Bible Strands
2 Kings 19:18
They 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Assyrian Rabshakeh addresses King Hezekiah and the citizens of Jerusalem during the siege, recounting how conquered nations lost their protection after losing their gods. He uses this history to argue that Judah will face the same fate because its God will not deliver them.
The words — The Hebrew וְנָתְנוּ בָאֵשׁ (ve./na.te.Nu / ba./'Esh) literally translates "and they have put [them] in the fire." The subsequent clause כִּי לֹא אֱלֹהִים הֵמָּה (ki / lo' / 'E.lo.Him / He.mah) states plainly "for they were not gods."
The thread — The verse's identification of idols as wood and stone recurs in Isaiah 44:9, Jeremiah 10:3, and Acts 17:29. These passages share the same core argument: human-crafted materials cannot embody the Divine, though only 2 Kings 19:18 explicitly describes the burning of the idols.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to separate historical claims about conquered nations from theological reality. It forces the audience to acknowledge that physical objects, regardless of their craftsmanship, possess no power and cannot intervene in human affairs.
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
And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
Cross-references
- Acts 17:29 Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- Isaiah 44:9 All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- Jeremiah 10:3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
- 2 Samuel 5:21 There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away.
- Psalms 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Isaiah 37:18 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.
- Isaiah 46:1 Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.