Isaiah 37 · Verse 9

Isaiah 37:9

And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

Isaiah 37:9, King James Version

Isaiah 37:9 in other translations

BSB	Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
WEB	He heard news concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to fight against you.” When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
ASV	And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
YLT	And he heareth concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, saying, ‘He hath come out to fight with thee;' and he heareth, and sendeth messengers unto Hezekiah, saying,
DARBY	And he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He has come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
BBE	And when news came to him that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had made an attack on him,... And he sent representatives to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying,
Webster	And he heard it said concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

What does Isaiah 37:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

9. Tirhakah--(See on Is 17:12; Is 18:6). Egypt was in part governed by three successive Ethiopian monarchs, for forty or fifty years: Sabacho, Sevechus, and Tirhakah. Sevechus retired from Lower Egypt owing to the resistance of the priests, whereupon Sethos, a prince-priest, obtained supreme power with Tanis (Zoan in Scripture), or Memphis, as his capital. The Ethiopians retained Upper Egypt under Tirhakah, with Thebes as the capital. Tirhakah's fame as a conqueror rivalled that of Sesostris; he, and one at least, of the Pharaohs of Lower Egypt, were Hezekiah's allies against Assyria. The tidings of his approach made Sennacherib the more anxious to get possession of Jerusalem before his arrival. sent--2Ki 19:9 more fully expresses Sennacherib's eagerness by adding "again."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 9 He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia - When he heard that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia had come out against him, then he sent that blasphemous manifesto which is contained in Isa 37:10-13, to terrify Hezekiah into submission. How much was this like, in words and spirit, to the manifesto sent to the Parisians by the late Duke of Brunswick, from the plains of Champaigne, in 1792, which was the forerunner of the mighty torrents of human blood which was shed in the French revolution! And what a blast of God fell upon him and his army - nearly like that which fell on the army of Sennacherib! He sent messengers "He sent messengers again" - The word וישמע vaiyishma, "and he heard, "which occurs the second time in this verse, is repeated by mistake from the beginning of the verse. It is omitted in an ancient MS. It is a mere tautology, and embarrasses the sense. The true reading instead of it is, וישב veyesheb, "and he returned, "which the Septuagint read in this place, απεστρεψε, and which is preserved in the other copy, 2Kgs 19:9 : "He returned and sent, "that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, "he sent again."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Isaiah 37:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּשְׁמַ֗עvai.yish.Ma'and he heardH8085

עַל\־'al-onH5921

תִּרְהָ֤קָהtir.Ha.kahTirhakahH8640

מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428

כּוּשׁ֙kushCushH3568

לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor<to> sayingH559

יָצָ֖אya.Tza'he has come outH3318

לְהִלָּחֵ֣םle.hi.la.Chemto do battleH3898

אִתָּ֑ךְ'i.Takhwith youH854

וַיִּשְׁמַע֙vai.yish.Ma'and he heardH8085

וַיִּשְׁלַ֣חvai.yish.Lachand he sentH7971

מַלְאָכִ֔יםmal.'a.KhimmessengersH4397

אֶל\־'el-toH413

חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּchiz.ki.Ya.huHezekiahH2396

לֵאמֹֽר\׃le.Mor<to> sayingH559

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 37:9

Isaiah 18:1
Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
1 Samuel 23:27-28
But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela–hammahlekoth.
Isaiah 20:5
And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
Isaiah 37:7
Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

he heard.
1Sa 23:27,28
Ethiopia.Cush, which is generally rendered Ethiopia, is applied in Scripture to at least three distinct and different countries. 1. The country watered by the Gihon or Araxes, (Ge 2:13,) also called Cuth, 2 Ki 17:30. 2. A country of Arabia Petræa, bordering upon Egypt, which extended from the northern extremity of the Red sea along its eastern shore. (Comp. Ex 3:1, with Nu 12:1. Hab 3:7.) 3. Ethiopia Proper, an extensive country of Africa, comprehending Nubia and Abyssinia; being bounded on the north by Egypt, on the east by the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, and on the south and west by various nations of Africa, and extending from about 6 degrees to 24 degrees N. lat. and 25 degrees to 45 degrees E. long. It is probable that it was this latter Cush, or Ethiopia, of which Tirhakah was king; he being in league with his kinsman Sevechus, son of So, or Sabacon, king of Egypt, against Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 37:8
So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
Isaiah 37:9
And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Isaiah 37:10
Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Read all of Isaiah 37

Isaiah 37:9 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Mas oyendo decir de Tirhakah rey de Etiopía: He aquí que ha salido para hacerte guerra: en oyéndolo, envió mensajeros á Ezechîas, diciendo:
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et le roi d’Assyrie entendit dire touchant Tirhaka, roi d’Éthiopie: Il est sorti pour te faire la guerre. Lorsqu’il l’entendit, il envoya des messagers à Ézéchias, disant:
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er hörte von Tirhaka, dem König von Äthiopien, sagen: Er ist ausgezogen, um wider dich zu streiten. Und als er es hörte, sandte er Boten zu Hiskia und sprach:
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et audivit de Tharaca rege Æthiopiæ, dicentes: Egressus est ut pugnet contra te. Quod cum audisset, misit nuntios ad Ezechiam, dicens: