Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 32:15
So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Assyrian field commander addresses the citizens and officials of Jerusalem, demanding they reject Hezekiah’s assurance of divine rescue. This speech occurs during the siege, positioned between the commander’s initial taunt and his servants’ subsequent blasphemies.
The words — The Hebrew יַשִּׁיא֩ (ya.Shi') translates literally as "he deceive," and יַסִּ֨ית (ya.Sit) as "he mislead," both functioning as direct commands to the audience. These verbs frame Hezekiah’s message as intentional falsehood rather than theological disagreement.
The thread — The commander’s challenge repeats in Isaiah 36:18, which records the identical question about foreign gods failing to save their peoples. The demand for demonstrable divine power appears in Daniel 3:15, while Exodus 5:2 records Pharaoh’s refusal to acknowledge Yahweh without citing prior divine failures.
Why it lands — The text forces a direct confrontation between a historical claim about military outcomes and a claim about divine sovereignty. Readers must evaluate the commander’s argument against the actual record of Yahweh’s interventions rather than accepting abstract assurances.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?
Cross-references
- Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- Daniel 3:15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”
- Isaiah 36:18 Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
- 1 Kings 22:22 And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
- 2 Kings 18:29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.
- 2 Kings 19:10 “Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘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.
- 2 Chronicles 32:11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, ‘The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria?’
- John 19:10 So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
- Acts 19:26 And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
- Galatians 1:10 Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.