Skip to reading
Atomic Bible
Isaiah

Chapter 37

Isaiah’s Message of Deliverance and more

Isaiah 37 carries the Assyrian crisis from threat into prayer, prophecy, and decisive deliverance. What begins with Hezekiah in sackcloth and Jerusalem under blasphemous pressure ends with the LORD vindicating His own name, turning Sennacherib back, striking his army, and bringing the Assyrian king to his eventual death in the house of his god.

This chapter matters because it shows how Judah's crisis is ultimately resolved not by negotiation, force, or clever timing, but by appeal to the living God and by His jealousy for His own honor. Isaiah 37 also makes explicit that the issue in the Assyrian siege is theological before it is political: Sennacherib has mocked the Holy One, and the LORD answers in a way that reveals both His sovereignty over empires and His covenant commitment to Jerusalem.

5 sections·733 words·~3 min read

Begin reading Zoom into first section
Reader

Isaiah 37

A continuous BSB reading flow. Turn on the guide when you want authored orientation; leave it off when you simply want the text.

vv. 1-7

Isaiah’s Message of Deliverance

Open section

O1n hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD. 2And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz 3to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them. 4Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.” 5So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”

vv. 8-13

Sennacherib’s Blasphemous Letter

Open section

W8hen the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah. 9Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” 10On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: 11‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared? 12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations— the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar? 13Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

vv. 14-20

Hezekiah’s Prayer

Open section

S14o 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. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: 16“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. 17Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God. 18Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands. 19They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone — the work of human hands. 20And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God. ”

vv. 21-35

Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied

Open section

T21hen Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: 23Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? 24Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, 25I have dug wells 26Have you not heard? 27Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, 28But I know your sitting down, 29Because your rage and arrogance against Me

30And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: 31And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah 32For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, 33So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: 34He will go back the way he came, 35‘I will defend this city

vv. 36-38

Jerusalem Delivered from the Assyrians

Open section

T36hen the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies! 37So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

Section map

Open the closer view when you want it.

Each section keeps the passage focused, adds summaries and cross references, and gives verse-level links.

  1. 01vv. 1-7Isaiah’s Message of DeliveranceThe opening movement shows Hezekiah responding to the Rabshakeh's speech with grief, humility, and an urgent appeal to the prophet Isaiah. The king interprets the day as one of distress and disgrace, asks for prayer on behalf of the surviving remnant, and receives from Isaiah a first word of comfort: the LORD has heard the Assyrian blasphemy and will turn the king of Assyria back by rumor and bring him down in his own land.
  2. 02vv. 8-13Sennacherib’s Blasphemous LetterThe second movement records the continuation of Assyria's pressure after the Rabshakeh rejoins Sennacherib, now occupied elsewhere and facing news about Tirhakah of Cush. Rather than retreat in humility, Sennacherib sends a written message to Hezekiah that repeats and intensifies the earlier taunt: do not let your God deceive you, for no other gods have saved their nations from Assyria's hand.
  3. 03vv. 14-20Hezekiah’s PrayerThe third movement shows Hezekiah receiving the letter and taking it straight into the house of the LORD, where he spreads it out before Him. His prayer does not minimize Assyria's power, but it places all kingdoms under the God enthroned above the cherubim, distinguishes dead idols from the living Creator, and asks for deliverance so that all the earth may know the LORD alone is God.
  4. 04vv. 21-35Sennacherib’s Fall ProphesiedThe fourth movement is the LORD's answer through Isaiah, given because Hezekiah prayed. It rebukes Sennacherib for lifting his voice against the Holy One of Israel, exposes his conquests as something the LORD ordained long ago, promises a remnant sign for Judah's recovery, and finally declares that the king of Assyria will not shoot an arrow into Jerusalem because the LORD will defend the city for His own sake and for David's sake.
  5. 05vv. 36-38Jerusalem Delivered from the AssyriansThe final movement records the sudden fulfillment of the prophecy. In a single night the angel of the LORD strikes down 185,000 Assyrians, Sennacherib withdraws to Nineveh, and he eventually dies by the sword of his own sons while worshiping in the temple of Nisroch, proving that the LORD's word against him was exact.
Previous Chapter 36All 66 chapters in IsaiahNextChapter 38