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Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 37:18

Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations . This was a stubborn fact, which it was impossible to deny. From the time of Asshur-izir-pal at any rate, about b.c. 880, Assyria had pursued for nearly two centuries a steady career of conquest, reducing the nations which were her neighbors, almost without exception, and gradually spreading her power from the tract immediately about Nineveh to the Persian Gulf on the south, the great plateau of Iran on the east, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 37:18-19

Faith neither blind to seemingly adverse facts, nor chary of admitting them. Sennacherib thought to destroy Hezekiah's trust in Jehovah by an array of facts which he regarded as having the force of an induction. Hezekiah fully admitted the facts ("Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries"), but did not suffer his faith to be shaken by them. His faith rested upon another distinct set of facts, which Sennacherib's did not and could not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 37:19

And have cast their gods into the fire . The more valuable of the foreign idols were usually carried off by the Assyrians, and placed in the shrines of their own gods as trophies of victory; but no doubt great numbers of the inferior idols. which were of wood, not even coated with metal—the ξόανα of the Greeks—were burnt. For they were no gods (temp. Jeremiah 2:11 ; Jeremiah 5:7 ; Jeremiah 16:20 , etc.). Isaiah's favourite word for " idols " is elilim , which is,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 37:17

Incline thine ear - This is evidently language taken from what occurs among people. When they are desirous of hearing distinctly, they incline the ear or apply it close to the speaker. Similar language is not unfrequently used in the Scriptures as applicable to God 2 Kings 19:16; Psalms 86:1; Psalms 31:2; Psalms 88:2; Daniel 9:18.Open thine eyes - This is similar language applied to God, derived from the fact that when we wish to see an object, the eyes are fixed upon it (compare Job 14:3; Job... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 37:18

Of a truth - It is as he has said, that all the nations had been subjected to the arms of the Assyrian. He now intends to add Jerusalem to the number of vanquished cities and kingdoms, and to boast; that he has subdued the nation under the protection of Yahweh, as he had done the nations under the protection of idol-gods.Have laid waste all, the nations - Hebrew, as Margin, ‘All the lands.’ But this is evidently an elliptical form of expression, meaning all the inhabitants or people of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 37:19

And have cast their gods into the fire - This appears to have been the usual policy of the Assyrians and Babylonians. It was contrary to the policy which the Romans afterward pursued, for they admitted the gods of other nations among their own, and even allowed them to have a place in the Pantheon. Their design seems not to have been to alienate the feelings of the vanquished, but to make them feel that they were a part of the same people. They supposed that a vanquished people would be... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 37:1-38

Assyria defeated (37:1-38)Hezekiah now realized his mistake in ignoring Isaiah and relying on Egypt. In a humble but open acknowledgment that Judah’s plight was desperate, he sent to ask Isaiah to appeal to God for help (37:1-4). Isaiah reassured Hezekiah that God would not tolerate Assyria’s mockery of him (5-7).When the Assyrians temporarily withdrew from Jerusalem to deal with an enemy attack to the south-west, they sent a letter renewing their threats. They reminded the Jerusalemites that... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 37:18

nations, and their countries. Hebrew. ha-arazoth . . . 'arzam : as in Isaiah 37:11 . The latter word put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for the people inhabiting the lands. Note also the Figure of speech Paronomasia . Some codices read "nations, and their land". read more

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