Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Turn your ear, Yahweh, and hear. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and behold. Hear all of the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to defy the living God.
- BSB Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
- NKJV Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
- NASB Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to taunt the living God.
- NLT Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.
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
Hezekiah asks God to hear and see Sennacherib's words defying the living God. He appeals to God's honor as the offended party.
Overview
The king pleads with God to attend to the Assyrian's blasphemy, emphasizing that the insult is against the living God. He makes God's reputation, not merely Judah's safety, the burden of his prayer. True prayer seeks God's glory above personal relief, trusting that the two are joined in his purposes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 2 Chr 6:40Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
- Ps 17:6I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
- 1 Pet 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
- Ps 74:22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
- Isa 37:4It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, 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 that is left.
- Ps 10:14–15Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
- Dan 9:17–19Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
- Ps 74:10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
- Job 36:7He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.
- Ps 71:2Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
- Ps 89:50–51Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
- Ps 79:12And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
- Ps 130:1–2Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
- 2 Sam 16:12It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 37:17 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.