Yesaya 37:1

37:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, ¹  he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple.

Yesaya 37:14

37:14 Hezekiah took the letter ²  from the messengers and read it. ³  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.

Yesaya 37:38

37:38 One day, ⁴  as he was worshiping ⁵  in the temple of his god Nisroch, ⁶  his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ⁷  They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

[37:1]  ¹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[37:14]  ² 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]  ³ 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”).

[37:38]  ⁴ sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.

[37:38]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.

[37:38]  ⁷ 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.