Bible Strands
Isaiah 37:34
He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Isaiah to King Hezekiah and the Judean leadership during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. The message interrupts a military crisis to announce divine intervention.
The words — The Hebrew verb יָשׁוּב (ya.Shuv) means “he will return,” paired with בַּדֶּרֶךְ (ba./De.rekh), “by the way,” to emphasize a complete reversal of the Assyrian advance. The declaration לֹא (lo') “not” explicitly negates entry into הָעִיר הַזֹּאת (ha./'Ir ha./Zot), “this city.”
The thread — This theme of reversed human aggression appears in Isaiah 37:29, where the LORD promises to put a hook in the Assyrian king’s nose, and echoes Proverbs 21:30, which states that no human counsel can prevail against the LORD. The motif of divine reversal of military campaigns recurs throughout the prophetic literature.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that political and military power operates only within the bounds of divine permission. It requires the reader to trust that human threats are ultimately nullified by sovereign action, not by human strategy.
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
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 37:29 Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’
- Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.