2 Kings 19:11
in 2 Kings 19Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
KJV
Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?
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This verse in 2 Kings 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
All lands - This boast is in strict accordance with the general tenor of the Assyrian inscriptions. Hyperbole is the general language of the East; but in this instance it was not so extreme as in some others. The Assyrians under Sargon and Sennacherib had enjoyed an uninterrupted series of military successes: they had succeeded in establishing their pre-eminence from the Median desert to the banks of the Nile, and from the shores of Lake Van to those of the Persian Gulf.
This site's exposition
Do not let your God, in whom you trust
on 2 Kings 19:10-13
The second message repeats the Rabshakeh's argument in the king's own name. The list is the whole of Sennacherib's theology: every nation's god has failed, so this one will fail too. The letter assumes Israel's God is one more national god, and Hezekiah's prayer at verse 15 answers that assumption.
This site's exposition
devoting them to destruction
Barnes finds this boast of what the kings of Assyria had done in keeping with their own inscriptions, which record Sargon and Sennacherib taking countries. Matthew Henry answers that Tirhakah of Cush was troubling Sennacherib at that very moment. Henry calls the boast mole-hills swelled to mountains.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): All lands, and destroyed utterly! How are the mole-hills of his victories swelled to mountains! So far was he from destroying all lands that at this time the land of Cush, and Tirhakah its king, were a terror to him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
): Thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done; but, in answer to that, he is reminded of what God has done for Israel of old, drying up the Red Sea, leading them through the wilderness, planting them in Canaan. "What are all thy doings to these?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Hezekiah thereupon, by a very solemn prayer, recommended his case to God, the righteous Judge, and begged help from him,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He was a powerful monarch, another Sesostris, and both he and Sabaco have left many monuments of their greatness. The name and figure of Tirhakah receiving war captives, are still seen in the Egyptian temple of Medinet Abou. This was the expected succor which was sneered at by Rab-shakeh as "a bruised reed" (2Ki 18:21).
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֣ה׀ | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| שָׁמַ֗עְתָּ | shama'ta | you have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵת֩ | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשׂ֜וּ | ʾasu | they have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מַלְכֵ֥י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֛וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאֲרָצ֖וֹת | haaratzot | the lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְהַֽחֲרִימָ֑ם | lehacharimam | by totally destroying them | H2763 → | |
| וְאַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| תִּנָּצֵֽל׃ | tinatzel | will you be delivered? | H5337 → | 212 times |
הִנֵּ֣ה׀here!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
שָׁמַ֗עְתָּyou have heard
shama'taH8085 →1159 times
אֵת֩<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֨ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשׂ֜וּthey have done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
מַלְכֵ֥י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֛וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הָאֲרָצ֖וֹתthe lands
haaratzotH776 →2504 times
לְהַֽחֲרִימָ֑םby totally destroying them
lehacharimamH2763 →
וְאַתָּ֖הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
תִּנָּצֵֽל׃will you be delivered?
tinatzelH5337 →212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.