Isaiah 37:19-29

19 and gave the gods of them to (the) fire; for they were not gods, but the works of men's hands, wood and stones; and they all-brake those gods.
20 And now, our Lord God, save thou us from the hand of him; and all [the] realms of earth know, that thou art the Lord God alone. (And now, Lord our God, save thou us from his hand, or from his power; and then all the kingdoms of the earth shall know, that thou art the Lord God alone.)
21 And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, and said, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, For which things thou prayedest me of Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians (the king of Assyria),
22 this is the word which the Lord spake on him, Thou virgin, the daughter of Zion, he despised thee, he scorned thee; thou virgin, the daughter of Jerusalem, he moved his head after thee. (this is the word which the Lord spoke about him, saying, O Sennacherib, the virgin, the daughter of Zion, despiseth thee, and she mocketh thee; the virgin, the daughter of Jerusalem, shaketh her head over thee.)
23 (But) Whom despisest thou, and whom blasphemedest thou? and on whom raisedest thou thy voice, and raisedest the highness of thine eyes? To the Holy of Israel. (For whom hast thou despised, and whom hast thou blasphemed? and against whom hast thou raised up thy voice, and raised up the highness of thine eyes? To the Holy One of Israel.)
24 By the hand of thy servants thou despisedest the Lord, and saidest, In the multitude of my carts (In the multitude of my chariots), I ascended [up]on the highnesses of (the) hills, on the yokes of Lebanon; and I shall cut down the high things of cedars thereof, and the chosen beeches thereof; and I shall enter into the highness of the top thereof, into the forest of Carmel thereof.
25 I digged, and drank water; and I made dry with the step of my foot all the strands of [the] fields.
26 Whether thou, Sennacherib, heardest not what things I did sometime? From eld days I formed that thing, and now I have brought (it to pass); and it is made into the drawing up by the root of (the) little hills fighting together, and of strong cities (In the old days, I formed that thing, and now I have brought it to pass; yea, bringing down strengthened cities into heaps of rubble).
27 The dwellers of those cities trembled together with hand made short, and be ashamed; they be made as hay of the field, and as the grass of [the] pasture, and as herb of house roofs, either ridges, that dried up before that it waxed ripe. (The inhabitants of those cities trembled together with shortened hand, or powerless, and were ashamed; they were made like the hay of the field, and like the grass of the pasture, and like the herbs on the rooftops, that dried up before that they could ripen.)
28 I knew thy dwelling (place), and thy going out, and thine entering (in), and thy strong vengeance against me.
29 When thou were wroth against me, thy pride ascended into mine ears; therefore I shall set a ring in thy nostrils, and a bridle in thy lips; and I shall lead thee into the way, by which thou camest. (When thou were angry against me, thy pride came into my ears; and so I shall set a ring in thy nose, and a bridle upon thy lips, and I shall lead thee back by the way, by which thou camest.)

Isaiah 37:19-29 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.