2 Kings 19:8-13

Sennacherib Defies God

8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against ¹Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left ²Lachish.

9 When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, "Behold, he has come out to fight against you," he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying,

10 "Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, 'Do not ³let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, "⁴Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."

11 'Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be spared?

12 '⁵Did the gods of those nations which my fathers destroyed deliver them, even ⁶Gozan and ⁷Haran and Rezeph and ⁸the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?

13 '⁹Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?' "

2 Kings 19:8-13 Meaning and Commentary

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, 2Ki 19:1-7 and that upon Rabshakeh's return to the king of Assyria, he sent to Hezekiah a terrifying letter, 2Ki 19:8-13, 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, 2Ki 19:14-19, to which he had a gracious answer sent him by the prophet Isaiah, promising him deliverance from the Assyrian army, 2Ki 19:20-34, which accordingly was destroyed by an angel in one night, and Sennacherib fleeing to Nineveh, was slain by his two sons, 2Ki 19:35-37.

Cross References

• 1. Joshua 10:29
• 2. 2 Kings 18:14
• 3. 2 Kings 18:5
• 4. 2 Kings 18:30
• 5. 2 Kings 18:33
• 6. 2 Kings 17:6
• 7. Genesis 11:31
• 8. Isaiah 37:12
• 9. 2 Kings 18:34

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "he"
• [b]. Or "Ethiopia"
• [c]. Lit "Judah, saying,"
• [d]. Lit "delivered"
• [e]. Lit "the"