Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Parallel translations
- WEB He heard news concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to fight against you.” When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
- KJV And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
- NKJV And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
- NASB Now he heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
- NLT Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message:
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
Hearing that Tirhakah of Ethiopia is advancing, Sennacherib sends fresh threats to Hezekiah. The pressure mounts even as God's deliverance approaches.
Overview
News of an Egyptian-Ethiopian advance prompts Assyria to renew its intimidation of Jerusalem rather than relent. The rumor here is part of the spirit God promised to send, beginning to draw Sennacherib away. God uses even rival nations as instruments to accomplish his rescue of his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Sam 23:27–28Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
- Isa 18:1Woe to the land of whirring wings, along the rivers of Cush,
- Isa 20:5Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
- Isa 37:7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
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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 37:9 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
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