Behold , I will send a blast - and he shall hear a rumor - The rumor was, that Tirhakah had invaded Assyria. The blast was that which slew one hundred and eighty-five thousand of them in one night, see 2 Kings 19:35 . Cause him to fall by the sword - Alluding to his death by the hands of his two sons, at Nineveh. See 2 Kings 19:35-37 . read more
Libnah - Lachish - These two places were not very distant from each other; they were in the mountains of Judah, southward of Jerusalem. read more
Let not thy God in whom thou trustest - This letter is nearly the same with the speech delivered by Rab-shakeh. See 2 Kings 18:29 . read more
Spread it before the Lord - The temple was considered to be God's dwelling-place; and that whatever was there was peculiarly under his eye. Hezekiah spread the letter before the Lord, as he wished him to read the blasphemies spoken against himself. read more
Thou art the God , etc. - Thou art not only God of Israel, but God also of Assyria, and of all the nations of the world. read more
The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee , and laughed thee to scorn ; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee - "So truly contemptible is thy power, and empty thy boasts, that even the young women of Jerusalem, under the guidance of Jehovah, shall be amply sufficient to discomfit all thy forces, and cause thee to return with shame to thy own country, where the most disgraceful death awaits thee." When Bishop Warburton... read more
The tall cedar trees - the choice fir trees - Probably meaning the princes and nobles of the country. The forest of his Carmel - Better in the margin: the forest and his fruitful field. read more
I have dipped and drunk strange waters - I have conquered strange countries, in which I have digged wells for my army; or, I have gained the wealth of strange countries. With the sole of my feet - My infantry have been so numerous that they alone have been sufficient to drink up the rivers of the places I have besieged. read more
Hast thou not heard - Here Jehovah speaks, and shows this boasting king that what he had done was done by the Divine appointment, and that of his own counsel and might he could have done nothing. It was because God had appointed them to this civil destruction that he had overcome them; and it was not through his might; for God had made their inhabitants of small power, so that he only got the victory over men whom God had confounded, dismayed, and enervated, 2 Kings 19:26 . read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 19:4
The remnant that are left - That is, the Jews; the ten tribes having been already carried away captive by the kings of Assyria. read more