2 Chronicles 32:19

Translation
King James Version
And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.
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KJV (with Strong's)
And they spake H1696 against H5921 the God H430 of Jerusalem H3389, as against the gods H430 of the people H5971 of the earth H776, which were the work H4639 of the hands H3027 of man H120.
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Complete Jewish Bible
They spoke about the God of Yerushalayim in the same way as about the gods of the other peoples of the earth, which are merely human artifacts.
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Berean Standard Bible
They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth—the work of human hands.
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American Standard Version
And they spake of the God of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
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World English Bible Messianic
They spoke of the God of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
Thus they spake against the God of Ierusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, euen the workes of mans hands,
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Young's Literal Translation
and they speak against the God of Jerusalem as against the gods of the peoples of the land--work of the hands of man.
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See also
Isaiah 2:82 Kings 19:18Psalms 135:15Psalms 135:18Isaiah 14:32Jeremiah 10:9Psalms 78:68
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Hezekiah and Sennacherib
Hezekiah and Sennacherib View full PDF
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple View full PDF

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In the KJVVerse 11,895 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

2 Chronicles 32:19 powerfully encapsulates the profound blasphemy and spiritual blindness of the Assyrian forces during their siege of Jerusalem. Through their representatives, particularly Rabshakeh, King Sennacherib's army arrogantly equated the living, sovereign God of Israel with the lifeless, man-made deities of the nations they had conquered, thereby denying His unique power, transcendence, and covenant faithfulness. This verse highlights the ultimate folly of human pride that dares to challenge the Creator by reducing Him to the level of His creation.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: This verse is strategically placed within the dramatic narrative of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, specifically focusing on the psychological warfare waged against Jerusalem. The preceding verses detail King Hezekiah's diligent preparations for the impending siege, including fortifying the city and, crucially, rallying his people to trust in the Lord, declaring that "with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles" (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). Following these preparations, Sennacherib dispatches his field commanders, most notably Rabshakeh, who delivers a lengthy and intimidating speech designed to demoralize the inhabitants and undermine their faith. Verses 2 Chronicles 32:9-18 record the substance of Rabshakeh's taunts, where he boasts of Assyria's overwhelming power and their repeated victories over other nations and their gods. Verse 19 serves as a concise, damning summary of the core blasphemy underlying Rabshakeh's extensive rhetoric, setting the immediate stage for Hezekiah and Isaiah's prayer and God's swift, miraculous intervention in 2 Chronicles 32:20-23.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The events of 2 Chronicles 32 unfold against the backdrop of the Assyrian Empire's dominance in the ancient Near East during the late 8th century BC. Under King Sennacherib, Assyria was the preeminent superpower, renowned for its ruthless military might, sophisticated siege tactics, and psychological warfare. A key component of their strategy against besieged cities was to demoralize the populace by publicly ridiculing their gods. From the Assyrian perspective, the repeated victories of their armies over other nations proved the superiority of their own deities (or at least, their military prowess) over the local gods of the conquered peoples. They viewed the "God of Jerusalem" as merely another territorial deity, no different from the idols of Hamath, Arpad, or Samaria, which they had easily overthrown, as Rabshakeh explicitly states in parallel accounts (e.g., 2 Kings 18:33-35). This polytheistic and pragmatic worldview, where gods were limited and tied to national fortunes, stood in stark contrast to the Israelite understanding of Yahweh as the one, universal, uncreated, and sovereign God, who transcends all earthly powers and human constructs. The Assyrians' failure to grasp this fundamental theological distinction proved to be their fatal error.
  • Key Themes: This verse profoundly contributes to several overarching themes within 2 Chronicles and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it highlights the theme of Blasphemy and Arrogance, showcasing the ultimate folly of human pride that dares to challenge the Creator. The Assyrians' speech was not merely a military tactic but a direct, contemptuous affront to God, rooted in their profound spiritual ignorance and a belief that their military might superseded any divine power. Secondly, it sharply contrasts the Uniqueness of God versus the Futility of Idols. The verse explicitly distinguishes the "God of Jerusalem"—the living, covenant-keeping Lord—from the "gods of the people of the earth," emphatically stating that these latter deities were "the work of the hands of man." This distinction is foundational to biblical theology, emphasizing that the true God is the uncreated Creator, not a product of human imagination or craftsmanship, a theme powerfully echoed by prophets like Isaiah (e.g., Isaiah 44:9-20). Finally, this blasphemy sets the stage for the powerful demonstration of Divine Sovereignty and Protection. Despite the Assyrian taunts and overwhelming military superiority, God demonstrates His unparalleled power and unwavering commitment to His covenant people, ultimately delivering Jerusalem from this existential threat, as miraculously recounted in 2 Chronicles 32:21-23.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Spake (Hebrew, dâbar', H1696): This primitive root means "to arrange," but is figuratively used "to speak." While it can simply mean "to say" or "to tell," in this context, especially with the preposition "against" (ʻal), it carries a strong connotation of speaking in a hostile, defiant, or even blasphemous manner. It denotes a deliberate act of verbal assault, a declaration of contempt and challenge directed at the "God of Jerusalem," emphasizing the offensive nature of the Assyrians' words.
  • God (Hebrew, ʼĕlôhîym', H430): This plural noun is used in the ordinary sense for "gods," but specifically (especially with the article, as here, referring to "the God of Jerusalem") for the supreme God. The Assyrians, using this term, attempted to reduce Yahweh from His unique, transcendent status to merely one among many "gods" in their polytheistic pantheon. This reduction was the essence of their blasphemy, failing to grasp the infinite qualitative distinction between the Creator and created deities.
  • Work (Hebrew, maʻăseh', H4639): This word refers to "an action," "a transaction," or "a product." In this context, it specifically denotes a "thing made" or "workmanship." When applied to idols, as it implicitly is here, it highlights their created, artificial nature. They are not self-existent or divine but are merely the outcome of human labor and design, utterly devoid of inherent power, life, or consciousness. The Assyrians' comparison implies that the God of Jerusalem is similarly a "product" or "creation," thus denying His uncreated, eternal nature.

