Isaiah 37:33-38

33 Therefore the Lord saith these things of the king of Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall not shoot there an arrow; and a shield shall not occupy it, and he shall not send [an heap of] earth in the compass thereof. (And so the Lord saith these things about the king of Assyria, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall not shoot an arrow there; and he shall not occupy it with his shield, and he shall not build up a heap of earth all around it.)
34 In the way in which he came, he shall turn again by it (By the way in which he came, so he shall return); and he shall not enter into this city, saith the Lord.
35 And I shall defend this city, that I save it, for me, and for David, my servant. (And I shall defend this city, so that I save it, for me, and for my servant David.)
36 Forsooth the angel of the Lord went out, and killed an hundred thousand and fourscore and five thousand in the tents of (the) Assyrians; and they rose early, and lo! all men were [the] carrions of dead men (all the men were corpses).
37 And Sennacherib went out of Judah, and went away. And Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians, turned again, and dwelled in Nineveh (And Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, returned home, and lived in Nineveh).
38 And it was done, when he worshipped Nisroch, his god, in the temple, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, killed him with sword, and fled into the land of Ararat, that is, Armenia; and Esarhaddon, his son, reigned for him.

Isaiah 37:33-38 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.