Isaiah 37:14
ESV
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
NIV
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.
NASB
Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.
CSB
Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.
NLT
After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord.
KJV
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
NKJV
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
What does Isaiah 37:14 mean?
Sennacherib has sent a letter to Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:10). He has done so after realizing that his attack on Jerusalem may be delayed by the approach of the Egyptian army (Isaiah 37:8–9). He wants Hezekiah to know he is still coming and that surrender is still the only wise option. He has warned Hezekiah not to be deceived by any promises from the Lord God of Israel to save Judah from him.Hezekiah's response if profound. Without saying a word to anyone, he takes the letter to temple and lays it open before God. The Hebrew word used here implies that this was a scroll which was fully unrolled. Then Judah's king begins to pray for the Lord's help. He will ask God to defend His own name and to save Judah from the Assyrians. This will show everyone on earth that the Lord is the only true God.
Hezekiah's act of presenting the letter before the Lord is a beautiful example of carrying our burdens to God. The king is not asking God to read the letter as if He doesn't know what it says. He is asking the Lord to take responsibility for what he, even as the king, cannot solve. He trusts the Lord alone and nobody else to provide what His people need.
Paul tells believers in Jesus to do exactly this (Philippians 4:6–7). Instead of holding on to anxiety believers can present requests to God with gratitude. His people can trust Him with their burdens and fears. Doing this brings the born-again believer peace that makes no sense in human terms. Nothing about the circumstances will have changed in that moment, only the power of trusting in the One who cares to carry what we care about most (1 Peter 5:7).
