Isaiah 37:11 kjv
Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?
Isaiah 37:11 nkjv
Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered?
Isaiah 37:11 niv
Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?
Isaiah 37:11 esv
Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered?
Isaiah 37:11 nlt
You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different?
Isaiah 37 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 36:18-20 | ...Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?... Do not let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, "The Lord will deliver us."... | Assyria's challenge to YHWH. |
| Isa 37:22-23 | This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: ...Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice...? Against the Holy One of Israel! | God's rebuke to Sennacherib's pride. |
| Isa 37:28-29 | ...I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your arrogance has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose... | God's sovereign knowledge and control over Assyria. |
| Isa 10:5-7 | Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hand is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him... Yet he does not so intend, nor does his heart so think, but it is in his heart to destroy... | Assyria is God's instrument, not autonomous. |
| 2 Ki 18:33-35 | Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?... Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand? | Parallel account of Rabshakeh's taunts. |
| 2 Ki 19:10-13 | Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria... You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands... | Sennacherib's letter directly to Hezekiah. |
| 2 Ki 19:15-19 | Hezekiah prayed... O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth... May your eyes be open, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. | Hezekiah's prayer for divine intervention. |
| Ps 115:3-8 | Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands... | YHWH's sovereignty contrasted with powerless idols. |
| Jer 10:10-16 | But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God... The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth... | Distinction between YHWH and false gods. |
| Dan 4:17, 32 | The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will... | God's ultimate authority over earthly rulers. |
| Ex 14:13-14 | Moses said... Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you... | God's powerful deliverance from seemingly invincible foes. |
| Deut 4:34-35 | Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself... that the Lord your God did for you... To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. | YHWH's unique ability to save His people. |
| 1 Sam 17:45-47 | David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword... but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts... that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear." | Victory comes from God, not human might. |
| Ps 20:7-8 | Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. | Reliance on God's name, not military power. |
| Ps 33:10-11 | The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever... | God's ultimate control over national plans. |
| Ps 46:1-3 | God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea... | God as a faithful and powerful protector. |
| Ps 76:12 | He breaks the pride of princes and is to be feared by the kings of the earth. | God humbles proud rulers. |
| Zec 4:6 | Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. | Deliverance by divine Spirit, not human strength. |
| Rom 8:31 | If God is for us, who can be against us? | God's unfailing support for His people. |
| Luke 1:51-52 | He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones... | God's power to humble the proud and powerful. |
| 1 Pet 5:6-7 | Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. | Call to humble reliance on God's power. |
Isaiah 37 verses
Isaiah 37 11 Meaning
This verse presents the defiant and boastful message sent by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to King Hezekiah of Judah. It asserts that Hezekiah is already well aware of Assyria's history of total annihilation against all nations and their gods. The rhetorical question at the end—"and shall you be delivered?"—is designed to instill fear and convey the absolute futility of resistance, implying that Judah's God, like all other national deities, is powerless before Assyria's might.
Isaiah 37 11 Context
Isaiah chapter 37 details a critical moment in Judah's history: the siege of Jerusalem by the mighty Assyrian army under King Sennacherib around 701 BCE. The chapter immediately follows Sennacherib's field commander, Rabshakeh, delivering a blasphemous and intimidating speech (Isa 36) to the people of Jerusalem, challenging their trust in YHWH and advising surrender.
This specific verse (37:11) is part of a direct letter that King Sennacherib sends to King Hezekiah. This letter is meant to intensify the psychological warfare. After hearing Rabshakeh's threats and sending for Isaiah's counsel, Hezekiah receives this formal, written declaration of Assyria's overwhelming power and perceived invincibility. It acts as Sennacherib's final boast, a summary of his imperialistic theology that "might makes right" and no god, including YHWH, can stand against him. The intent is to erode any remaining hope and faith in Judah.
Isaiah 37 11 Word analysis
- Behold (הִנֵּה - hinnēh): This is an emphatic interjection, used to draw immediate attention. It signifies a crucial piece of information or a call to observe carefully. Here, it underlines the assertion that follows, making it a statement that demands acknowledgement.
