the ²God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. ³You have made heaven and earth.

17 "⁴Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and ⁵listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to ⁶reproach the living God.

18 "Truly, O LORD, the ⁷kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands,

19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the ⁸work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have ⁹destroyed them.

20 "Now, O LORD our God, ¹⁰deliver us from his hand that ¹¹all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God."

Isaiah 37:14-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 37

In this chapter are contained Hezekiah's message to Isaiah, desiring his prayer for him and his people, in this time of sore distress, Isa 37:1-5, the comforting and encouraging answer returned by the prophet to him, Isa 37:6,7, the king of Assyria's letter to Hezekiah, to terrify him into a surrender of the city of Jerusalem to him, Isa 37:8-13 which Hezekiah spread before the Lord, and prayed unto him for deliverance, Isa 37:14-20, upon which he received a gracious answer by the hand of the prophet, promising safety and deliverance to him, and destruction to the king of Assyria, of which a sign was given, Isa 37:21-35 and the chapter is closed with the slaughter of the Assyrian army by an angel, the flight of the king, and his death by the hands of his sons, Isa 37:36-38.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 25:22; 1 Samuel 4:4; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1
• 2. Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalms 86:10; Psalms 136:2, 3
• 3. Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 45:12; Jeremiah 10:12
• 4. 2 Chronicles 6:40; Psalms 17:6; Daniel 9:18
• 5. Psalms 74:22
• 6. Isaiah 37:4
• 7. 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 16:9; 2 Kings 17:6, 24; 1 Chronicles 5:26
• 8. Isaiah 2:8; Isaiah 17:8; Isaiah 41:24, 29
• 9. Isaiah 26:14
• 10. Isaiah 25:9; Isaiah 33:22; Isaiah 35:4
• 11. 1 Kings 18:36, 37; Psalms 46:10; Isaiah 37:16; Ezekiel 36:23

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "letters"
• [b]. Lit "Hezekiah spread"
• [c]. So DSS and 2 Kin 19:19; M.T. omits "God"