2 Kings 18:25

2Ki 18:25 Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

Ver. 25. Am I now come up without the Lord?] Without his secret impulse, as 2Sa 16:10. The villainous gunpowder plotters pretended that God set them to work to punish this sinful nation. So the Jesuits tell the people that the devil stirred up Luther: and that God sent forth them to oppose him.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 18:25. Am I now come up without the Lord? — Without his consent and commission? The Lord hath said unto me, Go up against this land — They were vain, boasting words, without any foundation for them. He neither owned God’s word, nor regarded his providence; but he forged this to strike a terror into Hezekiah and the people.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18:25 The chief of staff concluded his argument by claiming that Jerusalem’s situation was hopeless because the Assyrians had come at the Lord’s direction to destroy Judah. To oppose the great king was to oppose God himself!

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The wicked always in their prosperity flatter themselves, that God doth favor them. Thus he speaketh to fear Hezekiah that by resisting him he should resist God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 25. Am I now come up without the Lord] As Rab-shakeh saw that the Jews placed the utmost confidence in God, he wished to persuade them that by Hezekiah's conduct Jehovah had departed from them, and was become ally to the king of Assyria, and therefore they could not expect any help from that quarter.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(25) The Lord said to me.—Michaelis supposed that Sennacherib had consulted some of the captive priests of the Northern kingdom. Others think some report of the menaces of the Hebrew prophets may have reached Assyrian ears. Thenius makes Rab-shakeh’s words a mere inference from the success which had hitherto attended the expedition; but the language is too definite for this. In the annals of Nabuna’id, the last king of Babylon, a remarkable parallel occurs. The Persian Cyrus there represents himself as enjoying the special favour of Merodach the chief god of Babylon; Merodach foretells his march upon the city, and accompanies him thither. Cyrus even declares that he has daily offered prayers to Bel and Nebo, that they might intercede with Merodach on his behalf. From all this it would appear to have been customary with invaders to seek to win the gods of hostile countries to the furtherance of their schemes of conquest. (Comp. the account of the taking of Veii in Livy, v. 21, especially the sentence beginning “Veientes ignari se jam ab suis vatibus, jam ab externis oraculis proditos;” and Macrob. Sat. iii. 9.) It is not impossible that there was some renegade prophet of Jehovah in the Assyrian camp. At all events, the form of the oracle, “Go up against this land, and destroy it,” is thoroughly authentic. Comp. the oracle of Chemosh to Mesha: “And Chemosh said unto me, Go thou, seize Nebo against Israel” (Moabite Stone, 1. 14). Meanwhile, Isa_10:5 seq. shows how true was the boast of the arrogant invader, in a sense which lay far above his heathenish apprehension.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. Am I now come up without the Lord] Rab-shakeh goes one step further, and with a bold assertion claims Jehovah’s support. Perhaps he thought his lie would receive some credence because he had already been able to reduce the towns all round Jerusalem. And if it did, one great stay of the king’s courage would be broken down. ‘How fearful a word was this. The rest were but vain cracks: this was a thunderbolt to strike dead the heart of Hezekiah. If Rab-shakeh could have been believed, Jerusalem could not but have flown open’ (Bp Hall). Rab-shakeh would know and use the name of the God of Israel, without regarding Him otherwise than as a local deity, just as Asshur was of Assyria.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Rab-shakeh probably tries the effect of a bold assertion, which had no basis of fact to rest upon.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Destroy. Prosperity renders a man insolent, and the passions blind him. Rabsaces interprets success to be a sure proof of the divine approbation, and thus attempts to justify all the excesses of his master. (Calmet) --- God only used Sennacherib as a rod to chastise his people. (Menochius) --- The most wicked often represent themselves as the executioners of God’s will, and attribute their ambition to his decrees. (Haydock) --- God did not order the Assyrians to destroy the land: he rather threatened to destroy them, Isaias xxxvii., and 2 Paralipomenon xxxii. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Without the Lord; without his consent and commission.

The Lord said unto me, to wit, by secret inspiration, or by his providence. But indeed he neither owned God’s word, nor regarded his providence; but he forged this, to strike a terror into Hezekiah and the people.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. The Lord said to me — The thought in this verse is thus well paraphrased by Bahr: “So far from thy being justified in relying upon Jehovah, he is, on the contrary, on our side, and it is by his command that we are come hither to destroy Jerusalem.” It is by no means impossible, but rather probable, that Rab-shakeh had heard of, and here alludes to, such prophecies of Jehovah’s chastising Judah by the rod of Assyrian power as the one in Isa_10:5-11. It was perfectly consistent with Assyrian polytheism to believe in the truth and power of Jehovah as well as of other gods. See note on 2Ki_17:29; 2Ki_17:33.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. The Assyrian monarchs constantly state that Asshur, their "great god," directs them to make war against this or that nation ("Records of the Past," vol. 1. pp. 48, 60, 70, 71, 82, etc.), but not that the god of the country to be attacked does so. It is difficult to account for Sennacherib"s very exceptional boast, "Jehovah said to me. Go up against this laud." Perhaps he identifies "Jehovah" with "Asshur." Perhaps he has heard of prophecies, uttered in the name of Jehovah, by Jewish prophets, which threatened the land with desolation at the hand of the Assyrians. ( e.g. Isa_7:17-24 Isa_10:5-12; Joe_2:1-11, etc.) Or he may have made the statement in mere bravado, as one that might frighten some, and at any rate could not be contradicted.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Am I, &c. - He neither owned God's word, nor regarded his providence; but he forged this, to strike a terror into Hezekiah and the people.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Is it with other than Adonoy. Did I come without permission? Yeshayohu already prophesied in the days of Achaz your father, ”Adonoy shall bring upon you and upon your people, etc., the king of Ashur.”

And to destroy it. This he added of his own accord.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.