2 Kings18

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¹ In the of of , of , the of , of , began to .

² He was when he began to , and he in . His was the of .

³ And he what was in the of the Lord, according to all that his had .

⁴ He the and the and the . And he broke in the that had , for until those the of had to it (it was ).

⁵ He in the Lord, the of , so that there was none like him among all the of him, nor among those who were him.

⁶ For he to the Lord. He did not from him, but the that the Lord .

⁷ And the Lord was with him; wherever he , he . He against the of and would not him.

⁸ He the as far as and its , from to .

⁹ In the of , which was the of of , of , of against and it,

¹⁰ and at the of he it. In the of , which was the of of , was .

¹¹ The of the to and them in , and on the , the of , and in the of the ,

¹² because they did not the of the Lord their but his , even all that the of the Lord . They neither nor .

¹³ In the of , of against all the of and them.

¹⁴ And of to the of at , , I have ; from me. Whatever you on me I will . And the of of of of and of .

¹⁵ And him all the that was in the of the Lord and in the of the .

¹⁶ At that the gold from the of the of the Lord and from the that of had and it to the of .

¹⁷ And the of the , the , and the with a from to at . And they and to . When they , they and by the of the , which is on the to the .

¹⁸ And when they for the , there to them the of , who was over the , and the , and the of , the .

¹⁹ And the to them, to , Thus the , the of : On what do you this of yours?

²⁰ Do you that are and for ? In whom do you now , that you have against me?

²¹ , you are in , that of a , which will the of any who on it. Such is of to all who in him.

²² But you to me, We in the Lord our , is it not he whose and has , to and to , You shall this in ?

²³ Come , make a with my the of : I will you two , if you are on your part to on them.

²⁴ then can you a among the of my , when you in for and for ?

²⁵ Moreover, is it the Lord that I have against this to it? The Lord to me, against this , and it.

²⁶ Then the of , and , and , to the , to your in , for we it. Do not to us in the language of within the of the who are on the .

²⁷ But the to them, Has my me to these to your and to you, and not to the on the , who are doomed with you to their own and to their own ?

²⁸ Then the and in a in the of : the of the , the of !

²⁹ Thus the : Do not let you, for he will not be to you out of my .

³⁰ Do not let make you in the Lord by , The Lord will us, and this will not be into the of the of .

³¹ Do not to , for thus the of : your with me and to me. Then of you will of his own , and of his own , and of you will the of his own ,

³² until I and to a like your own , a of and , a of and , a and , that you may , and not . And do not to when he you by , The Lord will us.

³³ Has of the of the his out of the of the of ?

³⁴ are the of and ? are the of , , and ? Have they out of my ?

³⁵ the of the have their out of my , that the Lord should out of my ?

³⁶ But the were and him not a , for the , Do not him.

³⁷ Then the of , who was over the , and the , and the of , the , to with their and him the of the .

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2 Kings 18

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 2 Kings 18. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Good reign of Hezekiah in Judah, Idolatry. (1–8). Sennacherib invades Judah. (9–16). Rabshakeh's blasphemies. (17–37).

vv1-8

Hezekiah was a true son of David. Some others did that which was right, but not like David. Let us not suppose that when times and men are bad, they must needs grow worse and worse; that does not follow: after many bad kings, God raised one up like David himself. The brazen serpent had been carefully preserved, as a memorial of God's goodness to their fathers in the wilderness; but it was idle and wicked to burn incense to it. All helps to devotion, not warranted by the word of God, interrupt the exercise of faith; they always lead to superstition and other dangerous evils. Human nature perverts every thing of this kind. True faith needs not such aids; the word of God, daily thought upon and prayed over, is all the outward help we need.

vv9-16

The descent Sennacherib made upon Judah, was a great calamity to that kingdom, by which God would try the faith of Hezekiah, and chastise the people. The secret dislike, the hypocrisy, and lukewarmness of numbers, require correction; such trials purify the faith and hope of the upright, and bring them to simple dependence on God.

vv17-37

Rabshakeh tries to convince the Jews, that it was to no purpose for them to stand it out. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? It were well if sinners would submit to the force of this argument, in seeking peace with God. It is, therefore, our wisdom to yield to him, because it is in vain to contend with him: what confidence is that which those trust in who stand out against him? A great deal of art there is in this speech of Rabshakeh; but a great deal of pride, malice, falsehood, and blasphemy. Hezekiah's nobles held their peace. There is a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak; and there are those to whom to offer any thing religious or rational, is to cast pearls before swine. Their silence made Rabshakeh yet more proud and secure. It is often best to leave such persons to rail and blaspheme; a decided expression of abhorrence is the best testimony against them. The matter must be left to the Lord, who has all hearts in his hands, committing ourselves unto him in humble submission, believing hope, and fervent prayer.

Key Words

thirdH7969Hebrew

שָׁלוֹשׁ: three; occasionally (ordinal) third, or (multiple) thrice

yearH8141Hebrew

שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)

HosheaH1954Hebrew

הוֹשֵׁעַ: Hoshea, the name of five Israelites

sonH1121Hebrew

בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)

ElahH425Hebrew

אֵלָה: Elah, the name of an Edomite, of four Israelites, and also of a place in Palestine

kingH4428Hebrew

מֶלֶךְ: a king

IsraelH3478Hebrew

יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity

HezekiahH2396Hebrew

חִזְקִיָּה: Chizkijah, a king of Judah, also the name of two other Israelites

AhazH271Hebrew

אָחָז: Achaz, the name of a Jewish king and of an Israelite

JudahH3063Hebrew

יְהוּדָה: Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory

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Cross References

2 Kings 18

v13Isaiah 36:1-22thematic

Direct parallel historical account of Sennacherib's invasion and Rabshakeh's speech.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v4Numbers 21:9thematic

The origin of the brazen serpent that Moses made, which Israel later idolized.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v132 Chronicles 32:1thematic

Parallel account of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah's fenced cities.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v42 Chronicles 31:1thematic

Detailed account of Hezekiah's thorough campaign to break images and cut down groves.

Supported by JFB

v112 Kings 17:6thematic

Identical description of Assyria carrying Israel away to Halah, Habor, and the Medes.