Verse Breakdown

  • "And they spake against the God of Jerusalem": This opening clause immediately establishes the direct and offensive target of the Assyrians' verbal assault: the unique, covenantal God of Israel, whose presence was intimately associated with His temple and people in Jerusalem. The phrase "spake against" (using the Hebrew dâbar with ʻal) indicates not merely speech, but a hostile, defiant, and blasphemous utterance, a deliberate act of contempt aimed at undermining the faith of King Hezekiah and the inhabitants in their divine protector.
  • "as against the gods of the people of the earth": This comparative clause reveals the core of the Assyrian error and profound spiritual blindness. They equated the Lord God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, with the multitude of local, national deities worshipped by other nations. From their polytheistic worldview, all gods were essentially the same, varying only in perceived power or influence, and their power was directly tied to the military success of their worshippers. They saw Yahweh as just another limited, territorial deity, easily overcome like all the others they had conquered, demonstrating their utter failure to comprehend His singular, transcendent nature.
  • "[which were] the work of the hands of man": This final, parenthetical clause is profoundly ironic and theologically devastating. It clarifies the nature of the "gods of the people of the earth" – they are not divine beings but mere human artifacts, products of human effort, imagination, and craftsmanship, utterly devoid of life, power, or divine essence. By implicitly including the God of Jerusalem in this blasphemous comparison, the Assyrians demonstrated their utter failure to distinguish between the uncreated Creator and His lifeless creation. They reduced the eternal, all-powerful Lord to the level of impotent idols, thereby committing the ultimate spiritual offense and sealing their own doom.

Literary Devices

The verse employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound theological message. Contrast is paramount, sharply juxtaposing the "God of Jerusalem," the living and sovereign Lord, with "the gods of the people of the earth," which are explicitly identified as "the work of the hands of man." This stark opposition highlights the fundamental, infinite difference between the true God and lifeless idols. Blasphemy itself functions as a central rhetorical act, where the Assyrian speakers, through their arrogant words, attempt to diminish, defile, and ultimately dethrone the divine name and character. There is a powerful element of Irony woven throughout the passage; in their attempt to portray God as weak and comparable to idols, the Assyrians inadvertently underscore their own profound spiritual blindness and the futility of their human-centric worldview, which would ultimately lead to their catastrophic and humiliating defeat at the hands of the very God they mocked. The entire episode serves as a dramatic Foil to God's unique power, faithfulness, and unwavering commitment to His covenant people, setting the stage for His miraculous and vindicating intervention.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

This verse delivers a profound theological statement on the absolute uniqueness and transcendence of the God of Israel, starkly contrasting Him with the inherent futility of idolatry. The Assyrians' error was not merely a miscalculation of military strength but a profound spiritual misjudgment, equating the uncreated Creator with the lifeless products of human hands. This act of blasphemy highlights humanity's persistent tendency to reduce God to manageable, human-sized proportions, to compare Him with worldly powers, or to place Him on a par with ideologies and pursuits that are ultimately "the work of the hands of man." True faith demands acknowledging God's uncreated, self-existent nature and His infinite sovereignty, refusing to place Him on a level with anything that is a product of human imagination, effort, or desire. This fundamental distinction is foundational to biblical theology, emphasizing that worship, trust, and ultimate allegiance are due only to the One who is truly divine, not to the impotent idols of this world.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

