1
As soon as King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
2
He also sent Eliakim, the chief of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and the elders among the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
3
They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
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It may be that the LORD your God has heard the words of the chief cupbearer, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to mock the living God, and that the LORD your God will rebuke him for the words that the LORD has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still remains!”
5
When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah,
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Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master: Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
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Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a report and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”
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When the chief cupbearer returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had departed from Lachish.
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Meanwhile the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia this report: “He has come out to make war against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this message:
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“Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by promising, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
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Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, how they have utterly destroyed them; and will you be delivered?
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Did the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed deliver them, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?
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Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, and the king of Ivvah?”
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Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
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And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, saying:
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“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth; You have made heaven and earth.”
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Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; hear all the words of Sennacherib, who has sent them to mock the living God.
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Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands
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and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone; therefore they could be destroyed.
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Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone are the LORD.”
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Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Concerning what you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,
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this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:
The virgin daughter of Zion
has despised you, has mocked you;
and the daughter of Jerusalem
has shaken her head behind you.
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Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice,
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One, the God of Israel!
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By the hand of your servants you have reproached the Lord,
and you have said: With the multitude of my chariots
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the farthest parts of Lebanon;
I have cut down its tall cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I have entered its farthest height,
the forest of its fruitful field.
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I dug and drank water,
and I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt with the sole of my foot!
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Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago,
and planned it from ancient times?
Now I bring it to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
crash into heaps of ruins,
27
while their helpless inhabitants
are dismayed and put to shame;
they become like plants of the field
and like green grass,
like grass on the housetops,
or grain that withers before it is grown.
28
I know your sitting down and your rising up,
your going out and your coming in,
and your raging against Me.
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Because you have raged against Me,
and your arrogant words have come up to My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
and My bridle in your lips,
and I will turn you back by the way
by which you came.
30
And this shall be the sign for you, O Hezekiah: This year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from the first growth; but in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
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And the survivors of the house of Judah, the remnant that is left, shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
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For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion those who escape; the zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
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Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there; neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.
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By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, but into this city he shall not come, says the LORD.
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For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
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Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of Assyria. And when men arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead bodies.
37
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned, and remained at Nineveh.
38
And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
🙏🛡️🔥 Summary of Isaiah 37 – Hezekiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer to the Assyrian Threat
Isaiah 37 continues the story of the crisis that began in the previous chapter. When Jerusalem was threatened by Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, King Hezekiah did not answer with force, but instead humbled himself, prayed, and sought a prophecy from the prophet Isaiah. God responded with a promise of divine protection, and in the end, He miraculously destroyed the Assyrian army. This is a chapter full of faith, repentance, prophecy, and supernatural deliverance.
📌 1. Hezekiah Humbles Himself (verses 1–4)
“Hezekiah tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth…”
- Hezekiah showed sorrow and submission, then sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah
- He asked for prayer because the enemy had blasphemed the living God
🎯 When attacked, the first step is not to fight back, but to humble oneself and come to the Lord.
📌 2. God’s Promise Through Isaiah (verses 5–7)
“Do not be afraid… I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”
- The Lord gives a comforting promise: Sennacherib will not succeed
🎯 The Lord answers even before a long prayer is lifted up — when we come with a broken heart.
📌 3. Sennacherib’s Threatening Letter and Hezekiah’s Prayer (verses 8–20)
“LORD, open Your eyes and see…”
- Sennacherib sent a letter of insult against God
- Hezekiah spread the letter before the Lord and prayed with humility
- He did not ask for his own name’s sake, but that all nations might know that the Lord is the living God
🎯 True prayer is when we focus on God’s glory, not only on our own deliverance.
📌 4. Isaiah’s Prophecy and Judgment on Assyria (verses 21–35)
“The Lord has spoken concerning him…”
- The Lord spoke directly against Sennacherib: “Whom have you mocked? Me!”
- He promised that Jerusalem would not be touched by even one arrow
- The Lord will defend this city for His name’s sake and for David’s sake
🎯 Human pride does not escape the judgment of God — even the mightiest king of the world can be brought low.
📌 5. The Miracle: The Angel of the Lord Destroys Assyria (verses 36–38)
“The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 men in the camp of Assyria.”
- In one night, without battle, the Lord Himself acted
- Sennacherib returned to his land and was killed by his own sons in the house of his god
🎯 When the Lord fights, no human power can stand.
📖 Main Teaching
- Sincere prayer and faith in the Lord are stronger than the weapons of the world
- The Lord cares when His name is dishonored, and He will act for His glory
- Pride and blasphemy against the Lord invite His wrath
- The prophet Isaiah delivered words of comfort and victory, not only warnings
- Spiritual victory often comes not through strength, but through complete trust in the Lord
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Humble yourselves… cast all your cares upon Him.”
➡️ Like Hezekiah, humility opens the way for God’s intervention.
“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…”
➡️ Hezekiah did not fight with an army, but with faith and prayer.
“…by faith they shut the mouths of lions, quenched fire, defeated foreign armies…”
➡️ Isaiah 37 is a clear example of faith that bore great victory.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but make your requests known to God…”
➡️ Hezekiah spread out the enemy’s letter — a symbolic act of faith-filled prayer.
🎯 Isaiah 37 shows that one prayer born of sincere faith is stronger than an army of 185,000.
🕊️ “Do not be afraid…” – Isaiah 37:6
🕊️ “LORD, You are God, You alone, only You!” – Isaiah 37:16
🕊️ “I will defend this city for My own sake and for the sake of David, My servant.” – Isaiah 37:35
🕊️ “Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000…” – Isaiah 37:36
