Isaiah 37:33

33 "This is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: He will never come into this city, shoot an arrow here, hold a shield in front of it, or put up dirt ramps to attack it.

Isaiah 37:33 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 37:33

Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria,
&c.] The issue of his expedition, and the fruitfulness of it; how vain his attempts would be, and how successless in this undertaking:

he shall not come into this city;
shall not enter into it, and take possession of it, though so sure of it; or, "shall not come unto it {w}"; for some think he never was any nearer it than Libnah, from whence he sent his letters to Hezekiah, ( Isaiah 37:8 Isaiah 37:9 ) ,

nor shoot an arrow there;
neither he nor his archers, so as to annoy or kill anyone person in it:

nor come before it with shields;
or, "with a shield"; that is, he himself with one; otherwise his army under Rabshakeh was before it with men armed with shields; or the sense is, he shall not prevent it, or seize upon it, with his shielded men:

nor cast a bank against it;
raise a mount, in order to fix his batteries upon, and play his artillery from, and shoot his arrows in to greater advantage.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (tazh ryeh la aby al) "non veniet ad civitatem hanc", Oecolampadius, Musculus, Gataker; "ad urbem hanc": Vitringa.

Isaiah 37:33 In-Context

31 Those few people from the nation of Judah who escape will again take root and produce crops.

32 Those few people will go out from Jerusalem, and those who escape will go out from Mount Zion. The LORD of Armies is determined to do this.'

33 "This is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: He will never come into this city, shoot an arrow here, hold a shield in front of it, or put up dirt ramps to attack it.

34 He will go back the way he came, and he won't come into this city," declares the LORD of Armies.

35 "I will shield this city to rescue it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David."