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 messengers, 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, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field. I have dug and drunk strange waters, and I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt with the sole of my feet.”
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2 Kings 19:22-24 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says ‘You have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, and I have heard you. 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. 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 messengers, 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, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field. I have dug and drunk strange waters, and I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt with the sole of my feet.” Haven’t you heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to lay waste fortified cities 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 grain blasted before it has grown up. 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.’
Parallel Translations
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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 messengers, 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, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field.
I have dug and drunk strange waters, and I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt with the sole of my feet.”
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Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.
By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.
I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.
Show all 3 translations
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Whom hast thou taunted and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice? Yea, thou hast lifted up thine eyes on high, even against the Holy One of Israel!
By the messengers thou hast taunted the Lord, and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I have cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice cypresses thereof; and I have entered into his farthest lodge, the forest of his fruitful field.
I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.
Cross-references (35)
- Isaiah 5:24 (v22) Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness,…
- 2 Kings 18:17 (v23) The king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. They went up and…
- Psalms 20:7 (v23) Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God.
- Psalms 71:22 (v22) I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 10:18 (v23) He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. It will be as when a standard bearer faints.
Show all 35 cross-references
- Isaiah 30:11-12 (v22) Get out of the way. Turn away from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” Therefore the Holy One of Israel says,…
- Isaiah 30:15 (v22) For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in…
- Jeremiah 51:5 (v22) For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God, by Yahweh of Armies; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (v22) he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting…
- Exodus 5:2 (v22) Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel…
- Exodus 9:17 (v22) because you still exalt yourself against my people, that you won’t let them go.
- Exodus 15:9 (v24) The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My…
- 2 Samuel 17:13 (v24) Moreover, if he has gone into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there isn’t…
- 1 Kings 20:10 (v24) Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the…
- 2 Kings 18:23 (v23) Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part…
- 2 Kings 18:28-35 (v22) Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of…
- 2 Kings 18:33-34 (v23) Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of…
- 2 Kings 19:4 (v22) It may be Yahweh your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and…
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 (v23) He built towers in the wilderness, and dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock; in the lowland also, and in the plain. He had…
- 2 Chronicles 32:17 (v23) He also wrote letters insulting Yahweh, the God of Israel, and speaking against him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands,…
- Psalms 73:9 (v22) They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.
- Psalms 74:22-23 (v22) Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day. Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of…
- Proverbs 30:13 (v22) There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.
- Isaiah 10:7-11 (v23) However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. For he…
- Isaiah 10:14 (v23) My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There…
- Isaiah 10:15 (v22) Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who…
- Isaiah 14:13-14 (v22) You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly,…
- Isaiah 19:6 (v24) The rivers will become foul. The streams of Egypt will be diminished and dried up. The reeds and flags will wither away.
- Isaiah 37:24-25 (v23) 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…
- Ezekiel 28:2-9 (v22) “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the…
- Ezekiel 31:3-18 (v23) Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, of high stature; and its top was among…
- Daniel 4:30 (v24) The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the…
- Daniel 5:20-23 (v22) But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they…
- 2 Corinthians 10:5 (v22) throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to…
- 2 Kings 19:6 (v22) Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘Yahweh says, “Don’t be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22–24 God counteth that injury done to him, and will…
God counteth that injury done to him, and will revenge it, which is done to any of his Saints.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv22–24 2Ki 19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and…
2Ki 19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted [thy] voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? [even] against the Holy [One] of Israel.
Ver. 22. Against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high?] God is "jealous for Jerusalem with a great jealousy." {Zec 1:14} He soon took notice of Cain’s frowns; {Gen 4:6} Laban’s lowerings; {Gen 31:2} Rabshakeh’s outcries here; those miscreants lolling out the tongue; {Isa 57:3-4} their wagging the head at Christ on the cross. {Mat 27:39}
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 On vv22–24 Exalted thy voice; by Rab-shakeh, who cried with a…
Exalted thy voice; by Rab-shakeh, who cried with a loud voice, 2Ki 18:28.
Lifted up thine eyes on high; a gesture of pride and scornfulness, Pro 21:4.
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Against the Holy One of Israel: not against man, but against the holy God, who will not suffer thy impious blasphemies to go unpunished; and against the Holy One of Israel, who hath a special relation and kindness to Israel, having as it were set himself apart for them, and set them apart for himself, as being at this time the God of the Jews only, and not the God of the Gentiles; whom, as yet, he suffered to walk in their own evil ways, Act 14:16. And therefore he will plead their cause against thee.
