Isaiah 37:38

Sennacherib had laughed at the *Lord as too weak to oppose the *Assyrians. Now Sennacherib dies while he is *worshipping his own god called Nisroch. So Sennacherib’s god was too weak to protect him, even in the god’s own *temple.

• No other ancient record mentions an *Assyrian god called Nisroch.

Chapter s 38 and 39

These two Chapter s have much in common with 2 Kings chapter 20.

Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
upset ~ sad and confused because of bad news.
sackcloth ~ dress of rough material that people put on to show that they are very sad.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes (large families) of Israel.
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s name ‘Lord’ means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
prophet ~ a person who speaks on behalf of God.
Assyrian ~ a person from the country called Assyria; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Assyria.
Rabshakeh ~ official name of an important member of the Assyrian government of a region.
Assyrian ~ a person from the country called Assyria; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Assyria.
empire ~ a group of many countries that a powerful king has seized.
seize ~ to take a person’s possessions away from that person, either by law, or in a war. Or, to overcome a city or nation in order to rule it. Or, to take a person as a prisoner or a slave.
BC ~ years before Jesus Christ was born.
Cush ~ a country that today forms part of southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
messenger ~ someone who delivers a message.
seize ~ to take a person’s possessions away from that person, either by law, or in a war. Or, to overcome a city or nation in order to rule it. Or, to take a person as a prisoner or a slave.
cherubim ~ a special rank of angels; they have wings: God created them as his special servants.
angels ~ God’s servants in heaven.
Zion ~ the mountain in Jerusalem where God’s holy Temple was.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes (large families) of Israel.
chariot ~ box (on wheels) that horses pull to carry soldiers into battle.
exaggerate ~ to say that something is far greater or much more important than in reality.
vineyard ~ field where vines grow.
vine ~ plant whose fruit makes wine.
wine ~ a drink that people make from grapes.
grape ~ small sweet fruit of the vine; its juice makes wine.
vine ~ plant whose fruit makes wine.
wine ~ a drink that people make from grapes.
grape ~ small sweet fruit of the vine; its juice makes wine.
grape ~ small sweet fruit of the vine; its juice makes wine.
vine ~ plant whose fruit makes wine.
wine ~ a drink that people make from grapes.
Messiah ~ Old Testament title for Christ.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible. It contains 39 books, all from the time before Jesus was born.

'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It contains 27 books, all from the time when Jesus was born.
Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Jews ~ people who belong to the countries called Judah and Israel; people who belong to the 12 tribes (large families) of Israel.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible. It contains 39 books, all from the time before Jesus was born.
worship ~ to praise God and to pray to him; or, to praise and to pray to a false god.

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

King Hezekiah

Isaiah Chapter s 34 to 40

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Chapter 37

v1 When King Hezekiah heard [the report of his officials], he tore his clothes. Then he put on rough, hairy cloth and he went into the *temple of the *LORD [in Jerusalem].

v2 And he sent Eliakim and Shebna and the leaders of the priests to Isaiah the *prophet. [Isaiah] was the son of Amoz. [Eliakim was] the chief official in the [king’s] palace. [Shebna was] the [king’s] minister. And [Eliakim, Shebna and the priests] all wore rough, hairy cloth.

v3 And they told [Isaiah], ‘This is what Hezekiah says. “This is a time when people worry. And someone gives a *rebuke to them. And they are ashamed. It is like [the time when] a child is ready to be born. But [its mother] has no strength to give birth to it.

v4 Perhaps the *LORD, [who is] your God, will do something about the commander’s words. The commander’s master is the king of Assyria. [The king] sent the commander to laugh at the God who is really alive. Maybe the *LORD your God will *rebuke the commander for the words that [God] has heard. Therefore, pray for the people that remain [in Jerusalem].” ’

v5 So King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah.

v6 Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master that the *LORD says this. “Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard. The unimportant servants of the king of Assyria have said evil things about me.

