The wickedness of Samaria. Before CHRIST graven or after the law and commandment | LORD, and served their about 678. which the LORD commanded the chil- images, both their children, and their f Gen. 32. 28, dren of Jacob, whom he named Is- children's children: as did their fa1 Kings 18. rael; thers, so do they unto this day. 31. 35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, g Judg. 6. 10. g Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: 36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. 39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former man ner. 41 So these nations feared the carried away in captivity, were not at all amended by their calamities, but still neglected the laws of God, and in this sense "feared not the Lord-until this day," that is, until the day when this book was written. Bp. Patrick. 41. So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images,] In the foregoing account of the colony planted in Samaria by the king of Babylon, to supply the place of the ten tribes, we have an instance of heathens, placed probably in the most advantageous circumstances in which it was possible for heathens to be placed, in order to reclaim them from idolatry; introduced to supply the place of one part of God's chosen people, who had been expelled for their idolatries, thus brought into immediate contact with the remaining part from whom they could not but learn much of the wonders of Jehovah's power; convinced by their own experience of the necessity of conciliating Him as the supreme guardian God of the country in which they were newly settled, and compelled by their fears to solicit instruction in his law: they received that instruction; the books were placed in their hands, and were from that time uniformly acknowledged by them as of Divine authority. Yet so deeply rooted were their idolatrous propensities, that, although thus favourably circumstanced, with examples of Divine punishment immediately under their observance, instructed in the tenour, and acknowledging the authority of the Divine law, they could not be taught to discern the folly and impiety, or forsake the practice, of associating the worship of the basest idols with that of the great Jehovah. Dr. Graves. See note on Ezra iv. 3. CHAP. XVIII. 1 Hezekiah's good reign. 4 He destroyeth NOW Before CHRIST about 678. TOW it came to pass in the third about 726. year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that a Hezekiah the son of a 2 Chron. Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 1. He is 28. 27. & 29. called 2 Twenty and five years old was Ezekias, he when he began to reign; and he Matt. 1. 9. reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. statues. 4 ¶ He removed the high places, and brake the + images, and cut down + Heb. the groves, and brake in pieces the bbrasen serpent that Moses had made: ↳ Numb. 21. for unto those days the children of 9. Isaiah xxxvi. and xxxvii, to ver. 21; also with 2 Chron. xxix, xxx, xxxi, xxxii, where is a fuller account of the reign of Hezekiah. Ver. 1.Hezekiah-began to reign.] After a race of kings, the best of whom were but careless observers of God's law, and the worst extremely flagitious, it must needs have affected every pious heart with joy and wonder to see such a king as Hezekiah rise up, like a glorious sun after a long season of clouds and darkness, who, though descended from such idolatrous ancestors, had zeal and courage to reform the church and state of Judah, to remove the high places, break down the images, and cut down the groves, and bring the religion to the condition in which it was in the time of David. Reading. How seasonably hath the providence of God kept the best man for the worst times! When God has a great work to do, He always knows how to supply Himself with instruments. Bp. Hall. 4. brake in pieces the brasen serpent] The reason assigned for Hezekiah's destroying this serpent is, that "the children of Israel burnt incense unto it." We are not to suppose, however, that all along from the days of Moses this had been an object of religious worship, since probably such princes as David and Solomon would not have allowed it: the commencement of the superstition must have been of much later date. One inducement to the false worship of this image may probably have been, a mistake of the words of Moses. For whereas it was said at Numb. xxi. 8, that whosoever looked upon it should live; some may have imagined that they could obtain a blessing by means of it, and so may have made it an object of superstitious worship. However, we may imagine that their burning of incense Chap. XVIII. This chapter is to be compared with unto it was at first designed only in honour of the true about 725. + Heb. Azzah. e Chap. 17. 3. about 723. about 721. 5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. 6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. 7 And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. 8 He smote the Philistines, even unto † Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 9¶ And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year d Chap. 17. 6. of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and God, by whose direction Moses made it; but that, in the process of superstition, they worshipped the God of Israel under that image; or, what was worse, substituted a heathen god in his room, which they might the more easily be induced to do, because it was the practice of some neighbouring nations to worship their gods under the form of a serpent. On this account Hezekiah wisely chose rather to lose this memorial of God's mercy to his people in the wilderness, than to suffer it any longer to be abused to idolatrous purposes. Stackhouse. - called it Nehushtan.] Called it by way of contempt, as it were "a piece of brass.” Bp. Hall. "A brasen bauble." Dr. Hales. Hezekiah laboured under great discouragements to set about the reformation of religion. He had many idols and altars to demolish, which he found established by long prescription under the reigns of most of his predecessors. But herein he acted like a king indeed not like a servant of men, but a minister of God, whose will he readily performed, as soon as he was invested with power and authority to do it. How sweet is a zeal for the glory of God in the spirit of princes! How greatly does it add to their lustre and dignity, giving us the brightest idea of the Divine image! Reading. 5.- after him was none like him &c.] This character of Hezekiah relates perhaps to some particular virtue in which he stood distinguished from the rest of the kings of Judah; and that may have been his trusting in the Lord God, (as is here stated,) and not in the help of any foreign forces, as all the other kings are known in some measure to have done. Calmet. Sennacherib invadeth Judah. Before CHRIST put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities about 721. of the Medes: 12 Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the LORD COMmanded, and would not hear them, nor do them. 713. e 2 Chron. 32. 1. 13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did † Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all Isa. 36. 1. the fenced cities of Judah, and took 18. them. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house. Ecclus. 48. ↑ Heb. Sanherib. 16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king + Heb. them. of Assyria. 7.- and he rebelled against the king of Assyria,] The meaning is, that he owned not the authority of the Assyrian king over him, to which Ahaz had basely submitted, chap. xvi. 7; but looked upon himself as a free sovereign in his own kingdom, independent upon him. Still it is plain from ver. 14, that he was not able to maintain himself free from all subjection to the king of Assyria. Bp. Patrick. he rebelled] Though the word "rebellion" be now generally taken in an evil sense, for a seditious insurrection against lawful governours, yet our translators did not design it should be so taken in this place, but only to denote that this good king would no longer acknowledge himself to be a tributary and dependent of the king of Assyria, which is all the rebellion that is here intended. Reading. 10. - at the end of three years] Meaning rather "in the third year." It cannot be meant literally at the expiration of three years; for it is related that the siege began in the fourth year of Hezekiah and ended in the sixth. Bp. Kidder. 13. Sennacherib king of Assyria] Sennacherib succeeded his father Shalmaneser in the kingdom, after he had reigned about eight years. He is the same whom the Prophet Isaiah (chap. xx. 1) calls Sargon. Dean Prideaux. and took them.] This God permitted, that Hezekiah might be thereby led to have recourse to God, and that God might exalt more signally his own power and glory. Bp. Wilson. all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord,] How hard was good Hezekiah driven ere he || Or, secretary. Or, talkest. t Heb. word of the lips. Or, but counsel and strength are for the war. + Heb. trustest thee. of the fuller's field. 18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the houshold, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. 19 And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 20 Thou | sayest, (but they are but + vain words,) || I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 21 Now, behold, thou | trustest would be thus bold with his God! Only necessity excuses that from being sacrilege in the son, which was sacrilege in the father. Bp. Hall. 17. And the king of Assyria sent &c.] Having received the tribute from Hezekiah, Sennacherib turned his arms against Egypt; and after a series of different successes, returned and invested Lachish; and thence, contrary to all faith, and to the agreement subsisting between him and the kings of Judah, sent, as is here related, to demand the surrender of Jerusalem. Stackhouse. by the conduit of the upper pool,] By the conduit or canal into which water was conveyed from the upper pool, which was in the highway to the field, where the fullers used to spread their cloths for drying. Bp. Patrick. 19. And Rab-shakeh said unto them,] The name of Rab-shakeh imports that he was by office the king's cup-bearer; by his ready speaking of the Hebrew tongue, it seems probable that he was an apostate Jew, or else one of those who were made captive from Israel. Dean Prideaux. See the note on Jer. xxxix. 3. 21. --even upon Egypt,] He thought it probable that Hezekiah would seek succour from Egypt, being a neighbouring country, and willing to give assistance, for the purpose of being revenged on the king of Assyria for his late invasion: but he represents Egypt as weak, and unable to succour him. Bp. Patrick. The comparison of the broken reed is excellent to denote an ally that is not only weak and unable to help, but dangerous also to those who rely upon him for succour. It has been supposed that the Assyrian orator alludes to the canes or reeds which grow on the banks of the Nile, which, if it be a just idea, gives great beauty to the similitude. Stackhouse. 22. But if ye say unto me, &c.] He asks how they can place any confidence in the God of their country, or expect any thing but destruction from above, since Hezekiah had pulled down sacred groves and altars, and committed all manner of sacrilege, in order to in who insulteth Hezekiah. upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. 22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? Before CHRIST about 710. hostages. 23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give || pledges to my lord the king of Or, Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen ? 25 Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. troduce a worship of his own. So ignorant was this man, or else so audacious, that he called that a crime which was the greatest virtue in Hezekiah. Pyle. 23. Now therefore, give pledges to my lord] These seem to be words of high contempt, and undervaluing of Hezekiah's power. He appears to challenge him to come out and fight with his master, saying, that if he would "give pledges," or.security so to use them, he would give him two thousand horses, provided he was able to find the same number of men for them. Bp. Patrick. The interposition of Providence in the government of the Israelites is at all times remarkable. During the period which elapsed between the division of the kingdom, and the captivity of Judah, we find that God had not utterly forsaken his people, but oftentimes gave them very signal deliverances. But it is to be observed, that these deliverances were not effected by their great forces, but by the interposition of God, when their condition was such, that they lost all hope in their own strength, and were willing to rely on God. Thus was Hezekiah delivered at a time when he was so weak, that the Assyrians insolently offered him "two thousand horses, if he on his part were able to set riders upon them." The case will generally be found the same in other instances. Bp. Sherlock. 25. Am I now come up without the Lord] Rab-shakeh, whether a Jew or not, had learnt the name of their God, and pretended his master had come up with a commission from Him. Bp. Patrick. He affirms that "the Lord" was clearly on the side of the Assyrians, from his having already delivered the kingdom of Israel into their power, and subjected so many nations around to the victorious hand of Sennacherib. Pyle. How fearful a word was this to Hezekiah! If Rabshakeh could have been believed, Jerusalem must soon have fallen: for how could it stand out, no less against God than men? Even thus does the great enemy of mankind: if he can but dishearten the soul from a dependence on the God of mercies, the victory is his. Rab-shakeh soliciteth Before CHRIST CHAP. XVIII, XIX. 26 Then said Eliakim the son of] about 710. Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. 27 But Rab-shakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink † their own piss with you? Ileb. the water of their feet? 1 Or. Seek my favour. 28 Then Rab-shakeh stood and I cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: 29 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: 30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a + Heb. Make present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: with me a blessing. | Or, pit. Lewd miscreants care not how they belie God for their own purposes. Bp. Hall. He seems to speak of "the Lord," or Jehovah, as an inferiour god, or the god of a particular country. He had before said, ver. 22, that He would not assist them if He could, because Hezekiah had provoked Him; and he afterwards insinuates, ver. 33, &c. that He could not preserve them if He would, for that none of the gods of the nations had been able to deliver their votaries out of his master's hand. Again, Hezekiah accuses him of speaking blasphemy, which charge would have been ill-founded, if he had merely asserted that he was not come up against the land, without "the God of the Jews;" but was sufficiently justified, on his implying that He whom Hezekiah called "the Lord," was not the Supreme Deity, but only a god of a nation, such a god as the gods of Hamath, Arpad, &c. which were no gods. Shuckford. 26. Then said Eliakim &c.] Hezekiah's commissioners, perceiving, or at least suspecting, that these ranting expressions might frighten the people that stood within hearing, desired Rab-shakeh to speak in his own language, since he was not sent to treat with the populace, but with the king and the court, who understood well the Syrian tongue. Pyle. The Syrian tongue was that which we now call the Chaldee. Lowth. 27.—that they may eat &c.] To make them know, VOL. I. Before about 710. the people to revolt. 32 Until I come and take you CHRIST away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, Or, The LORD will deliver us. 33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? 35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? 36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. 37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the houshold, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh. CHAP. XIX. 1 Hezekiah mourning sendeth to Isaiah to pray for them. 6 Isaiah comforteth them. 8 Sennacherib,going to encounter Tirhakah, sendeth a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah. deceiveth. that he would reduce them to the greatest extremities, if they did not submit to him. Bp. Patrick. 32. Until I come and take you away &c.] He promises, that, if they would seek the favour of the king of Assyria, by making him a present, and delivering themselves up to his mercy, they should be transported to a better country than that to which the Israelites had been transported; and that, in the mean time, every one should enjoy his own possessions. Bp. Patrick. 33. Hath any of the gods of the nations &c.] He argues very popularly on the supposition that the God of Israel, the great God of heaven and earth, was like the idols of other nations, who were supposed to preside over some one country or city. Bp. Patrick. 37.- with their clothes rent,] To express their abhorrence at these audacious insults on their God and their religion. Pyle. The insolent blasphemies of Sennacherib hastened his ruin, and induced God to destroy him. God is jealous of his glory, and revenges the insults offered to Him. When therefore we meet, even among Christians, with impious wretches who openly insult the Deity, we may be assured He will not fail to rebuke their boldness, and to inflict severe punishment upon them. Ostervald. Chap. XIX. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. xxxii. and with İsa, xxxvii. 21, to the end. 3 G Hezekiah mourning sendeth to Isaiah. Before CHRIST about 710. a Isa. 37. 1. || Or, provocation. II. KINGS. Sennacherib sendeth a letter to Hezekiah. 14 Hezekiah's prayer. 20 Isaiah's pro- | him, and he shall hear a rumour, and cherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons. 8 ¶ So Rab-shakeh returned, and AND & it came to pass, when king found the king of Assyria warring Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the houshold, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant + Heb. found. that are † left. Ver. 3.-for the children are come to the birth, &c.] He thus represents the present danger of perishing in which they were, unless speedily relieved, to be like that of a woman who, when her child was come to the birth, was so spent that she had not strength to bring forth. Bp. Patrick. The meaning is, It is with us as with a woman in travail, who hath not strength to bring forth her birth; extreme calamity hath seized upon us, from which we have no power to deliver ourselves. Bp. Hall. It is a proverbial expression probably, denoting present death, or the extremity of danger. Lowth. 4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear &c.] As if they had said, We have no confidence in ourselves; our arms or our walls are too weak to secure us, and our fears are increased by the consciousness of our guilt; but, though our strength be small, and our sins cry aloud for vengeance, why should the honour of God be vilified and blasphemed? If, therefore, not for our sakes, yet for his own, it may be the Lord will avenge the insolent and profane message of the Assyrian king, which God hath surely heard, but which we tremble to repeat. Wogan. -lift up thy prayer for the remnant] That Judah might not be carried into captivity, as Israel had been. 6.- Be not afraid &c.] How ready is the Lord to against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah? 14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before Before CHRIST about 710. 710. shew mercy! He had furnished his Prophet with an immediate reply to the king's humble and pious address. He calms their fears, He assures their hopes, He animates their courage, and takes the cause into his own hands; "I will send a blast &c." Wogan. 7. Behold, I will send a blast] A pestilential blast, which destroyed his army in one night, ver. 35. "And he shall hear a rumour.' Perhaps, after that stroke, the report was renewed, that Tirhakah (who is mentioned at ver. 9) was coming against him; which made him hasten away with the small remains of his army to his own country. Bp. Patrick. He shall hear a rumour." A panick fear shall fall upon him, and he shall be alarmed with an uncertain report that some enemy designs to fall upon him, having heard that his army is weakened with so great a loss as that of 185,000 men. Lowth. 9. — king of Ethiopia,] Rather, king of the Cushites, in Arabia. Stackhouse. See the notes on Numbers xii. 1. 14.- and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, &c.] Nothing composes the mind under all its trials like that great expedient of opening our grief to Him, who is able to help us, and hath promised never to leave or forsake us. Great, and instructive in the |