The Assyrian taunts in 2 Chronicles 32:19 serve as a timeless mirror, reflecting humanity's ongoing struggle with idolatry, both ancient and modern. Just as Sennacherib's representatives attempted to reduce the living God to a mere human construct, so too do we often implicitly or explicitly compare God to the "gods of the people of the earth"—whether they be the idols of wealth, power, comfort, reputation, intellectual achievement, or even our own self-sufficiency. This verse calls us to a profound self-examination: do we truly acknowledge God's absolute uniqueness and sovereignty, or do we subtly diminish Him by placing our ultimate trust in human systems, resources, or ideologies? In moments of crisis, when the world's "Rabshakehs" mock our faith, challenge the power of God, or present seemingly insurmountable obstacles, this passage reminds us that our confidence must rest solely in the uncreated Creator, not in anything that is "the work of the hands of man." It encourages us to stand firm, like Hezekiah, trusting that the God who delivered Jerusalem from a seemingly overwhelming foe is still active, sovereign, and entirely distinct from all earthly powers and human limitations. Our security is found not in what we create or control, but in the One who created all things and controls all outcomes.

Questions for Reflection

  • In what subtle or overt ways might I, consciously or unconsciously, reduce God to something "of the hands of man" in my own life or thinking?
  • What "gods of the people of the earth" (e.g., financial security, social approval, political power, personal comfort) do I sometimes elevate to a level comparable to the true God?
  • How does recognizing God's absolute uniqueness (as opposed to man-made idols) impact my worship, my trust in His provision, and my response to worldly challenges and pressures?
  • When faced with ridicule, doubt, or overwhelming circumstances that challenge my faith, how can the example of Hezekiah and the truth of God's unparalleled sovereignty strengthen my resolve and deepen my reliance on Him?

FAQ

Who was Rabshakeh, and what was his role in this event?

Answer: Rabshakeh was a high-ranking Assyrian official, likely a field commander or chief cupbearer, whose title (Rabshakeh) denotes a significant military and administrative position rather than a personal name. In the context of the siege of Jerusalem, his primary role was to engage in psychological warfare against the besieged city. He delivered a public speech in Hebrew, designed to demoralize the people, undermine their trust in King Hezekiah, and, most critically, to blaspheme the God of Jerusalem. His strategy was to convince the people that their God was no different from the gods of other conquered nations and therefore powerless to deliver them from the mighty Assyrian army. His words, summarized in 2 Chronicles 32:19, were a direct and arrogant challenge to God's sovereignty and uniqueness.

How did God respond to this blasphemy against Him?

Answer: God responded decisively and miraculously to the Assyrian blasphemy, demonstrating His absolute sovereignty and power. After King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah fervently prayed to the Lord (2 Chronicles 32:20), God sent an angel who, in a single night, struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp (2 Chronicles 32:21). This devastating and supernatural blow forced Sennacherib to withdraw his forces and return in shame to Nineveh, where he was later assassinated by his own sons in the temple of his god Nisroch. This divine intervention served as a powerful and undeniable vindication of God's uniqueness and sovereignty, proving that He is not "the work of the hands of man" but the living, all-powerful Creator who faithfully defends His covenant people against those who defy Him.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

The blasphemy of the Assyrians in 2 Chronicles 32:19, which equated the living God of Jerusalem with impotent idols made by human hands, finds its ultimate reversal and profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament consistently declares the absolute uniqueness of God, the uncreated Creator, in stark contrast to the futility and powerlessness of idols. This fundamental distinction reaches its pinnacle in the New Testament's revelation of Jesus as the incarnate God. He is emphatically not "the work of the hands of man" but the eternal Word, through whom all things were made and apart from whom nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-3). While the Assyrians mocked God by attempting to reduce Him to a human-made object, Christ, the true God, humbly took on human flesh, demonstrating God's ultimate condescension and boundless love for humanity. He is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the one who upholds the universe by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). Through His perfect life, atoning death, and triumphant resurrection, Jesus definitively triumphed over all the "gods of the people of the earth"—every false ideology, every human-made system of salvation, every spiritual power that holds humanity captive, and even death itself. He is the one true Lord, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), before whom every knee will one day bow, proving beyond all doubt that the God of Jerusalem is indeed the only God, infinitely superior to anything conceived or crafted by human hands.

