Isaiah 37:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: "Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.

NIV: "Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it.

NASB: Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an assault ramp against it.

CSB: "Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, shoot an arrow here, come before it with a shield, or build up a siege ramp against it.

NLT: And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: '‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside its gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls.

KJV: Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.

NKJV: “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it.

The Lord has promised rescue to King Hezekiah, sending a message through Isaiah (Isaiah 37:21–22). The Assyrian army (Isaiah 36:1–3) will be turned away (Isaiah 37:29), and a band of survivors will thrive in the land once more (Isaiah 37:32). Much of Judah's population seems to have been taken by the Assyrian invasion, by death or capture. The remainder remains huddled in Jerusalem, alive but vulnerable to Assyria's standard invasion tactic: a siege (Isaiah 36:12–15).

Here, God adds even better news to His promise. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, will never set foot in Jerusalem. He will not shoot a single arrow, carry a single shield, or dig a single fortification against Jerusalem's walls. This will not be a miraculous victory in battle. Rather, the battle will never happen.

It's unclear whether the full force of the Assyrian army ever closed in on Jerusalem. If they did, we have no record of how far preparations for a siege of Jerusalem advanced. Sennacherib's annals—his personal records which are not part of the biblical record—claim he succeed in making Hezekiah a prisoner in Jerusalem. That may mean that the Assyrian forces succeeded in surrounding the city before they were wiped out in a single night (Isaiah 37:36). Either way, they never attacked the city, fulfilling this promise from God.

Isaiah 37:21–38 contains the Lord's response to Hezekiah's humble prayer (Isaiah 37:14–20). Through Isaiah, the Lord first addresses Sennacherib in a poem. He tells the most powerful man on earth at the time that God will turn him around and send him home. Next the Lord promises Hezekiah that Sennacherib will never even approach Jerusalem, let alone attack it. The remnant of Judah will survive and thrive. As the Assyrians plan to engage in a different battle, the Lord destroys nearly the entire army in a single night. Sennacherib goes home. He is later killed by his sons.

Hezekiah is overcome with grief at news that Sennacherib has mocked the Lord and is coming to destroy Jerusalem. God reassures Hezekiah that the Asyrian king will return home to be killed there. Hezekiah prays in the temple, asking the Lord to defend His name and save Judah. Through Isaiah, the Lord reveals to Hezekiah that Jerusalem will not be touched. Assyria's army won't even have the chance to attack. Responding to their aggression and blasphemy, the "angel of the Lord" virtually wipes out the gigantic Assyrian army overnight. Sennacherib returns home and is later killed by his sons.

Isaiah 37 continues the narrative started in Isaiah 36. Assyrian messengers threaten to bring their enormous, nearby army to take Jerusalem. Hezekiah seeks God in response and is reassured that Jerusalem will not see so much as a single Assyrian arrow. The Lord promises to save the city and make the survivors prosper. The angel of the Lord kills an overwhelming number of Assyrian soldiers overnight. Sennacherib returns home and is eventually killed by his own sons. Hezekiah will then face a serious illness and be granted a brief reprieve by God (Isaiah 38).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).