v7 Listen [to me]! I will put a spirit into [the king of Assyria]. Then, he will hear a certain report. When [he hears it], he will return to his own country. And there, I will make [someone] kill him with a sword”.’

v8 Then, the commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. So the commander left [Jerusalem] and found that the king [of Assyria] was fighting against Libnah.

v9 Now [the king of Assyria] heard [this report] about Tirhakah. [Tirhakah] was the king of Ethiopia. [The report] said, ‘He has started to travel [from Ethiopia] to fight against you.’ And when [the king of Assyria] heard this, he sent people [to Jerusalem] with a message. They had this message for [King] Hezekiah.

v10 ‘Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah. Say, “You are depending on your God. But do not let him *deceive you. [Your God] says that the king of Assyria will not defeat Jerusalem.

v11 But you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the [other] countries. They destroyed them completely. And will [your God] save you? [No!]

v12 Did the gods of [these other] nations save them? [No!] My fathers (the previous kings of Assyria) destroyed Gozan and Haran, Rezeph and the people from Eden [that lived] in Tel Assar.

v13 Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where is the king of the city called Sepharvaim? Where are the kings of the [places called] Hena and Ivvah?

v14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the people that brought the message. And he read it and then he went up to the *LORD’s *temple. He spread the letter out, in front of the *LORD.

v15 And Hezekiah prayed to the *LORD. He said,

v16 ‘*LORD of Everything, [you are] the God of Israel. You sit on a throne (king’s seat) above the cherubim (special *angels with wings). You alone are the God of all the countries in the world. You have made the *heavens and the earth.

v17 *LORD, turn your ears to me and hear [my prayer]. *LORD, open your eyes and look [at this letter]. Listen to all the words of Sennacherib (the king of Assyria). He sent them to laugh at the God who really is alive.

v18 It is true, *LORD, that the kings of Assyria have [defeated] the people in many countries. And they have made waste places of their lands.

v19 They have thrown their gods into the fire. They have destroyed them because they were not real gods. Human hands made them from wood and stone.

v20 So now, our *LORD and our God, rescue us from the power of [the King of Assyria]! Then all the *kingdoms in the world will know that you alone are the *LORD.’

v21 Then Isaiah, (who was) the son of Amoz, sent a message to Hezekiah. ‘This is what the *LORD, (who is) the God of Israel, says. “You have prayed to me about Sennacherib, (who is) the king of Assyria.” Therefore,

v22 this is what the *LORD says about him.

“[The] *Virgin Daughter of *Zion (Jerusalem’s people)

hates you and she laughs at you.

[The] Daughter of Jerusalem

shakes her head after you.

v23 Who is it that you have insulted? Who have you told lies about?

Who is it that you have shouted at?

Who is it that you have looked at proudly?

[The answer is] the *Holy [God] of Israel!

v24 You have used your servants to insult the *Lord.

You have said: ‘With many of my *chariots

I have gone up very high mountains,

the highest [mountains] in Lebanon.

I have cut down its tallest cedar trees,

and I have cut down its best pine trees.

I went to its highest places and to its finest forests.

v25 I dug wells and I drank [the] water [from them].

I dried up all the rivers in Egypt with the *soles of my feet.’

v26 Have you not heard [this]?

I made my plans a long time ago!

I decided what to do in the distant past!

Now it has happened.

You have made strong cities become heaps of stones.

v27 The people in them have no strength.

They are unhappy and ashamed.

They are like plants in a field.

[They are like] the new parts of young green plants.

[They are like] grass on the roof [of a house].

[The hot winds burn them] before they can grow.

v28 I know [everything about you].

[I know] when you sit down.

And [I know] when you go out.

And [I know] when you come in.

And [I know] when you shout proudly at me.

v29 You have shouted proudly at me.

You have insulted me and I have heard it.

Therefore I will put my *hook in your nose

and my *bit in your mouth.

And I will make you return home by the same way that you came.”

v30 And this will be a sign for you, [Hezekiah].

“This year, you will eat what grows from its own [seeds].

