2 Kings 18:34-36
New English Translation
34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[a] Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?[b] 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”[c] 36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 18:34 tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
- 2 Kings 18:34 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).
- 2 Kings 18:35 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
2 Kings 18:34-36
New International Version
34 Where are the gods of Hamath(A) and Arpad?(B) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(C)
36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”
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