Yesaya 37:14-20

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ¹  from the messengers and read it. ²  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 37:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 37:16 “O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! ³  You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ⁴  and the earth. 37:17 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! ⁵  37:18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations ⁶  and their lands. 37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, ⁷  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. ⁸  37:20 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.” ⁹ 

Yesaya 37:33-38

37:33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

‘He will not enter this city,

nor will he shoot an arrow here. ¹⁰ 

He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, ¹¹ 

nor will he build siege works against it.

37:34 He will go back the way he came –

he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.

37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” ¹² 

37:36 The Lord’s messenger ¹³  went out and killed 185,000 troops ¹⁴  in the Assyrian camp. When they ¹⁵  got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! ¹⁶  37:37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. ¹⁷  37:38 One day, ¹⁸  as he was worshiping ¹⁹  in the temple of his god Nisroch, ²⁰  his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ²¹  They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

[37:14]  ¹ 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).

[37:14]  ² tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).

[37:16]  ³ sn Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.

[37:16]  ⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[37:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”

[37:18]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”

[37:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[37:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).

[37:20]  ⁹ tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”

[37:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.

[37:33]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[37:35]  ¹² tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”

[37:36]  ¹³ tn Traditionally, “the angel of the Lord” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[37:36]  ¹⁴ tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[37:36]  ¹⁵ tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.

[37:36]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”

[37:37]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”

[37:38]  ¹⁸ sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.

[37:38]  ¹⁹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[37:38]  ²⁰ sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.

[37:38]  ²¹ sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.