Keraia
Isaiah 37

Isaiah 37:16

Hezekiah’s Prayer · Isaiah 37:14–20
Read Isaiah 37

Translations

Modern
“O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
Traditional
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
Literal
“O YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel, the One sitting above on the cherubim, You are God—You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
Latin
Domine exercituum, Deus Israël, qui sedes super cherubim, tu es Deus solus omnium regnorum terræ: tu fecisti cælum et terram.

Original

Hebrew
English
“O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

Notes

Isaiah 37:16

  • God of Israel: Hezekiah did not believe Sennacherib's false claims that the Lord was powerless. In his prayer, Hezekiah recognized that the Lord, as the creator, is the God of all the earth's kingdoms. The Lord rules over all kingdoms.

  • The mighty cherubim were in the temple on top of the ark of the covenant, which was God's throne in his temple (see study note on Leviticus 16:2; see also Psalms 80:1; 99:1).

Isaiah 37:14–20

When Hezekiah received Sennacherib’s boastful threat, he went back to the temple and prayed for help. His prayer was different from Ahaz’s reaction to danger decades earlier (see Isaiah 7).

Isaiah 36:1–39:8

Jerusalem’s rescue from King Sennacherib of Assyria is a main event in Isaiah 1–39. The Lord promised to save his people. He would remain present with Jerusalem (see 7:14). He would also keep a remnant, a small group who would survive (see study note on Isaiah 10:20).

Much of the land became empty and the population greatly reduced. This happened because Judah made a foolish alliance with Assyria (chapters 7–8). Even so, the Lord did not allow total defeat. He preserved his people through Hezekiah, a faithful king.

Hezekiah faced the same kind of test that King Ahaz had faced. It was a test of trust in the Lord. In chapter 36, the Assyrian officer repeats the word trust as he challenges the people. But Hezekiah had learned from the earlier warnings in chapters 13–35. At least at first, he trusted God and passed the test.

This story also appears in 2 Kings 18:13–20:19.

Events

Parallels

2 Kings 19:14–19

People

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Glossary

Assyria, Assyrians Hezekiah History of Israel Inscriptions Isaiah, Book of Kings, Books of First and Second Micah (Person) Shebna

Topics

Blasphemy: Rabshakeh, in the Siege of Jerusalem Earth: Created by God God: Creator God: Personality of God: Sovereign Heaven: Physical Heavens, Creation of Libnah: A City of the Tribe of Judah, Captured by Joshua: Sennacherib Besieged Mercy-Seat: The Shekinah Upon Prayer: Pleas offered In Shekinah: The Visible Sign of God's Presence on the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies