They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them.
- KJV And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
- NKJV and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
- NASB and have hurled their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.
- NLT And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Those nations' gods were destroyed because they were not gods at all, only wood and stone made by human hands. Hezekiah distinguishes powerless idols from the living God.
Overview
Hezekiah explains that the conquered gods fell because they were mere idols, the work of men's hands. This is the theological heart of his prayer: Yahweh is the living Creator, not a man-made image. The contrast exposes the emptiness of idolatry that runs through Kings. It anticipates the biblical mockery of idols (Psalm 115; Isaiah 44) and the call to worship the true God alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 17:29Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- Jer 10:3–9For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
- Isa 44:9–20All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- Isa 37:18–19Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.
- 2 Sam 5:21There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away.
- Jer 10:14–16Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Isa 46:1–2Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Ps 115:4–8Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 19:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.