Bible Strands
2 Kings 19:7
Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Isaiah to King Hezekiah, promising direct intervention against the Assyrian threat. This declaration follows the Assyrian commander’s blasphemy and Hezekiah’s request for divine reassurance.
The words — The Hebrew ר֫וּחַ (ruach) translates literally to "a spirit" that God will instill, directly triggering the subsequent שְׁמוּעָה (sh'mu'ah), meaning "a report" or "rumor." These terms establish the mechanism of divine control over the enemy's movements.
The thread — This motif of God manipulating enemy perception appears in 2 Kings 7:6, where He causes the Arameans to hear phantom chariots, and in 2 Chronicles 32:21, where He sends an angel to destroy the Assyrian camp. Both passages parallel the present promise of supernatural disruption leading to military collapse.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that sovereign power, not human strategy, dictates the outcome of conflict. It requires the reader to trust divine intervention when facing overwhelming opposition.
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
Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 7:6 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- 2 Chronicles 32:21 and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
- Psalms 18:14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
- Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
- Isaiah 11:4 but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
- Obadiah 1:1 This is the vision of Obadiah: This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom—We have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent among the nations to say, “Rise up, and let us go to battle against her!”—
- 2 Kings 19:35 And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
- Job 4:9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
- Job 15:21 Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
- Psalms 11:6 On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.