2 Kings 19:23
21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
22 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest outposts, the densest of its forests.
24 I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
25 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.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest outposts, the densest of its forests.
- KJV
- By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.
- WEB
- By your messengers, you have defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots, I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field.
- ASV
- By thy messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitful field.
- DARBY
- By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots have I come up To the height of the mountain, to the recesses of Lebanon, And I will cut down its tall cedars, the choice of its cypresses; And I will enter into its furthest lodging-place, [into] the forest of its fruitful field.
- BLB
- By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, and you have said: “By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the limits of Lebanon. And I will cut down the height of its cedars, the choice of its cypresses, and I will enter the ends of its borders, the forest of its orchard.
- ÅB
- Ved dine sendebud har du hånet Herren og sagt: Med mine tall-løse vogner dro jeg opp på fjellenes tinder, til Libanons øverste topper, og jeg hugger ned dets høyeste sedrer, dets herlige cypresser, og jeg trenger fram til dets øverste hvilested, dets frodige skog;
- OTB
- Gjennom dine budbringere har du hånet Herren, og du har sagt,
"Med mine mange vogner kom jeg opp til fjellenes høyder,
Til de fjerneste delene av Libanon;
Og jeg hogg ned dens høye sedertrær og dens utvalgte einer.
Og jeg kom inn i dens fjerneste hvilested, dens tetteste skog. - B1930
- Ved dine sendebud har du hånet Herren og sagt: Med mine tall-løse vogner drog jeg op på fjellenes tinder, til Libanons øverste topper, og jeg hugger ned dets høieste sedrer, dets herlige cypresser, og jeg trenger frem til dets øverste hvilested, dets frodige skog;
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
2 Kings 18:17
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
Read in contextPsalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Read in contextIsaiah 10:18
The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.
Read in context2 Chronicles 32:17
He also wrote letters mocking the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying against Him: “Just as the gods of the nations did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”
Read in contextIsaiah 10:14
My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”
Read in contextEzekiel 31:3–18
Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
Read in context2 Kings 18:23
Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
Read in contextIsaiah 37:24–25
Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.
Read in context