2 Kings 19

King James Version

Full text for 2 Kings Chapter 19

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 the LORD.

2And he sent Eliakim, which [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

3And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day [is] a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and [there is] not strength to bring forth.

4It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that are left.

5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8¶ So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

9And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

10Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

12Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; [as] Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Thelasar?

13Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

14And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou art the God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

16LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

17Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

18And 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.

19Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou [art] the LORD God, [even] thou only.

20¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [That] which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

21This [is] the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

22Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted [thy] voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? [even] against the Holy [One] of Israel.

23By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, [and] the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, [and into] the forest of his Carmel.

24I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

25Hast thou not heard long ago [how] I have done it, [and] of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities [into] ruinous heaps.

26Therefore 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 corn] blasted before it be grown up.

27But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

28Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will 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.

29And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, 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 fruits thereof.

30And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

31For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD [of hosts] shall do this.

32Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

33By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

34For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

35¶ And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses.

36So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

37And 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 Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

AI Analysis

AI Summaries

Short Summary

King Hezekiah, facing Sennacherib's blasphemous threats against Jerusalem, seeks divine counsel through Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah delivers a message of assurance from the Lord, promising that Assyria will not conquer Jerusalem and that Sennacherib will return to his land and die by the sword. That night, the Angel of the Lord smites 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, leading Sennacherib to withdraw, and he is later assassinated by his sons in Nineveh.

Medium Summary

Upon hearing Sennacherib's defiant and blasphemous message, King Hezekiah rends his clothes, covers himself with sackcloth, and enters the temple, sending messengers to Isaiah the prophet. Hezekiah describes Judah's dire situation as a "day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy," urging Isaiah to pray for the remnant. Isaiah responds with a divine message, assuring Hezekiah not to fear Sennacherib's words, for the Lord will cause the Assyrian king to hear a rumor, return to his land, and ultimately die there by the sword. Despite this, Sennacherib sends another threatening letter, boasting of his conquests and mocking Judah's God. Hezekiah takes this letter to the Lord's house, spreads it before Him, and offers a fervent prayer, acknowledging God's sovereignty and pleading for deliverance to demonstrate His uniqueness to all nations. Isaiah then sends a second message from the Lord, rebuking Sennacherib's pride and blasphemy, affirming God's control over his actions, and promising Jerusalem's inviolability. As a sign, the land will recover over three years. That very night, the Angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, forcing Sennacherib to retreat to Nineveh, where he is later assassinated by his own sons while worshipping his god.

Long Summary

When King Hezekiah heard the blasphemous threats of Sennacherib's Rabshakeh, he responded with profound humility and distress, tearing his clothes, donning sackcloth, and entering the house of the Lord. He then dispatched his chief officials and the elders of the priests, similarly clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet. Through them, Hezekiah conveyed the desperate state of Judah, describing it as "a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy," likening it to a birth that lacks the strength to be completed. He implored Isaiah to intercede with the Lord, hoping God would hear and reprove the Assyrian's reproaches against the living God. Isaiah, in turn, delivered a reassuring message from the Lord, instructing Hezekiah not to be afraid of the Assyrian's blasphemous words. The Lord promised to send a "blast" upon Sennacherib, causing him to hear a rumor, return to his own land, and there fall by the sword. Rabshakeh subsequently returned to Sennacherib, who was warring against Libnah, having heard of Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, coming to fight. Sennacherib, undeterred, sent another letter to Hezekiah, reiterating his threats and mocking Judah's trust in their God, citing his past conquests and the failure of other nations' gods to deliver them. Hezekiah received this defiant letter, and in an act of profound faith, carried it into the house of the Lord and spread it before Him. He then offered a fervent prayer, acknowledging the Lord God of Israel as the sole God of all kingdoms, the Creator of heaven and earth, and pleading for deliverance so that all the earth might know Him as the only true God. In response to Hezekiah's prayer, Isaiah sent a second message from the Lord. This divine word directly addressed Sennacherib's pride and blasphemy, declaring that Jerusalem, the "daughter of Zion," despised and scorned him. The Lord asserted that Sennacherib's reproaches were against the Holy One of Israel, and his boasts of military might and conquests were ultimately under God's control, for it was God who had orchestrated his past successes to lay waste to cities. The Lord declared His full knowledge of Sennacherib's movements and rage, promising to put a "hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips," turning him back the way he came. As a sign of deliverance, the land would yield food naturally for two years, and in the third, normal agriculture would resume, signifying Judah's restoration. The Lord firmly declared that Sennacherib would not enter Jerusalem, nor attack it, promising to defend the city for His own sake and for David's sake. That very night, the Angel of the Lord went forth and struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp. Sennacherib, defeated, departed and returned to Nineveh, where he was later assassinated by his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, while worshipping his god Nisroch, and his son Esarhaddon reigned in his stead.

Core Concepts

  • Hezekiah's Humility and FaithHezekiah's immediate response to Sennacherib's threats was to rend his clothes, don sackcloth, and seek the Lord in the temple, demonstrating deep humility and reliance on divine intervention rather than military might.
  • Isaiah's Prophetic IntercessionIsaiah serves as the divine messenger, receiving and conveying the Lord's words of assurance and judgment to both Hezekiah and Sennacherib, confirming God's active involvement in the crisis.
  • Divine Sovereignty over NationsThe chapter emphasizes God's ultimate control over the Assyrian Empire and its king, Sennacherib, despite his boasts of power and conquest, illustrating that even mighty rulers are instruments in God's hand.
  • Blasphemy and ReproachSennacherib's messages are characterized by blasphemy against the living God and reproach against Judah, which forms a central point of Hezekiah's prayer and God's subsequent judgment.
  • Miraculous DeliveranceThe swift and devastating destruction of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers by the Angel of the Lord highlights a direct, supernatural intervention by God to protect Jerusalem, fulfilling His promise.
  • God's Defense of JerusalemThe Lord explicitly states His commitment to defend Jerusalem "for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake," underscoring the covenantal and redemptive reasons for the city's preservation.
  • Sennacherib's JudgmentThe chapter concludes with Sennacherib's ignominious retreat and eventual assassination by his own sons, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy and demonstrating the consequences of defying the living God.