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 On vv23–24 Mountains - I have brought up my very chariots…
Mountains - I have brought up my very chariots to those mountains which were thought inaccessible by my army. Lebanon - An high hill, famous for cedars and fir-trees. Cut down - I will cut down the trees that hinder my march, and plane the way for my numerous army and chariots. Lodgings - Those cities (which he calls lodgings in way of contempt) which are in his utmost borders. I am come into the land of Canaan at one border, Lebanon, and I resolve to march on to the other border, and so destroy the whole country, from one border to the other. Carmel - The forest of mount Carmel, which may seem to be another inaccessible place, like Lebanon.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23–24 Verse 23. The tall cedar trees - the choice…
Verse 23. The tall cedar trees - the choice fir trees] Probably meaning the princes and nobles of the country.
The forest of his Carmel.] Better in the margin: the forest and his fruitful field.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv22–24 2Ki 19:22. And lifted up thieve eyes on high…
2Ki 19:22. And lifted up thieve eyes on high — As those do who have haughty thoughts, and look down on others with contempt and scorn. Even against the Holy One of Israel — Whose honour is dear to him, and who has power to vindicate it, which the gods of the heathen have not.
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 On vv22–24 The Holy One of Israel - This is a…
The Holy One of Israel - This is a favorite phrase with Isaiah, in whose prophecies it is found 27 times, while it occurs five times only in the rest of Scripture Psa 71:22; Psa 78:41; Psa 89:18; Jer 50:29; Jer 51:5. Its occurrence here is a strong proof - one among many - of the genuineness of the present passage, which is not the composition of the writer of Kings, but an actual prophecy delivered at this time by Isaiah.
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 On vv22–24 Of Israel. This title is often found in Isaias;…
Of Israel. This title is often found in Isaias; xlv. 11., and xlvii. 4., &c.
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 On vv22–24 22. Whom hast thou reproached — Art thou aware…
22. Whom hast thou reproached — Art thou aware of the exalted and holy character of Him against whom thou hast exalted thyself?
Thine eyes on high — He had uttered his blasphemies as if looking up to the skies on purpose to defy Jehovah.
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 On vv22–24 22. and lift [R.V. lifted] up thine eyes on…
22. and lift [R.V. lifted] up thine eyes on high] The name by which Jehovah is often called is ‘the Most High’ (cf. Psa_56:2). To utter reproaches and blasphemies against Him betrays a great uplifting of the eyes, a terrible excess of arrogancy.
the Holy One of Israel] This title of God, which occurs very frequently in Isaiah, signifies not only that God Himself is holy and specially gracious unto Israel, but that He makes the people holy also, separate from the rest of the world and sanctified by and for Himself. It expresses both the praise of God, and the privilege of His people.
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 On vv22–24 (22) On high—i.e., towards heaven (Isa_40:26). (Comp. Isa_14:13-14.)
(22) On high—i.e., towards heaven (Isa_40:26). (Comp. Isa_14:13-14.)
The Holy One of Israel.—A favourite expression of Isaiah’s, in whose book it occurs twenty-seven times, and only five times elsewhere in the Old Testameut (Psa_71:22; Psa_78:41; Psa_89:19; Jer_50:29; Jer_51:5).
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 On vv22–24 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? i.e.
Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? i.e.
whom hast thou been mad enough to measure thyself? Whom hast thou dared to insult and defy?" Not an earthly king not a mere angelic being but the Omnipotent, the Lord of earth and heaven. What utter folly is this! What mere absurdity? And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice? i.e. "spoken proudly in the tone in which a superior speaks of an inferiorand lifted up thine eyes on high?i.e. "looked down upon treated with contempt, as not worth considerationeven against the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah"s favorite phrase used by him twenty-seven times, and only five times in the rest of Scripture marks this entire prophecy as his genuine utterance, net the composition of the writer of Kings, but a burst of sudden inspiration from the Coryphaeus of the prophetic band. The oracle bears all the marks of Isaiah"s elevated, fervid, and highly poetic style.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v23 General Information:
General Information:
This continues the message from Yahweh given by Isaiah, the prophet, to King Hezekiah concerning King Sennacherib. It uses parallelism throughout. (See: Parallelism)
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you have defied the Lord
To "defy" is to openly resist or mock.
I have gone up ... I will cut down ... I will enter
These boasts made by Sennacherib could only be fulfilled by his army. The pronoun "I" represents him and his army. (See: Synecdoche)
I dried up all the rivers of Egypt under the soles of my feet.
This is a boast that Sennacherib has so many soldiers that their feet dry up the water when they cross a river. This is an exaggeration to emphasize the great number of soldiers he has. AT: "And by marching through the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up!" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
translationWords
messenger
lord
chariot
Lebanon
cedar
fir
Egypt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v23 19:23-24 highest mountains . . . of Lebanon: In…
19:23-24 highest mountains . . . of Lebanon: In his annals, Sennacherib told of scaling high mountain passes and felling Lebanon’s great trees. Sennacherib felt invincible, but he was a mere man, no match for the omniscient Lord of the universe (1 Chr 28:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.