And in the second year, [you will eat] what grows from [the first year’s seeds].

But in the third year, you will sow [seed] and you will harvest [crops].

And you will replant the *vineyards and you will enjoy their fruit.

v31 And this will happen also to the people that remain in Judah.

[Like plants], they will put roots down below [the ground] and they will grow fruit above [it].

v32 [This will happen] because a *remnant will come out from Jerusalem.

And the people that remain will come out from the hill [called] *Zion.

The great care that the *LORD of Everything has [for his people] will make this happen!”

v33 Therefore, this is what the *LORD says about the king of Assyria.

“He will not come into this city,

and he will not shoot an arrow here.

He will not stand in front of it with a *shield,

and he will not build heaps of earth against it.

v34 He will return [to Assyria] by the way that he came.

And he will not enter into this city.”

[This is] the promise of the *LORD.

v35 “So I will defend this city and I will save it.

[I will do this to protect] my honour.

[And I will do it because] I promised my servant David [that I would do it].” ’

v36 Then an *angel of the *LORD went out. And the *angel killed 185 000 men in the camp of Assyria’s [army]. When people got up in the morning, they saw all these dead bodies!

v37 So Sennacherib, [who was] the king of Assyria, packed his camp away. He returned to [Assyria] and he stayed there in Nineveh.

v38 [Afterwards] he was praising his god Nisroch in the *temple [of Nisroch]. [Two of] his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with [their] swords. Then, they escaped into the country called Ararat. [So] Esarhaddon, [who was another of] his sons, ruled instead of [Sennacherib].

Notes

Verse 1 The report was what Hezekiah’s officials heard in chapter 36:13-20. Sackcloth is a rough material. People make sacks from it. Hezekiah wore sackcloth to show that he was desperate. He felt great despair. The *temple was God’s house in Jerusalem. It was on a hill called *Zion.

Verse 2 Hezekiah did not ask Isaiah to come to him. Instead, he sent a group of important people to Isaiah. This shows us that he respected Isaiah.

Verse 3 ‘Rebuke’ means this: ‘words to say that someone has done something wrong’. The *rebuke was the words of *Rav Shakeh in Isaiah 36:13-20. Actually, Hezekiah had done nothing wrong. But *Rav Shakeh said that Hezekiah was wrong to trust in the *LORD. *Rav Shakeh is probably *Hebrew for ‘chief army commander’. He was a commander of the *Assyrian Army. The words about birth are probably traditional. They mean here that the nation could not fight against Assyria. A woman ‘gives birth’ when her baby is born. But if a woman is too weak to give birth, either she or her baby, or both, will die. So what would be a happy occasion becomes very sad.

Verse 4 ‘Will do something’ is the *Hebrew word that means ‘hear and obey’ (see our note on Isaiah 36:13). The *Assyrians laughed at the *LORD because they did not respect him. So Hezekiah hopes that God will *rebuke the *Assyrians. This is the same *Hebrew word as in verse 3. But here it may mean more than ‘to say that somebody did something wrong’. It may also mean ‘punish’. It is not clear whether this is Hezekiah’s hope or his prayer. The last part of the verse is a prayer. It is for the people who were still alive in Jerusalem. Many people in the towns round Jerusalem like Lachish were already dead, or they were already in another country.

Verse 6 ‘Do not be afraid’ are words that Isaiah often said. Read something to do number 4. The chief commander said these things, but God refers to him by the words ‘unimportant servants’! God is already *rebuking *Rav Shakeh, and the other servants with him.

Verse 7 We can translate ‘I will put a spirit into’ several other ways. Here are some of them.

• I will send a wind against him.

• I will send a spirit against him.
• I will make him think about something.

Whatever it means, this is clear. God was saying that he would do something to Sennacherib, king of Assyria. It would make him go back to Assyria. When he was there, someone would kill him with a sword.

Verse 8 Bible students are not sure where Libnah was. Most of them think that it was near Lachish. We could translate the word ‘found’ as ‘met’. *Rav Shakeh met the king of Assyria, who was fighting against Libnah.

