for them. Both these clauses are to be understood
after the manner of men, and in a way becoming the
being and perfections of God, to wtlom ears and eyes
are not properly to be ascribed, and so likewise the
bowing of the one, and the opening of the other; btlt
both denote the gracious condescension of God, to
take notice o|' things on earth, and vindicate the cause
of his people, which is his own: and hear all the words
~oSennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the living
d; the Septuagint, Vuigate Latin, and Arabic ver-
sions, understand it of the words which Scnnachcrib
sent in the letter to,reproach the Lord; but in o. Kings
xix. 16, it is, which hath sent him; the messenger,. Rab-
shakeh, or whoever was the person that brought the.
letter to Hezekiah. The Targum paraphrases the.lat-
ter part thus, "to reproach the 'people of the, living
"God;" both God and his people were reproached,
and both carry in them arguments with the Lord to
hear and avenge himselfand'them ; and the king prays.
that he would hear. take notice of. and observe all
the words. and give a proper answer, by inflicting just
punishment.
Vet. 18. Of a truth. Lord. &c.] This is a truth. and
will be readily owned. what the king of Assyria has
said. that his ancestors have des.troyed all .lands, oral
least have endeavoured to do it, and have.had it in their
.hearts to do it: the kings of .4ssyr abave laid waste all
the nations. a,d. their countries: or all the lands. and
their land{m}; the Targurn is," all provinces. and their
lands;" the countrieS. and townS and villages in them.
or the chief cities and .villages round about tile, to.
Ve,'. 19. And, have cost thdr gods into the fire. &c.]
Anti burnt them; and it may well be asked, where are
they ? ch. xxxvi 19:.for they were no gods, but the
works of men's hands, wood and stone; they were made
of wood.or of stone, and therefore Could not be called
gods; nor could they savethe nations that worshippeal
them, nor themselves, t'r.om the tire:, therefore they
have destroyed .them; the Assyrian kings were,. able tO
do it. and did do it, because. they. were idols of wood
or stone; butt it did not t'herefore,-fbllo:w, that they
were a match for.theGod of Israel, the true,and
living God.
Veh 20. Now therfore, 0 Lord our .God, save us from
his hand, &c.] The hand of the  king, of A ssyria. The
Lord had promised that he would  and Hezekiah be-
lieved he would; but he knew that forithis.' he would
be inquired of by. him, and he. pleads covenant-interest,
in him, and eatteats for. salvation. upon that account,
as well as for the reason following: that all the king
doms Of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even
thou.only; by doing that which other gods could not
do; they could not save the nations that worshippeal
them from the hand of the Assyrians; ff th.erefore the
God of' Israel saved his people from them, this would
be a proof to all the world that he is God. and there is
none besides.him.
Ver. c2l. Then Isaiah the son'of Amoz sent unto He-
zekiah, saying. &c.] Isaiah, by a spirit of prophecy,
was made acquainted by the Lord. both withthe prayer
of Hezckiah, and the Lord's answer-to it; and therefore
itnmediately sent to the king, who was either at the
temple prayiug, or was returned to the palace, to let
him l{n.ow, the mind of the Lord in this matter. The
Septuagint and Syriac versions render it, and Isaiah
the son of Amoz was sent to Hezekioh ; but this does not
agree with the itebrew text; Isaiah sent messengers
to thcking, and by them informed him what the Lord
had said in answer to his prayer. Why he went not
hitnself cannot be said: thus saith the Lord God of
Israel; Hezekiah had been prayir,g to him under that
title and characre.r, ver. 16,: whereas. thou hast prayed to
me againstSennacherib king of Assyria : .or, what.thou
hast prayed, &c.{n}; the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic
versions, supply, [ have heard- It is bad for any to
have .the prayers of gootl men against them.
Ver. 22. This is the word which the Lord hath spoken
concerning him, &c.] The sentence he has pronounce4
upon him'; the punishment he has determined to inflice
on him, in answer to Hezekiah's prayer against him:
the virgin, the daughter of Zion';,hath despised. thee; and
laughed thee ,to -scorn; that, is the inhabitants of Zi0n,
particularly of the fort of Zion, called a virgin, because
it had,never been forced, or taken and to shew that
it was a vain. thi ng m Sennacheri b to  attenpt ,it, as welt
as it would have been an injurious one, could he have
accomplished it; since God, the father of this virgin,
would carefully keep her from such a. rape; .and he.
who was her husbandi to whom she was espoused as
a chaste virgin, would deifend and protect her; and the
whole is designed to shew the impotent malice of the
king of Assyria; otherwise,  at the time when these
words werespoken, the daughter of Zion was in a fear- 
ful and trembling condi.tion, and not in a laughing
framer bat this. dclares what she might do now, and
would do hereafter, for any thing that he could do
against her. The Targum paraphrases it, "the king-
" dora, of the eono_.'regation of Zion ;" the whole nation.
Some restrain this to the inhabitants of the upper part
of the city of Jerusalem, as what follows to those of
the tower part: the daughter,of Jcrusalem hath shaken
ker  head at, thee; or after thee'ø; by way of scorn and
derision; that is. when he fled; which shews, that
though these things are spoken as if they were past.
after 'the. manner of the prophets, yet were to come..
and would be. when Sennacherib fled, upon the de- 
structi!on of his army. Of this phrase, as expressive
of .scorn, see Psal. xxii. 7. and cix. 25. Lam. it. 15.
The Targum is, the people that dwell in Jerusalem, &c..
Ver. e3.. WhOm hast thou reproached and blasphemed ?
&c.] A creature like thyseff? no, but a God, and not
one .like the goats of the nations, the idols of wood and
stone, but the living God :. and against whom hast thou
exalted thy voice ? alluding toRabshakeh's crying with
a loud voice, ch.-xxxvi. 13 i and l!fted up thine eyes oft
high ? as proud and haughty persons do, disdamning to
lo0k upon those they treat with contempt: even
against the holy One of Israel; that is. Israel's God.
and will protect him.; a holy One, and of purer eyes
than to behold with pleasure such a proud hlaspheming

{m} \^Mura taw twurah lk\^ omnes terras, & terram eorum,
Pagninus, Montanus; vel terram inquam eorum, Vatablus.
{n} \^tllpth rva\^ quae preeatus es, Vatablus; quod attinet ad id
quod oravisti, Piscator.
{o} \^Kyrxa\^  post te, Vulg. Lat. Pagninus, Montanus Junius & Tre-
mellius, Piscator.