2 Kings 19:14-28
Hezekiah's Prayer
14So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
16Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
17Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands.
18They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
19And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
20Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.
21This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
22Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
23Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest outposts, the densest of its forests.
24I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
25Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.
26Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown.
27But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.
28Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’
Berean Standard Bible
Hezekiah takes Sennacherib's letter and spreads it out before the LORD in the temple. He begins by confessing that the LORD alone is God over all the kingdoms of the earth and that he made the heavens and the earth. The prayer starts with who God is, not with a strategy for preserving the king's reputation.
Hezekiah asks God to incline his ear and hear. He acknowledges that Assyria has laid waste the nations and thrown their gods into the fire, but he says those gods were not gods at all. The letter's argument is answered by distinguishing the LORD from images made by human hands.
Hezekiah's central request is that the LORD save them from Sennacherib so all the kingdoms of the earth will know that the LORD alone is God. The king's concern includes Jerusalem's safety, but it reaches beyond his own household to God's name among the nations.
Isaiah sends the answer: the LORD has heard Hezekiah's prayer. The prophecy addresses Sennacherib's pride, his boasting, and his confidence that he can move nations like a farmer moves soil. The king has not recognized that his rise and limits remain under God's rule.
How We Know
The Assyrian crisis in 2 Kings 19:14-28 has a concrete external point of comparison. The Sennacherib, or Taylor, Prism in the British Museum records tribute from Hezekiah, king of Judah, in 701 BC. That inscription corroborates the campaign and historical king; it does not independently confirm every detail or the biblical explanation of Jerusalem's deliverance.
- Sennacherib Prism (Taylor Prism), British Museum, museum number 1855,1003.1.
Questions
1 Where does Hezekiah place the letter?
AnswerHe takes Sennacherib's letter into the temple and spreads it out before the LORD before praying.
2 What does Hezekiah confess about the LORD?
AnswerHe confesses that the LORD alone is God over all the kingdoms and that he made heaven and earth.
3 What does Hezekiah say about the nations' gods?
AnswerHe says they were not gods but wood and stone made by human hands and therefore destroyed by fire.
4 What does Hezekiah ask God to do?
AnswerHe asks the LORD to save Jerusalem so all the kingdoms of the earth will know that he alone is God.
What This Means for Us
Hezekiah does not edit the threatening letter before bringing it to God. Prayer gives the crisis a different setting: the empire's claims are placed before the Creator's authority.
When a message frightens you, read it honestly and bring it into prayer. Ask not only for escape, but for a perspective that keeps God's character and the welfare of others larger than your fear.
Prayer
Lord, hear us when threatening words arrive. Help us bring them honestly before you, remember that no human power is ultimate, and ask for deliverance in a way that seeks your honor and the protection of people. Amen.