Hezekiah tears his clothes, covers himself with sackcloth, enters the temple, and sends to Isaiah who prophesies: the LORD will put a spirit in Sennacherib so he hears a rumor, returns to his land, and falls by the sword. When Sennacherib sends a letter boasting that no god has saved any nation, Hezekiah spreads it before the LORD and prays for deliverance that all earth's kingdoms may know He alone is God. Isaiah sends word: the LORD has heard; the virgin daughter Zion despises Sennacherib; he has mocked the Holy One of Israel; his arrogance is noted and a hook will turn him back. This year they will eat what grows of itself, next year the same, but the third year they will plant and harvest; a remnant from Jerusalem will survive by the LORD's zeal. Sennacherib will not enter Jerusalem or shoot an arrow at it; the LORD will defend it for His own sake and for David's sake. That night the angel of the LORD strikes 185,000 Assyrians dead. Sennacherib withdraws; while worshiping in Nisroch's temple, his sons strike him down and escape to Ararat. Esarhaddon succeeds him.
Read 2 Kings Chapter 19 Summary
Characters in This Chapter
Elijah's successor who performed many miracles and ministered to Israel's kings
Faithful king of Judah who trusted God against Assyria and was healed from illness
Reforming king who rediscovered the Law and led Judah in renewal
Syrian commander healed of leprosy by Elisha, demonstrating God's grace to Gentiles
Wicked king of Judah who led the nation into deep idolatry
The Messianic Prophet
Son of Jacob, Ancestor of David and Christ
King of Israel
Places in This Chapter
Haran was a city in northern Mesopotamia where Abraham's father Terah settled and died. Abraham left here at God's call to go to Canaan. Jacob later fled here to escape Esau and worked for his uncle Laban for twenty years, marrying Leah and Rachel.
Mount Zion originally referred to the fortified hill that David captured from the Jebusites, making it the City of David. Over time, the name expanded to include the Temple Mount and came to represent Jerusalem as a whole, and ultimately the dwelling place of God. In Scripture, Zion symbolizes God's chosen city, His people, and the heavenly Jerusalem. The prophets spoke of Zion as the place from which salvation would come and where God would reign forever.
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, known for its cruelty and wickedness. God sent the prophet Jonah to preach repentance to this city. When Jonah finally delivered God's message, the entire city—from the king to the animals—fasted and repented, and God spared the city. Later, the prophet Nahum prophesied Nineveh's destruction, which came in 612 BC.
Position in Book
Hezekiah's faithfulness, Manasseh's wickedness, Josiah's reforms, fall of Jerusalem to Babylon.