1. And it came to pass. The Prophet declares that the only hope of safety that was left to the pious king was to bring his complaints before God as a righteous judge; as it is said in the Psalm, that “in the same manner as servants or handmaids, when they are injured, look to the protection of…

2. And he sent Eliakim. This message was not intended merely to invite Isaiah to join with him in lamentation, but to request some consolation from his doctrine. And indeed to no purpose shall prayers be poured into the air, if they do not rest on the word of God.

4. If perhaps Jehovah thy God will hear. Hezekiah appears to doubt whether, or not the Lord is willing to hear him; for the particle אולי (ulai) is translated perhaps, and this is the meaning which it frequently bears in Scripture.

5. And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. As the Prophet formerly related that the pious king had no other refuge than to consult the mouth of the Lord, so he now shews that he did not consult in vain; for he received the consolation which he desired.

6. Thus saith Jehovah. Isaiah begins by saying that he gives the reply in the name of God, and expressly declares that the oracle comes from God, both because prophets ought always to beware of bringing forward anything of their own, and because in so difficult a matter the authority of God was…

7. Behold, I will bring a wind upon him. Others translate it, “I will put my Spirit in him,” as if the Prophet were speaking of a secret influence of the heart; but that is a forced interpretation.

8. And Rabshakeh having returned. He now declares how Rabshakeh, without doing anything, returned to his king, not to the same place where he had left him; for he understood that he had raised the siege of Lachish, and had departed into Egypt for the purpose of attacking Libnah.

9. And hearing concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia. From what follows we may conjecture the reason why the king of Assyria suddenly departed from Judea; for the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia had formed a league with each other against Sennacherib, because they saw that his power was becoming…

10. Let not thy God deceive thee. How shocking is this blasphemy, to speak of God the Author of truth, and to accuse him of falsehood and deceit, as if he actually imposed on his people! What is left to God when his truth is taken away, for nothing is more absolutely his own? God extorted this word…

11. Behold, thou hast heard. Here we ought to observe a twofold comparison; for he compares Hezekiah to other kings of Judah who preceded him, because he was inferior to them, and yet they were vanquished by the kings of Assyria; and Sennacherib, on the other hand, having obtained greater power…

12. Gozan. This place is mentioned in 2 Kings 17:6, 2 Kings 18:11. We may infer that it was a town in Media, though some think that it was situated elsewhere; but it is enough that, with regard to Jerusalem, it lay in an easterly direction. Haran is often mentioned in Scripture.

14. Hezekiah took the letters. The Prophet now shews what kind of refuge Hezekiah had amidst so great calamities. He immediately went into the Temple, to lament before the Lord the calamity which: he could not remove, and to “cast upon him” his grief and his anxieties.

15. Then Hezekiah prayed to God, saying, O Jehovah of hosts. Because Sennacherib was the agent employed by Satan to shake the faith of Hezekiah, he defends himself by this rampart, that God possesses infinite power; for, by bestowing on God those lofty praises, he undoubtedly encourages himself to…

16. Thou alone art God over all the kingdoms of the earth. Not only does he assert God’s almighty power, but likewise maintains the authority which he exercises over the whole world.

17. incline thine ear, O Jehovah. From these words we conclude how great was the perplexity of Hezekiah; for the earnestness that pervades the prayer breathes an amazing power of anguish, so that it is.

18. and 19. Truly, O Jehovah. Here Hezekiah begins to distinguish between the false gods and the true God, which we also ought to do very carefully. Wicked men, who have no light, indulge in some confused imaginations about God, which quickly pass away, so that they think that there is no God, or…

For they are not gods, but the work of the hands of man, wood and stone. By two arguments Hezekiah shews that “they were not gods;” first, because they consisted of matter, and secondly, because they were formed by the hands of men.

20. And now, O Jehovah our God. At the conclusion of his prayer, the pious king now rises above that fear with which he had struggled; for the aids by which he had hitherto fortified himself undoubtedly encouraged him boldly to add this short clause.

21. Then Isaiah sent to Hezekiah. This shews the result of the prayer; for, as soon as matters have come to an extremity, God suddenly holds out his hand to assist the pious king by the Prophet Isaiah.

22. The virgin daughter of Zion. There is greater emphasis in this address to the whole Church than if he had said the same tiring to Hezekiah as a private individual; for this circumstance heightens the baseness of treating with scorn the defencelessness of a wretched people, as if the aid of…

23. Whom hast thou reproached? In the former verse he describes the fact, such as it might be seen and beheld by all; but now he raises their minds higher, by shewing that this tyrant insults not only Jerusalem but God himself.

24. By the hand of thy servants. This also heightens the baseness and cruelty of the insult, for it is harder to bear reproaches from a servant than from his master, the insult being rendered more grievous by the meanness of the person.

25. I shall dig and drink water. The tyrant still goes on to boast of his strength, and threatens that e will bring so powerful an army that by means of their numbers he will dry up all the fountains and rivers.

26. Hast thou not heard? The greater part of commentators explain this verse as if the Lord declared that nothing was now done, or had formerly been done by this tyrant, which he had not foretold by the mouth of the Prophet, and thus affirmed that he was the author of those things.

27. For their inhabitants were maimed. Here the Prophet expresses more fully what he had formerly glanced at briefly, that we ought not to judge of the condition of the Church from the stability of this world; for although fortified cities are taken, and the strongest men lose courage and fall into…

28. I know thy sitting down and thy rising up. He returns to the insufferable pride of that tyrant, who claimed everything for himself, as if he had not been subject to any one, and dared to despise God as compared to himself, and to load him with reproaches.

29. Because thou wast angry against me. The more furiously wicked men rise up against God, and the more outrageous the violence by which they are actuated, so much the more is he wont eventually to set himself in opposition to them.

30. And this shall be a sign to thee. He now directs his discourse to Hezekiah and the whole nation; for he did not address Sennacherib as if he expected him to listen, but in order that, by contemptuously mocking at the absent tyrant, he might more powerfully stimulate the minds of believers to…

31. And that which shall be preserved of the house of Judah. He follows out the former statement; for he declares that the Lord will deliver Jerusalem so as not to east away his care of her afterwards, but will be her savior to the end.

32. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant. Formerly by the metaphor of a root and of fruits he foretold the deliverance of the Church; he now declares the same thing without a figure.

33. Therefore thus saith Jehovah. He now returns to the deliverance of which he had formerly spoken; for God proraised, first, that he would drive out Sennacherib; secondly, that he would grant food and nourishment for the sustenance of the people, though the country had been wasted and pillaged;…

34. By the way that he came shall he return. We have formerly explained what it is to return by the same way, that is, to depar without having accomplished anything, as we commonly say, (Il s’en est retourne comme il est venu) “he returned as he came,” when nothing has been accomplished, and the…

35. And I will be a protector. This is the reason of the preceding statement, why Sennacherib should not enter into the city; because the Lord will protect it.

36. And the angel of Jehovah went out. The Prophet now relates what happened to the Assyrian, that we may not think that the Lord spoke in vain. He shews, therefore, that his prediction was proved by the event, that it might clearly appear that God had sent him, and that he had not uttered anything…

37. Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went away and returned. He now shows how disgraceful was the retreat of this haughty tyrant, who in the wishes of his heart had already devoured the whole of Judea, and formerly dared to pretend to be more powerful than God himself.

38. While he was worshipping. Here the Jews allow themselves that liberty of conjecture in which they are always accustomed to indulge. They contrive a stow, that Sennacherib consulted an oracle, and asked why he could not conquer the Jews; that the answer was, that Abraham wished to sacrifice his…