Verse 9 Tirhakah became king of Upper and Lower Egypt in 689 *B.C. *B.C. means ‘years Before Christ came to the earth’. But this verse is about things that happened in 701 *B.C. This was about 12 years earlier than 689 *B.C. In 701 *B.C., Tirhakah was an army commander. His father was king, or Pharaoh, of Egypt. At this time, Ethiopia was a part of Egypt. *Assyrian records tell us that there was a battle between Tirhakah’s army and Sennacherib’s army in 701 *B.C. It was at Eltekeh, which was a town west of Jerusalem. Assyria defeated Egypt in this battle. Verse 14 probably means that the message was in a letter.

Verse 10 There is an important difference between this verse and what *Rav Shakeh said in Isaiah 36:13-20. *Rav Shakeh told the *Jews not to let Hezekiah *deceive them. Now Sennacherib says, ‘Do not let God *deceive you.’ ‘*Deceive’ means ‘to say things that are not honest and true’. Actually, Sennacherib said ‘a god’, not ‘God’. To Sennacherib, the gods of all countries were similar.

Verse 11 Notice the way that the *Hebrew Bible uses a question. ‘Will God save you?’ does not mean the same as ‘God will not save you!’ It expects an answer. It expects a very, very loud ‘No!’ It emphasises the answer in a special way. The same is true in many other verses in Isaiah Chapter s 36 and 37. We will see the same technique in Isaiah 37:12.

Verse 12 ‘Fathers’ here means previous kings of Assyria. These kings defeated:

• Gozan. When Assyria defeated Samaria, they took the prisoners to Gozan, 2 Kings 17:6.

• Haran. Abraham stopped here when he went from Chaldea to Canaan, Genesis 11:31.
• Rezeph was in what is now Iraq.
• Eden was probably in the middle of the Euphrates Valley.

All these places were probably between the Tigris river and the Euphrates river.

Verse 13 The answers to these questions may be one of these.

• The soldiers from Assyria killed them.

• The soldiers from Assyria took them as prisoners into *exile.
• The kings escaped to far countries.

We do not know the answer, so the question must remain. It tells us that nobody really knows where they are!

Hezekiah’s Prayer

Verse 14 The letter was probably in a *scroll. This was a very long piece of paper. People wound the paper onto a short stick. Hezekiah went up to the *temple, which was the house of the *LORD. It was on a hill called *Zion. ‘Spread the letter’ means that he unwound the *scroll.

Verse 16 Hezekiah said 4 things about God. They were:

• God is the King of everything. He sits on a throne, in other words, a special seat that a king sits on. The cherubim are very special *angels. They have wings. Isaiah saw them in his *vision in chapter 6. They guarded the entrance to the *temple. Hezekiah believed that they would protect Jerusalem from Sennacherib.

• God is unique. That means that there is nobody else like him. There are no other real gods. He is the only God. There is only one God. The gods of the other countries, verses 11-13, did not really exist.
• God is omnipresent. That means that he is everywhere at the same time! He is not only God of Judah. He is God of every country in the world.
• God is the Creator. That means that he made (created) everything. This includes everything in the skies and everything on the earth. ‘*Heavens’ may mean ‘skies’ or ‘the places where God and his *angels live’.

What Hezekiah said was important. Sennacherib laughed at Hezekiah’s god, as if the *LORD was just another false god. But Hezekiah really believed that the *LORD is God.

Verse 17 ‘Turn your ears’ is an *Hebrew way to say ‘listen!’ The *Hebrew Bible just says ‘hear’ and ‘look’. Our translation decided that ‘hear’ means ‘hear my prayer’. And it decided that ‘look’ means ‘look at this letter’. But Hezekiah may have meant something else. We do not know.

Verse 18 ‘Made waste places of’ means ‘destroyed completely’. They left nothing of the original country: their palaces, their great buildings, their houses, their farms, their cottages and their roads. Everything had gone.

