2 Kings 19:14

So 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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Hezekiah receives a written threat from Assyrian envoys and physically ascends to the temple to place it before God. This action occurs immediately after the Assyrian king’s boastful taunts and directly precedes Hezekiah’s formal prayer.

The words — וַ/יַּ֙עַל (va/i.Ya.'al) means "and he went up," marking Hezekiah’s deliberate movement to the temple precincts. הַ/סְּפָרִ֛ים (ha./se.fa.Rim) translates as "the letters," referring to the specific written demands and threats handed to him by the messengers.

The thread — Isaiah 37:14 records the identical sequence of Hezekiah receiving, reading, and spreading the letter before the Lord. The posture of presenting a document to God aligns with the direct appeal found in Psalms 123:1, where the psalmist looks upward to the One enthroned in heaven.

Why it lands — The text requires a believer to bring concrete crises into God’s presence before formulating a response. It establishes a procedural pattern of placing written burdens or threats directly before the Lord rather than relying on human maneuvering.

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

וַיִּקַּ֨חva/i.yi.Kachand/ he took חִזְקִיָּ֧הוּchiz.ki.Ya.huHezekiah אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַסְּפָרִ֛יםha./se.fa.Rimthe/ letters מִיַּ֥דmi./Yadfrom/ [the] hand of הַמַּלְאָכִ֖יםha./mal.'a.Khimthe/ messengers וַיִּקְרָאֵ֑םva/i.yik.ra.'E/mand/ he read/ them וַיַּ֙עַל֙va/i.Ya.'aland/ he went up בֵּ֣יתbeit[the] house of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh וַיִּפְרְשֵׂ֥הוּva/i.yif.re.Se./huand/ he spread out/ it חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּchiz.ki.Ya.huHezekiah לִפְנֵ֥יli/f.Nei<to>/ before יְהוָֽה׃ פYah.wehYahweh

King James Version

And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

Cross-references

Isaiah 37:14 So 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.
Psalms 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalms 123:1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven.
1 Kings 8:28 Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
Ezra 9:5 At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
Psalms 74:10 How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?

People named

Hezekiah