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.
Parallel Translations
-
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.
-
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
-
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it is grown up.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 19:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 11:23 Yahweh said to Moses, “Has Yahweh’s hand grown short? Now you will see whether my word will happen to you or not.”
- Numbers 14:9 Only don’t rebel against Yahweh, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us. Their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is with us. Don’t fear them.”
- Psalms 48:4-7 For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together. They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away. Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail. With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.
- Psalms 92:7 though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Psalms 102:11 My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.
- Psalms 127:1 Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
- Psalms 129:6-8 Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper doesn’t fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom. Neither do those who go by say, “The blessing of Yahweh be on you. We bless you in Yahweh’s name.”
- Isaiah 40:6-8 The voice of one saying, “Cry!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”
- Jeremiah 37:10 For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and only wounded men remained among them, they would each rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’ ”
- Jeremiah 50:36-37 A sword is on the boasters, and they will become fools. A sword is on her mighty men, and they will be dismayed. A sword is on their horses, on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the middle of her; and they will become as women. A sword is on her treasures, and they will be robbed.
- Jeremiah 51:30 The mighty men of Babylon have stopped fighting, they remain in their strongholds. Their might has failed. They have become as women. Her dwelling places are set on fire. Her bars are broken.
- Jeremiah 51:32 So the passages are seized. They have burned the reeds with fire. The men of war are frightened.”
- James 1:10-11 and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits.
- 1 Peter 1:24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Thus he describeth the wicked, which for a time…
Thus he describeth the wicked, which for a time flourish, and afterward fade and decay like flowers.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power,…
2Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were [as] the grass of the field, and [as] the green herb, [as] the grass on the housetops, and [as corn] blasted before it be grown up.
Ver. 26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power.] Heb., Short of hand; helpless and shiftless, because I gave them up into thy power. It is God that strengtheneth or weakeneth the arms of either party in battle. {Eze 30:24}
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 Therefore; because I had armed thee with my commission…
Therefore; because I had armed thee with my commission and strength, and taken away their spirit and courage, and withdrew my help from them to give it to thee.
Their inhabitants; the people of Israel, and Judah, and other places which thou hast conquered.
Read full note →
As the grass of the field; which is weak and quickly fading, and unable to resist any hand or instrument which offers violence to it.
As corn blasted before it be grown up, i.e. all their designs and hopes were disappointed before they could come to any perfection or success.
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 Therefore - Because I had armed thee with my…
Therefore - Because I had armed thee with my commission and strength, and taken away their spirit and courage.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 19:26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power…
2Ki 19:26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power — The people of Israel and Judah, and of other countries which thou hast conquered, because I had armed thee with my commission and strength, and had taken away their spirit and courage, and had withdrawn my help from them to give it to thee. They were as the grass of the field — Which is weak, and quickly fades, and is unable to resist any hand or instrument which offers violence to it. As corn blasted before it be grown up — All their designs and hopes were disappointed before they could come to any perfection or success.
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 The weakness of the nations exposed to the Assyrian…
The weakness of the nations exposed to the Assyrian attacks was as much owing to the divine decrees as was the strength of the Assyrians themselves.
The grass on the house tops - Compare the marginal reference. The vegetation on the flat roofs of Oriental houses is the first to spring up and the first to fade away.
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 Of hand. Hebrew, "short, (Calmet) or contracted in hand,"…
Of hand. Hebrew, "short, (Calmet) or contracted in hand," or power. This does not add to the glory of Sennacherib; and if the enemy had been less valiant, the victory was still to be attributed to God. (Haydock) --- The Assyrian found but little resistance, chap. xviii. 13.
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 26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power —…
26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power — The margin renders, more literally, were short of hand — unable to resist the invader. So Sennacherib is informed that the dismay and confusion of the people he had conquered were not produced by his greatness, but by Jehovah’s decree.
Grass… green herb — Images of frailty and sudden decay. Compare Psa_37:2; Psa_90:5; Isa_40:6.
Read full note →
Grass on the housetops — Which is more perishable even than that of the field, for it has no depth of soil, and quickly withers away. Compare Psa_129:6.
Blasted before it be grown up — Blighted at the very outset, before it has become a stalk.
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 26. Therefore] i.e. Not, as thou thinkest, because of…
26. Therefore] i.e. Not, as thou thinkest, because of thy might, but because I sent thee; for this reason it is that the people against whom thou camest were dismayed.
of small power] Literally, as in the margin ‘short of hand’. Cf. the question of Moses (Num_11:23) ‘Is the Lord’s hand waxen short?’ See also Isa_50:2; Isa_59:1.
Read full note →
They were as the grass of the field] All these figures of frailty are found in other places of Scripture. See Psa_27:2; Psa_90:5; Psa_102:4; Psa_102:11; Isa_40:7. The grass upon the housetops, Psa_129:6.
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 (26) Of small power.—Literally, short-handed. (Comp. Isa_1:2; Isa_59:1.) Keil…
(26) Of small power.—Literally, short-handed. (Comp. Isa_1:2; Isa_59:1.) Keil compares the well-known title of Artaxerxes I., Longimanus, the “long-handed,” as if that epithet meant far-reaching in power. Thenius says that a frightened man draws in his arms (?)
As the grass . . .—The as may better be omitted. They were field growth and green herbage; grass of the roofs and blasting before stalk. The sense seems imperfect, unless we supply the idea of withering away, as in Psa_37:2; Psa_90:5-6; Psa_129:6; Isaiah 40 (5, 7. Instead of the word blasting the parallel text (Isa_37:27) has field—a difference of one letter. Thenius adopts this, and corrects stalk into east wind, no great change in the Hebrew. We thus get the appropriate expression: and a field before the east wind.
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 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power; literally, were…
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power; literally, were short of hand unable, i.e. , to make an effectual resistance. When God has decreed a change in the distribution of power among the nations, his providence works doubly. It infuses confidence and strength into the aggressive people, and spreads dismay and terror among those who are attacked. Unaccountable panics seize them they seem paralyzed; instead of making every possible preparation for resistance, they fold their hands and do nothing. They are like fascinated birds before the stealthy advance of the serpent. They were dismayed and confounded. Historically, the prophet declares, this was the cause of the general collapse of the nations whom the Assyrians attacked. God put a craven fear into their hearts.
They were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the house-tops. The "grass of the field" is one of the most frequent similes for weakness. "All flesh is grass"; (Isa_40:6) "They shall soonbe cut down like the grass"; (Psa_37:2) "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth"; (Isa_40:8) "I am withered like grass". (Psa_102:11) In the hot sun of an Eastern sky nothing faded more quickly. But this weakness was intensified in the "grass of the house-tops." It "withered before it grew up". (Psa_129:6) The depth of earth was so slight, the exposure so great, the heat so scorching, that it sank in death almost as soon as it had sprung to life. Such has been the weakness of the nations given over as a prey to the Assyrians. And as corn blasted before it be grown up. Corn blasted before it shoots into a stalk is as frail as grass, or frailer. It dwindles and disappears without even asserting itself.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.