# Isaiah 37 đ: Hezekiah's Prayer and Deliverance
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lordâs temple.
[[#Verse 02.]] Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:Â
[[#Verse 03.]] âThis is what Hezekiah says: âThis is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.ââ
[[#Verse 05.]]Â When King Hezekiahâs servants came to Isaiah,Â
[[#Verse 06.]] Isaiah said to them, âTell your master this: âThis is what the Lord has said: âDonât be afraid because of the things you have heardâthese insults the king of Assyriaâs servants have hurled against me.
[[#Verse 07.]] Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land.âââ
[[#Verse 08.]]Â When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] The king heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them:Â
[[#Verse 10.]] âTell King Hezekiah of Judah this: âDonât let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, âJerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.âÂ
[[#Verse 11.]] Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued?Â
[[#Verse 12.]] Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyedâthe nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassarârescued by their gods?Â
[[#Verse 13.]] Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?ââ
[[#Verse 14.]] Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lordâs temple and spread it out before the Lord.
[[#Verse 15.]] Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:Â
[[#Verse 16.]] âO Lord of Heavenâs Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth.Â
[[#Verse 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!Â
[[#Verse 18.]] It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] They have burned the gods of the nations, 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.Â
[[#Verse 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.â
[[#Verse 21.]] Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: âThis is what the Lord God of Israel has said: âAs to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,Â
[[#Verse 22.]] this is what the Lord says about him: ââThe virgin daughter Zion
despises youâshe makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you.
[[#Verse 23.]]Â Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!
[[#Verse 24.]]Â Through your messengers you taunted the Lord, âWith my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its remotest regions, its thickest woods.
[[#Verse 25.]]Â I dug wells
and drank water.
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.ââ
[[#Verse 26.]]Â Certainly you must have heard!
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.
[[#Verse 27.]]Â Their residents are powerless;
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops
when it is scorched by the east wind.
[[#Verse 28.]]Â I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.
[[#Verse 29.]]Â Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose,
and my bit between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.â
[[#Verse 30.]] âThis will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.
[[#Verse 30.]] âThis will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.
[[#Verse 31.]]Â Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.
[[#Verse 32.]]Â âFor a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heavenâs Armies will accomplish this.
[[#Verse 33.]] So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
ââHe will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,
nor will he build siege works against it.
[[#Verse 34.]] He will go back the way he cameâ he will not enter this city,â says the Lord.
[[#Verse 35.]]Â I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.â
[[#Verse 36.]] The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses!Â
[[#Verse 37.]]Â So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.Â
[[#Verse 38.]] One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
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###### Verse 35.
###### Verse 36.
###### Verse 37.
###### Verse 38.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Hezekiah tore his clothes and put on sackcloth (37:1), signs of grief and repentance.
2. Tirhakah of Cush (37:9) was a pharaoh of Egypt's 25th Dynasty.
3. Hezekiah's prayer (37:16-20) begins by praising God as the Creator enthroned above the cherubim.
4. Assyrian reliefs show captives being led with hooks or rings, which explains God's words about putting a hook in Sennacherib's nose (37:29).
5. The angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrians in a single night (37:36).
6. The Greek historian Herodotus records a story of Sennacherib's army suffering a sudden disaster near Egypt, with mice gnawing their equipment.
7. Sennacherib was assassinated by his sons while worshiping in the temple of his god (37:38).
8. Assyrian records confirm Sennacherib was murdered in 681 BC, about twenty years after his campaign against Jerusalem.
9. Esarhaddon, another son, succeeded him (37:38).
10. The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this (37:32) repeats the same promise found in 9:7.
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who hears our prayers and defeats our enemies. Hezekiah spread the threatening letter before the Lord (37:14), and through Jesus we have bold access to God's throne in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Hezekiah went to the house of the Lord and sent for the prophet (37:1-2). Where do you go first when bad news comes?
2. Hezekiah spread the letter before the Lord and prayed (37:14-20). What would it look like to spread your problems before God?
3. Hezekiah prayed that all the kingdoms would know the Lord alone is God (37:20). How can our prayers aim at God's glory and not only our relief?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 14: Hezekiah spreads the letter out before the Lord.
- đ verse 20: Rescue us so that all kingdoms will know You alone are the Lord.
- đ verse 36: The angel of the Lord strikes down the Assyrian army.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[2 Kings 19#Verse 14.|2 Kings 19:14-37]] - The parallel account of Hezekiah's prayer.
- đ [[Hebrews 04#Verse 14.|Hebrews 4:14-16]] - Approach the throne of grace with confidence.
- đ [[Philippians 04#Verse 06.|Philippians 4:6-7]] - Present your requests to God.
- đ [[Psalm 46#Verse 08.|Psalm 46:8-11]] - The Lord makes wars cease.
- đ [[2 Chronicles 32#Verse 20.|2 Chronicles 32:20-22]] - The Lord saved Hezekiah and Jerusalem.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Isaiah 37 - SOAP|Justice Will Come]]
## đ Internal Notes