2Ki 19:1 And it happened, when King Hezekiah heard, that he tore his garments and covered himself with sackcloth and went in to the house of Jehovah;
2Ki 19:2 and he sent Eliakim, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covering themselves with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
2Ki 19:3 And they said to him, So says Hezekiah, it is a day of distress, and of rebuke, and of contempt today; for the sons have come to the birth, and there is no power to bring forth.
2Ki 19:4 It may be that Jehovah your God will hear all the words of the chief cupbearer, with which his master the king of Assyria has sent him to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah your God has heard; and you shall lift up prayer for the remnant that is found.
2Ki 19:5 And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
2Ki 19:6 And Isaiah said to them, You shall say this to your lord: So says Jehovah, Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled Me.
2Ki 19:7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear a rumor and shall turn back to his land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.
2Ki 19:8 And the chief cupbearer returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had traveled from Lachish.
2Ki 19:9 And when he heard it said of Tirhakah the king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is coming out to fight against you, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,
2Ki 19:10 So you shall speak to Hezekiah the king of Judah, saying, Do not let your God in whom you trust delude you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
2Ki 19:11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?
2Ki 19:12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden in Telassar?
2Ki 19:13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
2Ki 19:14 And Hezekiah took the letters out of the hand of the messengers, and read them, and went up to the house of Jehovah. And Hezekiah spread it before the face of Jehovah.
2Ki 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah the God of Israel, who sits above the cherubs, You are God Himself, You alone, to all the kingdoms of the earth; You have made the heavens and the earth.
2Ki 19:16 O Jehovah, incline Your ear and hear; O Jehovah, open Your eyes and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib with which he has sent him to reproach the living God.
2Ki 19:17 Truly, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations, and their lands;
2Ki 19:18 and have put their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of the hands of man, wood and stone, and have destroyed them.
2Ki 19:19 And now, O Jehovah our God, we pray to You, save us out of his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that You are Jehovah God, You alone.
2Ki 19:20 And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, I have heard that which you have prayed to Me regarding Sennacherib the king of Assyria;
2Ki 19:21 this is the Word that Jehovah spoke concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind you.
2Ki 19:22 Whom have you reproached and reviled? Against whom have you lifted up a voice? Yea, you have lifted up your eyes on high, even against the Holy One of Israel!
2Ki 19:23 By the hand of your messengers, you have defamed the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the height of its cedars, the best of its firs, and I will enter into the furthest dwelling, its densest forest;
2Ki 19:24 I have dug and drunk strange waters, and I dried up with the sole of my feet all the rivers of Egypt.
2Ki 19:25 Have you not heard from afar, I made it? From days of old I formed it. Now I have caused it to come, that you should make fortified cities desolate ruin heaps.
2Ki 19:26 And those living in them were short in hand; they were terrified and were ashamed; they were as the grass of the field, and the green herb, as the grass on the housetops and blasted grain before it was grown!
2Ki 19:27 But I have known your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against Me.
2Ki 19:28 Because of your raging against Me, and because your arrogance has come up into My ears, even I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came.
2Ki 19:29 And this shall be the sign for you: you shall eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year you shall sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
2Ki 19:30 And the escaped ones of the house of Judah that is left shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
2Ki 19:31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion they that shall escape; the zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall do this.
2Ki 19:32 So Jehovah says this concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor shall he pour out a siege mound against it.
2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came in, in it he shall return; and he shall not come into this city, says Jehovah.
2Ki 19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for My own sake, and for My servant David's sake.
2Ki 19:35 And it happened in that night, that the Angel of Jehovah went out and struck a hundred and eighty five thousand in the camp of Assyria; and they rose up early in the morning, and behold, all of them were dead bodies.
2Ki 19:36 And Sennacherib the king of Assyria moved, and went and returned, and lived in Nineveh.
2Ki 19:37 And it happened, as he was bowing himself in the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And his son Esarhaddon reigned in his place.
2nd Chronicles 32:1-23 Supplemental Information: Hezekiah fortifies Judah and bolsters its defenses against Sennacherib of Assyria. Hezekiah strengthens the hearts of his men by focusing their hearts on Jehovah. Sennacherib sends messengers to terrorize Judah. He claims Jehovah is no better than the other gods of all their conquered enemies. God strikes the Assyrian leaders within their camp. Sennacherib returns home in shame and is executed in his god's temple by his sons.
2nd Kings 19:1-7 Summary: Hezekiah sends messengers to Isaiah to inquire of God. Isaiah reports that Sennacherib will hear a rumor, return to his land and will be killed.
NOTE: The personal nature that God has taken in the matter. This is not the first time an enemy goes against Jehovah. It is a basic understanding that to war against another country means to war against their god. So why is Jehovah treating this matter in this way? What should we learn and/or be encouraged by in this story?
Verses 8-19 Summary: Sennacherib's messengers report to him. He sends them back with letters telling Hezekiah to not be deluded by Jehovah. He cites his victories over all the nations they have come up against. Hezekiah takes the letters to Jehovah and prays for deliverance.
Verses 20-34 (Explain the main point of God's reply to Sennacherib): Isaiah prophecies against Sennacherib. He points out Sennacherib's pride over victory(s), as is the king was the one with power. God corrects him and reminds him that his victories were given to him by Jehovah. He then prophecies of the future in terms of agriculture. For a period of two years there will not be a typical sowing/harvest. The third year will see a return to this type of agriculture because Judah will still be there as a remnant. God declares He will defend Jerusalem.
NOTE: In my mind, God's main point is to punish Sennacherib for his pride and for disrespecting Jehovah. He also points to His love for the house of David (which carries the lineage of the Christ). It should also not escape our notice that Hezekiah's attitude is diametrically opposite to Sennacherib. Hezekiah is absolutely relying on Jehovah.
Verses 35-37 Summary: An angel of god strikes down 185000 Assyrians. Sennacherib leaves, returns to Nineveh. While worshiping his idol, he is executed by his sons.
NOTE: Nothing historically can be found concerning an idol named Nisroch. There is much speculation as to which god this was and how the name came to be mistranslated. In my own view, it cannot be dismissed to think that this king created his own god and god name to worship. Idols are man-made and subject to the whims of those in power.
From Halley's Bible Handbook: (Paraphrased) Sennacherib did create an account of this history on a clay prism which may be viewed in the *Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago (*name has been changed since this original writing). He writes of his victories against Hezikiah including the capture of over 200K people. He does not make any claim of overtaking Jerusalem and in traditional fashion, would leave out any defeat suffered at the hands of his enemy.
"It is indeed a most remarkable confirmation of Biblical History."
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