Isaiah 37:13
ESV
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’"
NIV
Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?"
NASB
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’?'
CSB
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’"
NLT
What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'
KJV
Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
NKJV
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”
What does Isaiah 37:13 mean?
The tone of Sennacherib's letter to Hezekiah has been more respectful than the message (Isaiah 36:11–15) delivered in person by Sennacherib's representative (Isaiah 36:1–3). The letter has been posed almost as if Sennacherib is offering some sage advice from one king to another: Don't let your God deceive you into thinking He can protect you and your city and your people from me.From a human perspective, Sennacherib's case is compelling and presented with generations of evidence. All peoples in all nations have gods they worship. All hoped their gods would save them from the kings of Assyria who had come before Sennacherib. All those nations had been conquered, defeated, destroyed, and exiled.
The only way Sennacherib's argument could be flawed was if Judah's God were different from all those others. If Judah's God was truly limitless in power and willing to use that power to save His people, then Sennacherib could be wrong. Otherwise, he urged Hezekiah to understand that the evidence pointed to Hezekiah just becoming the next example of a failed king who trusted in a weak or worthless God.
Sennacherib ends the letter by making it personal for Hezekiah. He refers to the defeat of other local kings, such as Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? The message is clear: You're next.
Hamath was in modern-day Syria, far north of Damascus, and Sennacherib's father Sargon II had re-conquered the city after the king and his people dared to rebel against Assyria. Arpad was located further north of Hamath, but the location of Sepharvaim is unknown to current scholars, as are those of Hena and Ivvah. Hezekiah, though, undoubtedly knew their tragic stories and caught the full meaning of Sennacherib's warning.
