1sn As a sign of grief and mourning. 2tn Heb “elders of the priests.” 3tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.” 4tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.” 5tn Or “contempt.” 6tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.” 7tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.” 8tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.” 9tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.” 10tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.” 11tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent. 12tn Heb “hear.” 13tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.” 14tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.” 15tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 16tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’” 17tn Heb “will not be given.” 18tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.” 19tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!” 20tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?” 21sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235. 22tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. 23tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix. 24sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant. 25tn Or “the heavens.” 26tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.” 27tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.” 28tn Heb “so they destroyed them.” 29tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.” 30tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.” 31sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it. 32sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision. 33tn Heb “have you raised a voice.” 34tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” 35sn This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them. 36tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew mss have יְהוָה (yehvah), “Lord.” 37tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (b˙rekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (b˙rov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew mss and ancient versions, as well as the parallel passage in Isa 37:24. 38tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.” 39tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.” 40tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king. 41tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say. 42tn Heb “formed.” 43tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְּהִי (t˙hi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes. 44tn Heb “short of hand.” 45tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24. 46tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note. 47tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isaa in Isa 37:27). 48tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). 49tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. 50sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238. 51tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20). 52tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25. 53sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years. 54tn Heb “and in the second year.” 55tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 §34.4.c. 56tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.” 57tn Traditionally “the Lord of hosts.” 58tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them. The Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, has “the zeal of the LORD of hosts” rather than “the zeal of the LORD” (Kethib). The translation follows the Qere here. 59tn Heb “there.” 60tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it. 61tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.” 62tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army. 63tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.” 64tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.” 65sn The assassination probably took place in 681 b.c. 66sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku. 67tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions. Cf. Isa 37:38. 68sn 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.
1sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
2tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
3tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”
4tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
5tn Or “contempt.”
6tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
7tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
8tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
9tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
10tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
11tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
12tn Heb “hear.”
13tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
14tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
15tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
17tn Heb “will not be given.”
18tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
19tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
20tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
21sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
22tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.
23tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.
24sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.
25tn Or “the heavens.”
26tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
27tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
28tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”
29tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”
30tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
31sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
32sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
33tn Heb “have you raised a voice.”
34tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”
35sn This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
36tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew mss have יְהוָה (yehvah), “Lord.”
37tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (b˙rekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (b˙rov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew mss and ancient versions, as well as the parallel passage in Isa 37:24.
38tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”
39tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”
40tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
41tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
42tn Heb “formed.”
43tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְּהִי (t˙hi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
44tn Heb “short of hand.”
45tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
46tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
47tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isaa in Isa 37:27).
48tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line).
49tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.
50sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
51tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).
52tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
53sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
54tn Heb “and in the second year.”
55tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 §34.4.c.
56tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
57tn Traditionally “the Lord of hosts.”
58tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them. The Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, has “the zeal of the LORD of hosts” rather than “the zeal of the LORD” (Kethib). The translation follows the Qere here.
59tn Heb “there.”
60tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.
61tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
62tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
63tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”
64tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
65sn The assassination probably took place in 681 b.c.
66sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.
67tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions. Cf. Isa 37:38.
68sn 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.