Isaiah 37:19
ESV
and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men 's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.
NIV
They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.
NASB
and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.
CSB
They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made from wood and stone by human hands. So they have destroyed them.
NLT
And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all — only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.
KJV
And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
NKJV
and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
What does Isaiah 37:19 mean?
Hezekiah is appealing to the Lord for help after receiving a letter from Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:14–16). The king of Assyria has warned Hezekiah not to trust the Lord to save Judah. Sennacherib's argument was simple: All the nations that Assyria has conquered and destroyed also had gods that they trusted. Not one of those gods saved their people from Assyria's previous kings. Based on that logic, Hezekiah should not believe Israel's God will save them from Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:11–13).Sennacherib is not wrong about Assyria's successes. The Assyrians have laid waste to all the nations and their lands. Hezekiah agrees with Sennacherib that the gods of those nations were helpless to save the people. But Hezekiah notes a key difference: idols are handmade hunks of wood and stone. They are not gods, at all. The Assyrians burned those idols in the fire, and that was where they belonged.
Hezekiah's theology of idols is clear: They are powerless because the gods they represent do not exist. Those who believe in and worship them are trusting their own creations for divine power (Deuteronomy 4:8; Psalm 115:4–8; Habakkuk 2:18–19). But the Lord (Exodus 3:14–15) is the living God who possesses limitless power (Isaiah 37:16). Hezekiah is asking the Lord to use that power to save His own people and glorify His own name.
