Bible Strands
Isaiah 37:22
this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah delivers the LORD’s oracle to King Hezekiah concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. The message pronounces judgment on the Assyrian monarch at the moment he threatens Jerusalem.
The words — The Hebrew בָּזָה (ba.Zah) translates literally to "she has despised," and לָעֲגָה (la.'a.Gah) means "she has mocked," describing Zion’s contemptuous posture toward the enemy.
The thread — The posture of mocking and head-shaking recurs in Job 16:4 and Psalm 22:7, while the title Daughter Zion appears in Psalm 9:14.
Why it lands — The text states that Zion directly despises and mocks the Assyrian king, reversing his pride. The reader must acknowledge that political threats are subject to divine reversal and must align with Yahweh’s declared word rather than human power.
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
This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
Cross-references
- Job 16:4 I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you.
- Psalms 9:14 that I may declare all Your praises—that within the gates of Daughter Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.
- Psalms 22:7 All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
- Isaiah 1:8 And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged.
- Jeremiah 14:17 You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
- Lamentations 2:13 What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Zephaniah 3:14 Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
- Zechariah 2:10 “Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 17:36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- 1 Samuel 17:44 “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”