2 Kings 19:32

So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD declares this message concerning the king of Assyria during the siege of Jerusalem. The pronouncement follows the promise of a surviving remnant from Zion and precedes the confirmation that the Assyrian commander will retreat without attacking.

The words — לָ/כֵ֗ן (la./Khen) translates literally as "therefore," and כֹּֽה־ (koh-) means "thus," structurally framing the divine declaration that follows.

The thread — The text explicitly negates Assyrian siege methods like shooting arrows or constructing ramps, aligning with Isaiah 10:24’s instruction not to fear the nation while mirroring the siege ramp terminology found in 2 Samuel 20:15.

Why it lands — The passage requires acknowledgment that military impossibility is resolved by divine declaration rather than human defense. It demands acceptance that survival depends on God’s spoken word, not on fortified preparations.

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The Hebrew words

King James Version

Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 20:15 And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,
Isaiah 8:7 the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.
Isaiah 10:24 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strikes you with a rod and lifts his staff against you as the Egyptians did.
Isaiah 10:28 Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.
Isaiah 37:33 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
Ezekiel 21:22 In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.
Luke 19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.