Isaiah 36:7
ESV
But if you say to me, "We trust in the Lord our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar"?
NIV
But if you say to me, "We are depending on the Lord our God"—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar"?
NASB
But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?
CSB
Suppose you say to me, ‘We rely on the Lord our God.’ Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar’?
NLT
'But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?
KJV
But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
NKJV
“But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’
What does Isaiah 36:7 mean?
Though Hezekiah foolishly trusted an alliance with Egypt instead of consulting the Lord, he began his rule over Judah displaying great faith in the Lord. He led his people to do the same, by tearing down sites of false worship. He even destroyed a national heirloom because the people had begun to use it as an idol (2 Kings 18:4). The Assyrian commander is taunting Judah (Isaiah 36:1–6) and now shows that he knows about Hezekiah's reforms. But the enemy spokesman misunderstands those steps.Sennacherib's officer scoffs at the idea that the king might trust in the God of Israel. He thinks that Hezekiah removing pagan altars meant giving les worship to the local deity. The Assyrian mistakes this as a lack of faith, rather than an act of obedience and religious purity. It makes no sense to the invading army to expect help from a God you worshipped in fewer places. The army will soon learn that the God of Israel is not like the false deities of other cultures.