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Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32 verses 9–23

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

This story of the rage and blasphemy of Sennacherib, Hezekiah's prayer, and the deliverance of Jerusalem by the destruction of the Assyrian army, we had more at large in the book of Kings, 2 Kings 18 and 19. It is contracted here, yet large enough to show these three things: -

I. The impiety and malice of the church's enemies. Sennacherib has his hands full in besieging Lachish (Ch2 32:9), but hears that Hezekiah is fortifying Jerusalem and encouraging his people to stand it out; and therefore, before he come in person to besiege it, he sends messengers to make speeches, and he himself writes letters to frighten Hezekiah and his people into a surrender of the city. See, 1. His great malice against the king of Judah, in endeavouring to withdraw his subjects from their allegiance to him. He did not treat with Hezekiah as a man of honour would have done, nor propose fair terms to him, but used mean and base artifices, unbecoming a crowned head, to terrify the common people and persuade them to desert him. he represented Hezekiah as one who designed to deceive his subjects into their ruin and betray them to famine and thirst (Ch2 32:11), as one who had done them great wrong and exposed them already to the divine displeasure by taking away the high places and altars (Ch2 32:12), and who, against the common interest of his people, held out against a force that would certainly be their ruin, Ch2 32:15. 2. His great impiety against the God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem he is called (Ch2 32:19), because that was the place he had chosen to put his name there, and because that was the place which was now threatened by the enemy and which the divine Providence had under its special protection. This proud blasphemer compared the great Jehovah, the Maker of heaven and earth, with the dunghill gods of the nations, the work of men's hands, and thought him no more able to deliver his worshippers than they were to deliver theirs (Ch2 32:19), as if an infinite and eternal Spirit had no more wisdom and power than a stone or the stock of a tree. He boasted of his triumphs over the gods of the nations, that they could none of them protect their people (Ch2 32:13-15), and thence inferred not only, How shall your God deliver you? (Ch2 32:14), but, as if he were inferior to them all, How much less shall your God deliver you? as if he were less able to help than any of them. Thus did they rail, rail in writing (which, being more deliberate, is so much the worse), on the Lord God of Israel, as if he were a cipher and an empty name, like all the rest, Ch2 32:17. Sennacherib, in the instructions he gave, said more than enough; but, as if his blasphemies had been too little, his servants, who learned insolence from their master, spoke yet more than he bade them against the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah, Ch2 32:16. And God resents what is said against his servants, and will reckon for it, as well as what is said against himself. All this was intended to frighten the people from their hope in God, which David's enemies sought to take him off from (Psa 11:1; Psa 42:10), saying, There is no help for him in God, Psa 3:2; Psa 71:11. Thus they hoped to take the city by weakening the hands of those that should defend it. Satan, in his temptations, aims to destroy our faith in God's all-sufficiency, knowing that he shall gain his point if he can do that; as we keep our ground if our faith fail not, Luk 22:32.

II. The duty as well as the interest of the church's friends, and that is in the day of distress to pray and cry to Heaven. So Hezekiah did, and the prophet Isaiah, Ch2 32:20. It was a happy time when the king and the prophet joined thus in prayer. Is any troubled? Is any terrified? Let him pray. So we engage God for us; so we encourage ourselves in him. Praying to God is here called crying to Heaven, because we are, in prayer, to eye him as our Father in heaven, whence he beholds the children of men, and where he has prepared his throne.

III. The power and goodness of the church's God. He is able both to control his enemies, be they ever so high, and to relieve his friends, be they ever so low.

1.As the blasphemies of his enemies engage him against them (Deu 32:27), so the prayers of his people engage him for them. They did so here. (1.) The army of the Assyrians was cut off by the sword of an angel, which triumphed particularly in the slaughter of the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains, who defied the sword of any man. God delights to abase the proud and secure. The Targum says, The Word of the Lord (the eternal Word) sent Gabriel to do this execution, and that it was done with lightning, and in the passover night: that was the night in which the angel destroyed the first-born of Egypt. But that was not all. (2.) The king of the Assyrians, having received this disgrace, was cut off by the sword of his own sons. Those that came forth of his own bowels slew him, Ch2 32:21. Thus was he mortified first, and then murdered - shamed first, and then slain. Evil pursues sinners; and, when they escape one mischief, they run upon another unseen.

2.By this work of wonder, (1.) God was glorified, as the protector of his people. Thus he saved Jerusalem, not only from the hand of Sennacherib, but from the hand of all others, Ch2 32:22; for such a deliverance as this was an earnest of much mercy in store; and he guided them, that is, he guarded them, on every side. God defends his people by directing them, shows them what they should do, and so saves them from what is designed or done against them. For this many brought gifts unto the Lord, when they saw the great power of God in the defence of his people. Strangers were thereby induced to supplicate his favour and enemies to deprecate his wrath, and both brought gifts to his temple, in token of their care and desire. (2.) Hezekiah was magnified as the favourite and particular care of Heaven. Many brought presents to him (Ch2 32:22, Ch2 32:23), in token of the honour they had for him, and to make an interest in him. By the favour of God enemies are lost and friends gained.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 9–23. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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