Isaiah 37:14
in Isaiah 37So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah.
KJV
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
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This verse in Isaiah 37
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd read it “And read them” - ויקראם vayikraem. So MS. Bodl. in this place; and so the other copy; instead of ויקראהו vaiyikraehu, “and read It.” And spread it “And spread them” - ויפרשהו vaiyiphresehu. הו hu is upon a rasure in a MS., which probably was at first ם mem. The same mistake as in the foregoing note.
This site's exposition
spread it out before the LORD
on Isaiah 37:14-15
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and spread it out before the LORD. The enemy's own words lie open in the temple before the God they insult. At verse 4 his servants had asked Isaiah to pray, and here the king goes and prays in person.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 14ff.) And Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers, and he read them, and he went up to the house of the Lord, and he spread them out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, saying: Lord, God of hosts, God of Israel, who resides above the cherubim, you are the only God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he sent to blaspheme the living God.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he sets out the prayer of Ezechias, placing before it the reception of the letter.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And Hezekiah received the letter - Hebrew, ‘Letters’ (plural). It is not mentioned in the account of the embassy Isa 37:9, that a letter was sent, but it is not probable that all embassage would be sent to a monarch without a written document. Went up into the house of the Lord - The temple Isa 37:1. And spread it before the Lord - Perhaps unrolled the document there, and spread it out; or perhaps it means simply that he spread out the contents of the letter, that is, made mention of it in his prayer. Hezekiah had no other resource. He was a man of God; and in his trouble he looked to God for aid. He, therefore, before he formed any plan, went up to the temple, and laid his case before God. What an example for all monarchs and rulers! And what an example for all the people of God, in times of perplexity!
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֧הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַסְּפָרִ֛ים | hasefarim | the letters | H5612 → | 186 times |
| מִיַּ֥ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַמַּלְאָכִ֖ים | hamalakhim | the messengers | H4397 → | 213 times |
| וַיִּקְרָאֵ֑הוּ | vaiyikraehu | and he read it | H7121 → | 733 times |
| וַיַּ֙עַל֙ | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּפְרְשֵׂ֥הוּ | vaiyifresehu | and he spread out it | H6566 → | 67 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
חִזְקִיָּ֧הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַסְּפָרִ֛יםthe letters
hasefarimH5612 →186 times
מִיַּ֥דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
הַמַּלְאָכִ֖יםthe messengers
hamalakhimH4397 →213 times
וַיִּקְרָאֵ֑הוּand he read it
vaiyikraehuH7121 →733 times
וַיַּ֙עַל֙and he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּפְרְשֵׂ֥הוּand he spread out it
vaiyifresehuH6566 →67 times
חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 19:14So 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.
it leads to
- Psalms 91:1–2
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 123:1–4
I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven.
- Ezra 9:5
At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
- 1 Kings 8:28–30
Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
- Psalms 74:10–11
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
- Psalms 91:1–2
Through
Psalms 74:10How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
it leads to
- Psalms 89:50–51
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people—
- Revelation 6:10
And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”
- Daniel 12:6
One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”
- Psalms 89:50–51
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
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); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.