Bible Strands
Isaiah 37:35
‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Hezekiah and Jerusalem after Sennacherib's taunt letter, declaring the reason behind the coming destruction of the Assyrian army (v. 36).
The words — גָּנָה (gānā, H1598) is a rare verb meaning "to defend, guard," used only a handful of times in the OT; it carries the sense of active protection rather than passive safety. The double לְמַעַן (lĕmaʿan, H4616) "for the sake of" frames the verse around two grounds: God's own name and David.
The thread — The same promise appears in 2 Kings 20:6 and Isaiah 38:6 ("I will defend this city"), and Isaiah 31:5 extends the image to God shielding Jerusalem like a bird over its young.
Why it lands — The deliverance is attributed to God's own name and His covenant with David, not to Hezekiah's faith or Israel's military capacity; the reader is asked to locate security in God's identity rather than in human merit.
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
For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 20:6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
- Isaiah 31:5 Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”
- Isaiah 38:6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
- Isaiah 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Jeremiah 33:15 In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout for David a righteous Branch, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Ephesians 1:14 who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.
- Jeremiah 30:9 Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
- Ezekiel 37:24 My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
- Deuteronomy 32:27 if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’”