Isaiah37

King Hezekiah, facing the Assyrian king Sennacherib's blasphemous threats against Jerusalem, sought the LORD through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah delivered God's message of assurance, promising deliverance for Jerusalem and Sennacherib's eventual demise. The Angel of the LORD then smote 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, forcing Sennacherib to retreat. Years later, Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons in Nineveh, fulfilling the divine prophecy.
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Hezekiah Seeks Counsel from Isaiah

1
And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah. ​
2
And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
3
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. ​
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It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. ​
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So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
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And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ​
7
Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall return unto his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. ​

Assyria Renews the Threat

8
So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
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And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ​
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Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
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Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
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Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden that were in Telassar?
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Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?

Hezekiah's Prayer in the Temple

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And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah. ​
15
And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah, saying,
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O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest above the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. ​
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Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to defy the living God.
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Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries, and their land,
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and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them. ​
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Now therefore, O Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Jehovah, even thou only. ​

Isaiah Delivers the Lord's Prophecy

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Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,
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this is the word which Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. ​
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Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. ​
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By thy servants hast thou defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field;
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I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.
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Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps. ​
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Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as a field of grain before it is grown up.
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But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me.
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Because of thy raging against me, and because thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. ​
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And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. ​
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And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. ​
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For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
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Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. ​
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By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith Jehovah.
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For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. ​

The Lord Delivers Jerusalem

36
And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. ​
37
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. ​
38
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead. ​

Study Notes for Isaiah 37

Verse 1

Hezekiah's actions (renting clothes, wearing sackcloth, going to the Temple) demonstrate profound spiritual distress and reliance on Yahweh, contrasting with the political maneuvering of previous kings.

Verse 3

The metaphor of the difficult birth illustrates a crisis point—Judah is at the brink of destruction, totally unable to save itself, needing immediate divine intervention.

Verse 4

Hezekiah focuses his request on the Assyrian blasphemy against the 'living God,' recognizing that the conflict is fundamentally theological, not merely military.

Verse 6

Isaiah’s response is immediate and absolute, assuring Hezekiah that the Lord will directly address the arrogance of the Assyrian king.

Verse 7

The 'blast' (often translated as 'spirit') signifies a supernatural intervention by God. This verse prophesies Sennacherib's eventual death by the sword in his homeland, which is fulfilled in verse 38.

Verse 9

Tirhakah (Taharqa) was the Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty of Egypt (Kush/Ethiopia). This external military threat diverted Sennacherib's attention, setting up the conditions for God's eventual intervention.

Verse 14

Spreading the letter before the Lord is a profound act of faith, treating the physical threat as a direct challenge to God’s honor and submitting the crisis entirely to divine judgment.

Verse 16

Hezekiah invokes the divine name ('LORD of hosts') and specifically references God dwelling 'between the cherubims,' grounding his prayer in established covenant theology associated with the Ark of the Covenant.

Verse 19

Hezekiah contrasts the false, man-made gods of the conquered nations with the one true God, validating his claim that Yahweh alone has the power to save.

Verse 20

The ultimate goal of the prayer is not merely Judah's survival, but the vindication of Yahweh's sovereignty 'that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.'

Verse 22

The 'Daughter of Zion' personifies Jerusalem as a virgin protected by God, expressing contempt and scorn for the arrogant invader, Sennacherib.

Verse 23

This rhetorical question redefines Sennacherib's arrogance: his pride was directed not against Judah, but against the 'Holy One of Israel,' making his sin cosmic in scope.

Verse 26

God asserts that Assyria's military success was not due to its own strength, but was planned by Yahweh from 'ancient times' as a tool of divine judgment against other nations.

Verse 29

The imagery of the hook in the nose and bridle in the lips refers to common Assyrian practices of controlling defeated captive kings, ironically applied here by God to the Assyrian king himself.

Verse 30

This verse offers a sign of supernatural restoration and provision. The lack of planting for two years (relying on self-sown crops) signifies God’s direct care for the ravaged land and people.

Verse 31

The 'remnant' surviving the siege will be firmly established again, symbolizing physical and spiritual restoration, rooting downward and bearing fruit upward.

Verse 33

This prophecy guarantees the absolute protection of Jerusalem; the Assyrian army will not even be allowed to begin siege operations against the city walls.

Verse 35

God offers two covenantal reasons for the defense: 'for mine own sake' (to uphold divine honor) and 'for my servant David's sake' (upholding the eternal Davidic covenant).

Verse 36

The fulfillment is miraculous: 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were killed by the Angel of the Lord in a single night. This event confirmed the prophetic word and ensured Jerusalem's survival.

Verse 37

Sennacherib’s return to Nineveh marked the end of his campaign against Judah and the fulfillment of the immediate prophecy that he would not enter Jerusalem (v. 34).

Verse 38

Sennacherib’s assassination by his own sons is the final fulfillment of the prophecy given in verse 7, demonstrating that even powerful kings are subject to God’s inescapable judgment.

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