2 Kings 19:11-21

11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
12 Peradventure have the gods of the Gentiles delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who were in Thelasar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD.
15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, saying, O LORD God of Israel, who dwellest above the cherubim, thou alone art the God unto all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
16 Incline, O LORD, thy ear and hear; open, O LORD, thine eyes and see and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
17 Of a truth, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the Gentiles and their lands
18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood or stone; therefore, they have destroyed them.
19 Now, therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save us now out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou alone art the LORD God.
20 Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, That which thou hast prayed to me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: Has he despised thee? Has he laughed thee to scorn, O virgin daughter of Zion? He has moved his head behind thy back, O daughter of Jerusalem.

2 Kings 19:11-21 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.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010