Isaiah 37:14-20
New English Translation
14 Hezekiah took the letter[a] from the messengers and read it.[b] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim![c] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[d] and the earth. 17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![e] 18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations[f] and their lands. 19 They have burned the gods of the nations,[g] for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.[h] 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”[i]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 37:14 tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).
- Isaiah 37:14 tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this may reflect a later harmonization to the preceding textual reading of “letters.”
- Isaiah 37:16 sn The cherubim (singular “cherub”) refer to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
- Isaiah 37:16 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Isaiah 37:17 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
- Isaiah 37:18 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
- Isaiah 37:19 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
- Isaiah 37:19 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
- Isaiah 37:20 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
Isaiah 37:14-20
Expanded Bible
Hezekiah Prays to the Lord
14 When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. He spread the letter out before the Lord 15 and prayed ·to [before] the Lord: 16 “Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], you are the God of Israel, whose throne is ·between [above] the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; Ex. 25:18–22; Ezek. 10:1], only you are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth [Gen. 1]. 17 ·Hear [L Extend/Incline your ear], Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to all the words Sennacherib has said to ·insult [defy; ridicule; mock] the living God.
18 “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have ·destroyed [devastated; laid waste to] all these ·countries [nations] and their lands. 19 They have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire, ·but [for] they were only wood and rock statues ·that people made [L the work of human hands]. So they have destroyed them. 20 Now, Lord our God, ·save [rescue; T deliver] us from the king’s ·power [L hand] so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, ·Lord, are the only God [L …alone are Lord; 2 Kin. 19:19].”
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