2 Kings 19:14-19

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah received ¹the 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.

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, ²enthroned above the cherubim, ³you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.

16 ⁴Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; ⁵open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent ⁶to mock the living God.

17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands

18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, ⁷but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.

19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, ⁸that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that ⁹you, O Lord, are God alone. ”

2 Kings 19:14-19 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. 19:14 [2 Chr. 32:17]
• 2. 19:15 See Ex. 25:22
• 3. 19:15 1 Kgs. 18:39; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 86:10; Isa. 37:16, 20; 44:6; Jer. 10:10, 12
• 4. 19:16 Ps. 31:2; 71:2; Dan. 9:18
• 5. 19:16 2 Chr. 6:40; Dan. 9:18
• 6. 19:16 ver. 4
• 7. 19:18 2 Chr. 32:19; Ps. 115:4
• 8. 19:19 Josh. 4:24; Ps. 83:18
• 9. 19:19 [See ver. 15 above]