Isaiah 37:26

Verse

Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.

American Standard Version (1901)

Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

Bible in Basic English

Has it not come to your ears how I did it long before, purposing it in times long past? Now I have given effect to my design, so that by you strong towns might be turned into masses of broken walls.

Free Bible Version

The Lord replies, “Haven't you heard? I decided it long ago; I planned it in the olden days. Now I am making sure it happens—that you are to knock down fortified towns into piles of rubble.

Geneva Bible 1599

Hast thou not heard howe I haue of olde time made it, and haue formed it long ago? and should I now bring it, that it should be destroyed, and layde on ruinous heapes, as cities defensed?

King James (Authorized) Version

Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.

One Unity Resource Bible

Have you not sh'ma ·heard obeyed· how I have done it long ago, and formed it in ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to destroy fortified cities, turning them into ruinous heaps.

Translation for Translators

But I, Yahweh, reply, “Have you never heard that long ago I determined those things; I planned them long ago, and now I have been causing those things to occur. I planned that your army would destroy cities and cause them to become piles of rubble.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Have you not heard how I determined it long ago and worked it out in ancient times? Now I am bringing it to pass. You are here to reduce impregnable cities into heaps of ruins.

Noah Webster Bible

Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldst be to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

World English Bible

“‘Have you not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it in ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to destroy fortified cities, turning them into ruinous heaps.

Young's Literal Translation

Hast thou not heard from afar? — it I did, From days of old — that I formed it. Now, I have brought it in, And it is to make desolate, Ruinous heaps — fenced cities,

Context

Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied

²⁵I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.” ²⁶Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble. ²⁷Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown.

Summary

In Isaiah 37:26, the Lord speaks through the prophet Isaiah, reminding the Assyrian king of his arrogance and boasting against God. The verse highlights God's sovereignty and power over all nations, emphasizing that He is the one who ultimately determines the rise and fall of kingdoms. It serves as a warning against pride and self-reliance, urging trust and dependence on the Almighty rather than on human strength or achievements. This verse echoes the theme of humility before God found throughout the Bible, showing that true security and victory come from honoring and obeying the Lord.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Lay waste defended cities into ruinous heaps "Lay waste warlike nations; strong fenced cities" - גלים נצים gallim nitstsim. It is not easy to give a satisfactory account of these two words, which have greatly embarrassed all the interpreters, ancient and modern. For גלים gallim I read גוים goyim, as the Septuagint do in this place, εθνη. The word נצים netsim the Vulgate renders in this place compugnantium; in the parallel place, Kg2 19:25, pugnantium; and the Septuagint μαχιμων, fighting, warlike. This rendering is as well authorized as any other that I know of; and, with the reading of the Septuagint, perfectly clears up the construction. See the margin on all the preceding verses.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

And yet what he was able to do was not the result of his own power, but of the counsel of God, which he subserved. Fourth turn, "Hast thou not heart? I have done it long ago, from (K. lemin, since) the days of ancient time have I formed it, and now brought it to pass (הבאתיה, K. הביאתיה): that thou shouldst lay waste fortified cities into desolate stone heaps; and their inhabitants, powerless, were terrified, and were put to shame (ובשׁוּ, K. ויּבשׁוּ): became herb of the field and green of the turf, herb of the house-tops, and a corn-field (וּשׁדמה, K. and blighted corn) before the blades." L'mērâcōq (from afar) is not to be connected with the preceding words, but according to the parallel with those which follow. The historical reality, in this instance the Assyrian judgment upon the nations, had had from all eternity an ideal reality in God (see at Isa 22:11). The words are addressed to the Assyrian; and as his instrumentality formed the essential part of the divine purpose, וּתהי does not mean "there should," but "thou shouldest," e!mellej e)chremw=sai (cf., Isa 44:14-15, and Hab 1:17). K. has להשׁות instead of להשׁאות (though not as chethib, in which case it would have to be pointed להשׁות), a singularly syncopated hiphil (for לשׁאות). The point of comparison in the four figures is the facility with which they can be crushed. The nations in the presence of the Assyrian became, as it were, weak, delicate grasses, with roots only rooted in the surface, or like a cornfield with the stalk not yet formed (shedēmâh, Isa 16:8), which could easily be rooted up, and did not need to be cut down with the sickle. This idea is expressed still more strikingly in Kings, "like corn blighted (shedēphâh, compare shiddâpōn, corn-blight) before the shooting up of the stalk;" the Assyrian being regarded as a parching east wind, which destroys the seed before the stalk is formed.

Isaiah 37:26

Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.

American Standard Version (1901)

Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

Bible in Basic English

Has it not come to your ears how I did it long before, purposing it in times long past? Now I have given effect to my design, so that by you strong towns might be turned into masses of broken walls.

Free Bible Version

The Lord replies, “Haven't you heard? I decided it long ago; I planned it in the olden days. Now I am making sure it happens—that you are to knock down fortified towns into piles of rubble.

Geneva Bible 1599

Hast thou not heard howe I haue of olde time made it, and haue formed it long ago? and should I now bring it, that it should be destroyed, and layde on ruinous heapes, as cities defensed?

King James (Authorized) Version

Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.

One Unity Resource Bible

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

Have you not heard how I determined it long ago and worked it out in ancient times? Now I am bringing it to pass. You are here to reduce impregnable cities into heaps of ruins.

Noah Webster Bible

Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldst be to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.

World English Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Hast thou not heard from afar? — it I did, From days of old — that I formed it. Now, I have brought it in, And it is to make desolate, Ruinous heaps — fenced cities,

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Isaiah 37:26

Verse

Context

Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Isaiah 37:26

Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes