Isaiah 37:16
in Isaiah 37“O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest above the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
KJV
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
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This verse in Isaiah 37
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
O Lord of hosts - (See the note at Isa 1:9). That dwellest between the cherubims - On the cherubim, see the note at Isa 14:13. The reference here is doubtless to the fact that the symbol of the divine presence in the temple the Shechinah (from שׁכן shâkan, to dwell, to inhabit; so called because it was the symbol of God’s dwelling with his people or inhabiting the temple) - rested on the cover of the ark in the temple. Hence, God is frequently represented as dwelling between the cherubim Exo 25:22; Psa 80:1; Psa 99:
This site's exposition
enthroned above the cherubim
on Isaiah 37:16-17
Hezekiah's prayer names God before it asks anything, O LORD of Hosts, enthroned above the cherubim, the One who made the heavens and the earth. That address already answers the letter's assumption that the LORD is a local god. The petition follows: Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear.
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
In this prayer, he confesses the power of God through the subjection of the angels: Lord God of hosts: is there any numbering of his soldiers? (Job 25:3); through the worship of the Jews: God of Israel who sits upon the cherubims, because the propitiatory, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubim,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The phrase, "dwellest between the cherubim," arose from their position at each end of the mercy seat, while the Shekinah, and the awful name, JEHOVAH, in written letters, were in the intervening space. They are so inseparably associated with the manifestation of God's glory, that whether the Lord is at rest or in motion, they always are mentioned with Him (Nu 7:89;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֨ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֜וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֣ב | yoshev | [who] sits | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| הַכְּרֻבִ֔ים | hakeruvim | the cherubim | H3742 → | |
| אַתָּה־ | ʾatah- | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| ה֤וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ | haelohim | [are] <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְבַדְּךָ֔ | levadekha | to alone you | H905 → | 200 times |
| לְכֹ֖ל | lekhol | of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַמְלְכ֣וֹת | mamlekhot | [the] kingdoms of | H4467 → | 117 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עָשִׂ֔יתָ | ʾasita | you have made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
יְהוָ֨הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֜וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
יֹשֵׁ֣ב[who] sits
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
הַכְּרֻבִ֔יםthe cherubim
hakeruvimH3742 →
אַתָּה־you
ʾatah-H859 →1094 times
ה֤וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙[are] <the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
לְבַדְּךָ֔to alone you
levadekhaH905 →200 times
לְכֹ֖לof all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
מַמְלְכ֣וֹת[the] kingdoms of
mamlekhotH4467 →117 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
עָשִׂ֔יתָyou have made
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Isaiah 44:24Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:12
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
- Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Isaiah 45:18
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be…
- Isaiah 45:12
Through
Psalms 99:1The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!
it leads to
- Psalms 80:1
Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 80:1
Through
Psalms 86:10For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.
it leads to
- Mark 12:29
Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
- Psalms 72:18
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
- Mark 12:29
Through
Exodus 25:22And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you…
it leads to
- Exodus 29:42–43
For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.
- Exodus 29:42–43
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.