Verse 19 The *Assyrians had burnt the gods that should have protected these countries. This was because they were not real gods. They were just images that people had made from wood or stone.

Verse 20 The ‘power’ of the King of Assyria is his ‘hand’ in the *Hebrew Bible. It means more than political power and authority. It means a cruel attack. The King of Assyria said that his army would make such an attack against Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s prayer is simple. He asked the *LORD to rescue him and his people. Then the people in every *kingdom in the world would know how strong the *LORD really was. The word ‘*kingdom’ means ‘a country which has a king’.

God’s answer by Isaiah

Isaiah’s answer is in the form of a poem. It is full of word-pictures, so it is not easy to understand. All the words in the poem are the words of God except those that are in this sort of print. The poem divides into two parts.

• Verses 22-29 are about Sennacherib. In these verses, the word ‘you’ always means Sennacherib.

• Verses 30-35 contain God’s promises to Hezekiah.

Verse 22 The *Hebrew Bible puts the words in this order:

She hates you, she laughs at you,

*Virgin Daughter of *Zion (Jerusalem’s people).

She shakes her head after you,

Daughter of Jerusalem (Jerusalem’s people).

So we could think that ‘you’ means ‘Daughter’. But, in verses 22-29, ‘you’ always means Sennacherib. So Isaiah makes us ask ourselves, ‘Who is she?’ before he gives us the answer. This is another part of his technique. (Look in the section ‘Something to do’ after chapter 35.) Isaiah uses the words ‘*Virgin Daughter’ for several reasons:

• The phrase contains more information than he could otherwise get into two words of a poem.

• ‘Daughter of *Zion’ is a special *Hebrew way to say ‘the people that live in *Zion (Jerusalem)’.
• It refers to only some people there; it does not refer to them all.
• It refers to those people that trust God to save them from Sennacherib.

A ‘*virgin’ is a woman that has not had sex with a man. Here it is a special description of religion. It means people that have not served false gods. Or, if they have, they are sorry. They have asked God to forgive them. In many Bible books, marriage is a special description of true religion. Jeremiah, Hosea and Revelation are good examples.

Notice that ‘she shakes her head after you’. This means that Sennacherib has gone.

Verse 23 We could translate this verse:

You have insulted the *Holy (God) of Israel.

You have told lies about him.

You have shouted at him.

You have looked at him in a proud manner.

This translation gives us the facts. But it loses the poetry. The poetry makes you wait for the answer.

But when it comes, the answer emphasises the meaning so much more! ‘*Holy’ means two things.

• Very, very good.

• Separate from what is bad.

Verse 24 ‘*Lord’ in this verse is another name for God. ‘*Lord’ means ‘master’ or ‘someone with authority’. It does not translate the same *Hebrew word as *LORD does. ‘*LORD’ is the *covenant name for God. A ‘*covenant’ is an agreement. In this agreement, God agrees to help and to protect his people. His people agree to love and to serve God.

Then God reminds Sennacherib of what Sennacherib has said.

What Sennacherib said	What does it mean? Is it true?
with many of my *chariots	with many of my carts in which my soldiers rode
I have gone up very high mountains	It is very difficult to drive a *chariot up a mountain so it is probably not true.
the highest (mountains) in Lebanon
I have cut down its tallest cedar trees	Lebanon was famous for its cedar trees. They were very beautiful. Their wood was a good material to build houses with. But Sennacherib had cut them down.
I have cut down its best pine trees	Sennacherib had cut these large, beautiful trees down also. He probably took the wood from the trees called cedars and pines home to Nineveh. So then his builders could use this wood.
I went to its highest places and to its finest forests	This says the same as the first 5 lines, but with less details.

When Sennacherib says ‘I’ in verses 24 and 25, he means ‘my army’. He was praising himself for what he had done.

Verse 25 In verse 25b (the second part of verse 25) Sennacherib says that he is better than the *LORD! The *LORD only dried up the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21). But Sennacherib says that he dried up every river in Egypt. He only used the sole (the part underneath) of his foot to do it. This insults God more than anything else that Sennacherib said.

