2 Kings 19:1

Isaiah Prophesies That Jerusalem Will Be Saved

1 When King Hezekiah heard what the field commander had said, he tore his clothes. He put on black clothes. Then he went into the LORD's temple.

2 Kings 19:1 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 19:1

And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it
The report of Rabshakeh's speech, recorded in the preceding chapter,

that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth;
rent his clothes because of the blasphemy in the speech; and he put on sackcloth, in token of mourning, for the calamities he feared were coming on him and his people: and he went into the house of the Lord; the temple, to pray unto him. The message he sent to Isaiah, with his answer, and the threatening letter of the king of Assyria, Hezekiah's prayer upon it, and the encouraging answer he had from the Lord, with the account of the destruction of the Assyrian army, and the death of Sennacherib, are the same "verbatim" as in ( Isaiah 37:1 ) throughout; and therefore the reader is referred thither for the exposition of them; only would add what Rauwolff ^F20 observes, that still to this day (1575) there are two great holes to be seen, wherein they flung the dead bodies (of the Assyrian army), one whereof is close by the road towards Bethlehem, the other towards the right hand against old Bethel.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Travels, par. 3. ch. 22. p. 317.

2 Kings 19:1 In-Context

1 When King Hezekiah heard what the field commander had said, he tore his clothes. He put on black clothes. Then he went into the LORD's temple.

2 Hezekiah sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, to the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz. He also sent the leading priests and the secretary Shebna to him. All of them were wearing black clothes.

3 They told Isaiah, "Hezekiah says, 'Today we're in great trouble. The LORD is warning us. He's bringing shame on us. Sometimes babies come to the moment when they should be born. But their mothers aren't strong enough to allow them to be born. Today we are like those mothers. We aren't strong enough to save ourselves.

4 " 'Perhaps the LORD your God will hear everything the field commander has said. His master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to make fun of the living God. Maybe the LORD your God will punish him for what he has heard him say. So pray for the remaining people who are still alive here.' "

5 King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah.