This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
Parallel Translations
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This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
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This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
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This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 19:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Lamentations 2:13 What shall I testify to you? What shall I liken to you, daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare to you, that I may comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is as big as the sea. Who can heal you?
- Job 16:4 I also could speak as you do. If your soul were in my soul’s place, I could join words together against you, and shake my head at you,
- Jeremiah 14:17 “You shall say this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound.
- Matthew 27:39 Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads,
- Psalms 22:7-8 All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying, “He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”
- Psalms 109:25 I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.
- Isaiah 37:21-35 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘Because you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which Yahweh has spoken concerning him. The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. By your servants, you have defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon. I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field. I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.” “ ‘Have you not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it in ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to destroy fortified cities, turning them into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants had little power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were like the grass of the field, and like the green herb, like the grass on the housetops, and like a field before its crop has grown. But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against me. Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came. “ ‘This shall be the sign to you. You will eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from it; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. The remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go out, and survivors will escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.’ “Therefore Yahweh says concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither will he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. He will return the way that he came, and he won’t come to this city,’ says Yahweh. ‘For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.’ ”
- Lamentations 2:15 All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
- Psalms 9:14 that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.
- Psalms 137:8 Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us.
- Isaiah 1:8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a besieged city.
- Isaiah 23:10 Pass through your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish. There is no restraint any more.
- Isaiah 23:12 He said, “You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest.”
- Isaiah 47:1 “Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.
- Isaiah 47:5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no longer be called the mistress of kingdoms.
- Jeremiah 18:13 Therefore Yahweh says: “Ask now among the nations, ‘Who has heard such things?’ The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.
- Jeremiah 31:4 I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel. You will again be adorned with your tambourines, and will go out in the dances of those who make merry.
- Jeremiah 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, virgin daughter of Egypt. You use many medicines in vain. There is no healing for you.
- Lamentations 1:15 “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a wine press.
- Lamentations 4:21 Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, that dwells in the land of Uz. The cup will pass through to you also. You will be drunken, and will make yourself naked.
- Amos 5:2 “The virgin of Israel has fallen; She shall rise no more. She is cast down on her land; there is no one to raise her up.”
- Micah 4:8 You, tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come, yes, the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
- Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Because as yet Jerusalem had not been taken by…
Because as yet Jerusalem had not been taken by the enemy, therefore he calleth her virgin.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 19:21 This [is] the word that the LORD…
2Ki 19:21 This [is] the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
Ver. 21. The virgin, the daughter of Zion.] A weak virgin she may seem; but she hath a strong champion who will maintain her cause and quarrel, and hence it is that she thus outfaceth so formidable an enemy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The virgin; so he calls Zion, or Jerusalem; partly,…
The virgin; so he calls Zion, or Jerusalem; partly, because she was pure in good measure from that gross idolatry wherewith other people were defiled, which is called spiritual whoredom; partly, to signify that God would defend her from that rape which Sennacherib intended to commit upon her, with no less care and zeal than parents do their virgin daughters from those who seek to force and deflour them; and partly, to intimate, that as she had not yet been forced and taken by her barbarous enemies, so she should still retain her virginity, in spite of his attempts against her.
The daughter of Zion, i.e. the people of Zion, i.e. as it follows, of Jerusalem; so called synecdochically from the mountain and city of Zion, which was an eminent part of it. Cities and countries are oft called mothers, as 2Sa 20:19; and their inhabitants daughters, as Num 21:25; Jos 17:16; Jdg 1:27; Psa 45:13; Psa 137:8.
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Hath shaken her head at thee; laughed at all thy proud and impotent threatenings. This is a gesture of contempt and derision; of which see Psa 22:7; 44:14; Jer 18:16; Mat 27:39.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Virgin - So he calls Zion, or Jerusalem; because…
Virgin - So he calls Zion, or Jerusalem; because she was pure in good measure from that gross idolatry wherewith other people were defiled, which is called spiritual whoredom: and to signify, that God would defend her from the rape which Sennacherib intended to commit upon her with no less care than parents do their virgin daughters from those who seek to force and deflower them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. The virgin the daughter of Zion hath…
Verse 21. The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.] "So truly contemptible is thy power, and empty thy boasts, that even the young women of Jerusalem, under the guidance of Jehovah, shall be amply sufficient to discomfit all thy forces, and cause thee to return with shame to thy own country, where the most disgraceful death awaits thee."
When Bishop Warburton had published his Doctrine of Grace, and chose to fall foul on some of the most religious people of the land, a young woman of the city of Gloucester exposed his graceless system in a pamphlet, to which she affixed the above words as a motto!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 19:21. The daughter of Zion — That is,…
2Ki 19:21. The daughter of Zion — That is, Jerusalem; which is called the daughter of Zion, say some, because the hill of Zion, as being the strongest and safest part, was first inhabited, and by the increase of inhabitants, Jerusalem arising around, as it were, sprang from it, and might therefore properly enough be termed its daughter. But it is more probable that the people of Zion, or of Jerusalem, (Zion, an eminent part of the city, being put for the whole,) are here termed its daughter, cities and countries being often called mothers, and their inhabitants daughters. Thus we read of the daughter of Babylon, the daughter of Tyre, &c., Psa 137:8; Psa 45:13. Zion or Jerusalem is termed a virgin, because she was pure in good measure from that gross idolatry wherewith other people were defiled, which is called spiritual whoredom; and to signify that God would defend her from the rape which Sennacherib intended to commit upon her, with no less care than parents do their virgin daughters from those who seek to force and deflour them. The image is extremely fine, whereby the contempt of Sennacherib’s threats is expressed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Concerning him - i. e., “concerning Sennacherib.” 2Ki 19:21-28…
Concerning him - i. e., “concerning Sennacherib.” 2Ki 19:21-28 are addressed to the great Assyrian monarch himself, and are God’s reply to his proud boastings.
The virgin, the daughter of Zion, - Rather, holy eastern city, is here distinguished from Jerusalem, the western one, and is given the remarkable epithet “virgin,” which is not applied to her sister; probably because the true Zion, the city of David, had remained inviolable from David’s time, having never been entered by an enemy. Jerusalem, on the other hand, had been taken, both by Shishak 1Ki 14:26 and by Jehoash 2Ki 14:13. The personification of cities as females is a common figure (compare marginal references).
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Hath shaken her head at thee - This was a gesture of scorn with the Hebrews (compare the marginal references; Mat 27:39).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Virgin. The few who adhere to the Lord despise…
Virgin. The few who adhere to the Lord despise all idols and their votaries. (Worthington) --- Of Sion and of Jerusalem may denote those places. Towns and provinces are often represented as women: the daughter of Babylon, the daughter of the sea, mean Babylon and a maritime town. Perhaps this comparison is used through tenderness and affection for a place. (Calmet) --- Even the most timid female would shortly despise the fallen tyrant. (Haydock) --- Wagged, out of contempt, or in a threatening manner, Psalm xxi. 8., and Matthew xxvii. 39. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. The virgin the daughter of Zion — Better,…
21. The virgin the daughter of Zion — Better, the virgin daughter Zion. Zion, the chief mountain on which the Jewish metropolis stood, is metaphorically represented as a virgin daughter, and thus becomes a personification of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. These are collectively called in the next line of the parallelism daughter of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called a virgin, because yet unconquered and inviolate. Compare Isa_23:12; Isa_47:1; Jer_46:11; Lam_1:15.
Despised — A very appropriate word to express the feelings of a virgin towards one who aims to destroy her honour.
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Laughed thee to scorn — As one conscious of impregnability.
Hath shaken her head at thee — Literally, after thee the head she has shaken. Jerusalem shakes her head as a gesture of triumphant derision after Sennacherib, as after a smitten and flying foe.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. The virgin the [R.V. omits the] daughter of…
21. The virgin the [R.V. omits the] daughter of Zion hath despised thee] The first part of the prophetic word is addressed to Sennacherib. Jerusalem is called ‘daughter of Sion’ because her inhabitants may be counted poetically as the offspring of Sion. She is also called ‘virgin’ because hitherto, since David’s time, when the chosen people first obtained complete possession of the place, it had never been conquered. And by opening the prophecy with this word it seems to be foretold that it shall still he saved from conquest. Some have preferred to take the three words as all in apposition, rendering ‘The virgin-daughter Sion’, with much the same sense. In the original the first two words are both in the construct form, but instances are found of such forms standing as if only in apposition.
The daughter of Jerusalem] i.e. The people dwelling in the city.
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hath shaken her head at thee] This was a gesture of scorn. Cf. Job_16:4, ‘I could heap up words against you and shake mine head at you’. See also Psa_22:7; Psa_44:15; Psa_109:25 and other parallel passages.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) This is the word . . .—The prophecy…
(21) This is the word . . .—The prophecy which follows is well characterised by Cheyne as one “of striking interest, and both in form and matter stamped with the mark of Isaiah.”
Concerning him.—Or, against him.
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The virgin the daughter of Zion.—A poetic personification of place. Zion here, as Jerusalem in the next line, is regarded as mother of the people dwelling there. (Comp. 2Sa_20:19.) The term Virgin naturally denotes the inviolable security of the citadel of Jehovah.
Hath shaken her head at thee.—Or, hath nodded behind thee. (Comp. Psa_22:8.) The people of Jerusalem nod in scorn at the retiring envoys of Sennacherib.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This is the word that the Lord hath spoken…
This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him. "Him" is, of course, Sennacherib. It adds great liveliness and force to the opening portion of the oracle, that it should be addressed directly by Jehovah to Sennacherib, as an answer to his bold challenge. The only address at all similar in Scripture is that to Nebuchadnezzar, (Dan_4:31, Dan_4:32) spoken by "a voice from heaven" But the present passage is one of far greater force and beauty. The virgin the daughter of Zion; rather, the virgin daughter of Zion, or the virgin daughter, Zion. Cities were commonly personified by the sacred writers, and represented as "daughters". (see Isa_23:10, 12 47:1, 5, etc.) "Virgin daughter" here may perhaps represent "the consciousness of impregnability" (Drechsler); but the phrase seems to have been used rhetorically or poetically, to heighten the beauty or pathos of the picture (Isa_23:12; Jer_46:11; Lam_2:13) without any reference to the question whether the particular city had or had not been previously taken. Jerusalem certainly had been taken by Shishak, (1Ki_14:26) and by Joash; (2Ki_14:13) but Zion, if it be taken as the name of the eastern city (Bishop Patrick, ad lee.), may have been still a "virgin fortress." Hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; or, despises thee and laughs thee to scorn. The Hebrew preterite has often a present sense. Whatever was the case a little while ago, (see Isa_22:1-14) the city now laughs at thy threats. The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee; or, wags her head at thee in scorn and ridicule. (Psa_22:7)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 19:21-28 The phrase virgin daughter is often used regarding…
19:21-28 The phrase virgin daughter is often used regarding civic identity (Isa 23:12; 37:22; 47:1; Jer 18:13). Here, the metaphor implies that as a young maiden is rescued from her attacker, so God will rescue Jerusalem. The Lord’s answer was delivered as a “taunt song,” a common literary form in the ancient Near East that rejoiced over an enemy’s humiliation (cp. Isa 14:3-20).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.