Verse 26 The question here, to Sennacherib, shows what God thinks of Sennacherib. Sennacherib is only doing what God wanted him to do! But Sennacherib does not know! He has not heard that God made his plans even before Sennacherib’s birth. Now God’s plans have actually happened. ‘Strong cities’ probably means ‘cities with walls that were their defences’. The cities had no walls or buildings that remained.

Verse 27 The people in the cities were sad and confused. They were like plants that had started to grow. But a fierce, hot wind burnt them. Bible students are not sure what the *Hebrew word for ‘hot winds burn them’ really means. ‘Hot winds burn them’ is a guess rather than a translation. This is the only place that we find this *Hebrew word in the *Hebrew Bible.

Verse 28 ‘Shout proudly’ refers to Sennacherib’s words that he, Sennacherib, did all these things (verses 24-25). Really, he was only carrying out God’s plans. ‘Shout proudly’ means that Sennacherib was praising himself.

Verse 29 A ‘*hook’ is a piece of metal with a bend in it. People use a hook to catch fish. Here, God is using it to catch Sennacherib! The ‘*bit’ is what people put in a horse’s mouth. They use it to control the horse. Here, God is controlling Sennacherib. Sennacherib has behaved like an animal to the people that he attacked so cruelly. Now God will deal with Sennacherib as if Sennacherib was an animal.

A Sign for Hezekiah

Verse 30 ‘You’ in this verse is not Sennacherib, as it was in verses 22-29. ‘You’ is Hezekiah in this verse. Verses 30-35 contain special promises for Hezekiah and his people.

To understand this verse, we must add several words to each line of the poem. Notice that :

• There are only 3 or 4 *Hebrew words in each line of the poem. There is a lot of meaning in each word! The explanations in the boxes below should help us.

• Here is an example of Isaiah’s technique. He often said 4 things in a verse of poetry. ‘This will be a sign’ is not part of the poem.

Translation of words in *Hebrew Bible	Probable English meaning (but NOT a translation)
(to eat) (the year) (seed that fell) (3 *Hebrew words)	This year you and your people will eat food. It will come from plants that will grow from seeds. These seeds fell from last year’s plants. Farmers did not sow them. Wind, birds and animals spread the seeds.
(and in the year) (the second) (what grows after) (3 *Hebrew words)	Next year, the *LORD will again provide food. It will come from plants that grow from the first year’s seeds. Again, wind, birds and animals will spread the seeds.
(but in the year) (the third) (sow) (and harvest) (4 *Hebrew words)	Only in the third year will your farmers need to sow seeds and to harvest the crops. This is the sign to Hezekiah and to his people. You will have enough food for two years even when you have not sown seeds!
(and plant) (*vineyards) (and eat) (fruit of them) (4 *Hebrew words)	Also in the third year, replant the *vineyards. After a few more years, you will harvest the *grapes from them. You will make wine from the *grapes that grow on the *vine bushes in the *vineyards.

Verse 31 Here is another part of the sign. As the crops grow, so will the people! That means that the number of people in Judah will increase. Or, that they will be successful. The *LORD uses the plants as a picture of his people.

Verse 32 A ‘*remnant’ is ‘a bit that remains’. In the Bible, it is often a technical word for ‘people that remain’. Here, they are the people that remain alive after the war. They will come out from Jerusalem where perhaps they had hidden from Sennacherib. As the plants grew in verse 31, so their families will grow. *Zion was the name of a hill in Jerusalem. The Bible often uses it as another name for the city called Jerusalem. This verse is a good example of *Hebrew poetry. Both lines really mean the same thing. The last line of the verse is not part of the poem. The ‘great care’ of the *LORD shows itself in the energy that he uses to protect his people.

