The Meaning of 2 Kings 19:37 Explained

2 Kings 19:37

KJV: And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

YLT: and it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adramelech and Sharezar his sons have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.

Darby: And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

ASV: And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass, as he was worshipping  in the house  of Nisroch  his god,  that Adrammelech  and Sharezer  his sons  smote  him with the sword:  and they escaped  into the land  of Armenia.  And Esarhaddon  his son  reigned  in his stead. 

What does 2 Kings 19:37 Mean?

Context Summary

2Kings 19:25-37 - The Answer Of The King Of Kings
These verses, taken with Isaiah 10:5-15, form a most suggestive and sublime comment on the words, "the Lord reigneth." They show us God using the Assyrian as "the rod of His anger," and working personally and mightily through the politics of the world. Isaiah's faith, through all this terrible crisis, was the one bulwark behind which king and people lay entrenched. What a gift one such man is to an entire people! His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord, and he cannot be made afraid by evil tidings.
It has been suggested that this was a Sabbatic year, the produce of which sufficed for two years, 2 Kings 19:29. In any case, the Sabbatic peace and calm had entered Isaiah's soul. They who have learned to stay themselves on God may sing triumphal odes, in sure conviction of coming victory. Thus, also, it befell. The angel of God's deliverance wrought through some terrible outbreak of plague, and thus the tents were strewn with the silent corpses of men who had yesterday been full of manly vigor. The Lord was Judge, Lawgiver, and King; and saved His people, as the mother-bird, with outspread wing, protects her brood against the hawk. God's presence, like an invisible river, surrounded and saved His people. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge," Psalms 46:11. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2Kings 19

1  Hezekiah, in mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6  Isaiah comforts them
8  Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14  Hezekiah's prayer
20  Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
35  An angel slays the Assyrians
36  Sennacherib is slain by his own sons

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 19:37 mean?

And it came to pass as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sarezer at his sons struck him down and with the sword and they escaped into the land of Ararat Then reigned - Esarhaddon his son in his place -
וַיְהִי֩ ה֨וּא מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֜ה בֵּ֣ית ׀ נִסְרֹ֣ךְ אֱלֹהָ֗יו וְֽאַדְרַמֶּ֨לֶךְ וְשַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר (בָּנָיו֙‪‬) הִכֻּ֣הוּ בַחֶ֔רֶב וְהֵ֥מָּה נִמְלְט֖וּ אֶ֣רֶץ אֲרָרָ֑ט וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ אֵֽסַר־ חַדֹּ֥ן בְּנ֖וֹ תַּחְתָּֽיו פ

וַיְהִי֩  And  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
ה֨וּא  as  he 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֜ה  was  worshiping 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.
בֵּ֣ית ׀  in  the  temple 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
נִסְרֹ֣ךְ  of  Nisroch 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִסְרֹךְ  
Sense: an idol of Nineveh worshipped by Sennacherib; symbolised by the eagle-headed human figure.
אֱלֹהָ֗יו  his  god 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְֽאַדְרַמֶּ֨לֶךְ  that  Adrammelech 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַדְרַמֶּלֶךְ 
Sense: an idol or god of the Sepharvites, introduced to Israel by Shalmaneser the fifth.
וְשַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר  and  Sarezer 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׂרְאֶצֶר 
Sense: son of king Sennacherib of Assyria and murderer of his father.
(בָּנָיו֙‪‬)  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הִכֻּ֣הוּ  his  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
בַחֶ֔רֶב  struck  him  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural, third person masculine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
וְהֵ֥מָּה  and  with  the  sword 
Parse: Preposition, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
נִמְלְט֖וּ  and  they 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
אֶ֣רֶץ  escaped 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אֲרָרָ֑ט  into  the  land  of  Ararat 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֲרָרַט  
Sense: a mountainous region of eastern Armenia, between the river Araxes and the lakes Van and Oroomiah, the site where Noah’s ark came to rest.
וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ  Then  reigned 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
אֵֽסַר־  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
חַדֹּ֥ן  Esarhaddon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵסַר־חַדֹּן  
Sense: king of Assyria in the seventh-century BC.
בְּנ֖וֹ  his  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
תַּחְתָּֽיו  in  his  place 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation