Isaiah 37:11

Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Assyrian commander addresses Hezekiah and the Judean defenders, delivering a taunt after detailing the destruction of surrounding kingdoms during the siege.

The words — The Hebrew word שָׁמַ֗עְתָּ (sha.Ma'.ta) literally means “you have heard,” while עָשׂ֜וּ ('a.Su) translates as “they have done,” together stressing the completed and publicly known actions of the Assyrian kings.

The thread — The same rhetorical challenge appears in Isaiah 36:18 and 2 Kings 18:33, where the Assyrian envoy questions whether any nation’s deity has ever rescued its territory from Assyrian conquest.

Why it lands — The text demands a direct confrontation between recorded historical outcomes and present claims of safety, requiring the listener to evaluate the evidence before responding.

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

הִנֵּ֣ה׀hi.Nehhere!אַתָּ֣ה'a.Tahyou שָׁמַ֗עְתָּsha.Ma'.tayou have heard אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sher[that] which עָשׂ֜וּ'a.Suthey have done מַלְכֵ֥יmal.Khei[the] kings of אַשּׁ֛וּר'a.ShurAssyria לְכָל־le./kholto/ all הָאֲרָצ֖וֹתha./'a.ra.Tzotthe/ lands לְהַחֲרִימָ֑םle./ha.cha.ri.Ma/mby/ totally destroying/ them וְאַתָּ֖הve./'a.Tahand/ you תִּנָּצֵֽל׃ti.na.Tzelwill you be delivered?

King James Version

Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered?

Cross-references

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?
2 Kings 17:4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea had conspired to send envoys to King So of Egypt, and that he had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.
2 Kings 18:33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
Isaiah 10:7 But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
Isaiah 14:17 who turned the world into a desert and destroyed its cities, who refused to let the captives return to their homes?”
Isaiah 37:18 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.