Verse 33 As in verse 30, the first line is not part of the poem. Again, Isaiah says 4 things in one verse of a poem, as he does in verse 30. ‘He’ in this verse and the next is ‘Sennacherib’. But really, it means Sennacherib and his army. Soldiers used *shields to protect themselves. They also built heaps of earth outside city walls. The earth was in a slope. Then they could climb up on the earth and get over the walls!

Verses 34-35 The *LORD explains why he will send Sennacherib back to Assyria. There are two reasons.

• To protect his (the *LORD’s) own honour. He did not want Sennacherib to think that he had defeated God!

• Because of his promises to King David. These are in 2 Samuel 7:8-16.

Verse 36 Isaiah Chapter s 36 and 37 are also in 2 Kings 18:17 to 19:37. 2 Kings 19:35 is similar to Isaiah 37:36. But it starts, ‘That night the *angel of the *LORD’. The *Hebrew word that we translate ‘*angel’ actually means ‘someone who carries a message’. *Angels are special servants of God. Usually, we cannot see them. This *angel killed 185 000 soldiers, a huge number. We do not know how they died.

Verse 37 Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. It was near the River Tigris in the north of the country.

Verse 38 The events in this verse happened about 20 years after the events in verses 36-37.

Sennacherib’s god, Nisroch, could not save Sennacherib from.his sons. They killed Sennacherib in Nisroch’s *temple! *Assyrian records from the time agree that his sons murdered Sennacherib. Ararat was north-west of Nineveh, in what is now Turkey. Esarhaddon started to rule over Assyria in 681 *B.C. *B.C. means ‘years Before Christ came to the earth’. Esarhaddon took many different people to the country called Israel, that is, the area north of Judah. They were later called ‘the Samaritans’.

Something to do

1. If you can find a map of the area, look for: The Mediterranean Sea, Tyre, Lachish, Libnah, Nineveh and Jerusalem. Also, look for the rivers called Tigris and Euphrates.

2. Read 2 Kings 18:3-7. It is the story of how Hezekiah removed high places and *altars outside Jerusalem. Also, read Deuteronomy 12:2-7 for more information about why Hezekiah did this.

3. Pray for the leaders of your country. Pray that they will find God’s plan for them.

4. Read some other verses where Isaiah says, ‘Do not be afraid’. He says it in Isaiah 7:4; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 41:10-14; Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 43:5; Isaiah 44:2; Isaiah 44:8; and 54:4.

5. Add more examples of Isaiah’s poetry technique to the list in something to do after chapter 35.

6. Read God’s promises to David in 2 Samuel 7:8-16.

heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’) it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
prophet ~ someone who says what God is saying.
rebuke ~ to say that someone has done something wrong; or the words that say this.
deceive ~ to make you think that someone is honest. But in fact that person is not honest.
angel ~ a special servant of God in heaven.
Heaven ~ the home of God.
heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
kingdom ~ a country that a king rules.
virgin ~ a woman that has not had sex.
Zion ~ a name for Jerusalem.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’) it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
chariot ~ a cart that soldiers rode in.
sole ~ the underneath part of the foot.
bit ~ what people put in a horse’s mouth. They use it to control the horse.
vineyard ~ a field where vines grow.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
remnant ~ a small part of something that is larger. In Isaiah, it often means the few people that still obeyed God.
shield ~ a board that a soldier used to protect himself during a battle.'Rav Shakeh ~ the chief commander of Assyria’s army.
Assyrian ~ a person from the country called Assyria, or anything that has a relationship with that country.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
deceive ~ to make you think that someone is honest. But in fact that person is not honest.
exile ~ a person whom enemies force to live away from his own home or country. Or, the place where that person has to live.
scroll ~ a very long piece of paper.
vision ~ something that a person sees, maybe only in their mind.
virgin ~ a woman that has not had sex.
covenant ~ the agreement between God and his people. In this agreement, God agrees to help and to protect his people. His people agree to love and to serve God.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
angel ~ a special servant of God in heaven.
Heaven ~ the home of God.
altar ~ a special metal table where people burnt animals and corn to please God (or false gods).