- you have heard (שָׁמַעְתָּ - shāmaʿtā): This Hebrew verb in the perfect tense implies that the act of hearing is a past event with present significance; Hezekiah is fully aware. It suggests a widely known and undeniable truth of Assyrian conquest, used by Sennacherib as a point of leverage.
- what the kings of Assyria (אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ מַלְכֵי אַשּׁוּר - ʾasher ʿāśū malḵē ʾaššūr): Refers to the historical record of Assyrian military campaigns. "Kings" (מַלְכֵי) is plural, emphasizing a sustained, generational policy of ruthless expansion and victory, not just a single monarch's triumph.
- have done (עָשׂוּ - ʿāśū): A general term for actions or deeds, here specifically referring to military conquest and destruction.
- to all lands (לְכָל הָאֲרָצוֹת - ləḵōl hāʾarāṣōṯ): This phrase underscores the Assyrian boast of universal dominance, claiming a total and undisputed reign over vast territories and peoples. It attempts to negate any unique status for Judah.
- by devoting them to destruction (בְּהַחֲרִימָם - bəhaḥărîmām): This is a critical term derived from the root ḥāram (חרם). In this context, it signifies a total, ruthless, and absolute annihilation, typically involving mass killings, enslavement, and the razing of cities, often applied in a quasi-religious sense where the conquered or plundered is considered "devoted" or "sacrificed" to the conquering power or its deity. For Assyria, this reflects a deliberate policy of terror and devastation aimed at breaking resistance and asserting total supremacy, with no thought of restoration or survival.
- and shall you be delivered? (וְאַתָּה תִּנָּצֵל - wəʾattāh tinnāṣēl): A highly rhetorical question, designed not to elicit an answer but to communicate an undeniable negative. "You" (אַתָּה) pointedly refers to Hezekiah and by extension, Judah. "Delivered" (תִּנָּצֵל) from the root nāṣal means "to be snatched away, rescued, or saved." Sennacherib uses this to assert that if no other god or nation could save themselves from this cherem, Judah, by implication, certainly cannot. It functions as a declaration of doom.
Isaiah 37 11 Bonus section
The Assyrian policy of "devoting to destruction" (cherem / ḥāram) here used by Sennacherib to describe his own actions, strikingly mirrors a concept found in the Torah where YHWH sometimes commands Israel to devote entire pagan cities or people groups to destruction (e.g., in Deuteronomy or Joshua). This linguistic parallel implicitly raises the theological stakes: Assyria acts as if it possesses a divine prerogative of absolute destruction and judgment, effectively elevating its own power and gods above all others. Sennacherib believes he wields the ultimate authority, an authority that, from Israel's perspective, rightfully belongs only to YHWH. This boast therefore sets up a profound polemic, where YHWH's actual demonstration of power (through the angel of the Lord in Isa 37:36) not only refutes Sennacherib's claims but reclaims the sole divine right to judge and to deliver. The Assyrian inscription, Sennacherib's Prism, corroborates the siege of Jerusalem and Hezekiah's payment of tribute, but conspicuously omits the miraculous destruction of his army, thus offering a striking contrast to the biblical account and highlighting the selective nature of human records versus divine truth.
Isaiah 37 11 Commentary
Isaiah 37:11 captures the apex of Assyrian psychological warfare against Judah, articulated directly by King Sennacherib. It is a boast founded on a grim, undeniable historical record: Assyria had indeed "devoted to destruction" (a powerful term signifying utter devastation) numerous lands and their gods. Sennacherib's rhetoric aims to strip Hezekiah of hope, directly challenging the notion that Judah's God is any different from the fallen deities of other nations. This verse serves as a crucial setup for YHWH's dramatic intervention, contrasting human arrogance with divine sovereignty. It demonstrates that earthly power, even at its zenith, cannot thwart God's plans or challenge His unique identity as the living God who alone delivers. The seemingly rhetorical question "and shall you be delivered?" ultimately receives a resounding divine answer, demonstrating that God's people are delivered not by human strength or diplomatic maneuvering, but by His direct, miraculous intervention, proving that the gods of the nations are indeed nothing, while the God of Israel is supreme.