Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

2 KINGS 19:20KJV
Know the Bible

2 Kings 19:20 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 19:20 mean?

2 Kings 19:20 presents God’s response to King Hezekiah’s prayer about the threat from Assyria. The message tells Hezekiah that his appeal has reached the LORD, the God of Israel, and introduces a longer response to the Assyrian king’s challenge.

Isaiah, identified as the son of Amoz, sends the message to Hezekiah. Although Isaiah delivers the words, “Thus saith the LORD” identifies God as their speaker.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 19:20

  • “LORD” — יְהוָה (YHWH): This is God’s personal name in Hebrew, traditionally represented by “LORD” in capital letters in the KJV. The phrase “LORD God of Israel” identifies the speaker as the God Hezekiah has addressed.
  • “heard” — שָׁמַע (shamaʿ): This word can mean to hear or listen. Here, the statement answers Hezekiah’s appeal for God to hear the Assyrian king’s words in verse 16.

Why 2 Kings 19:20 matters

  • The message concerns a particular threat, not an unnamed trouble. Hezekiah’s prayer was “against Sennacherib king of Assyria,” whose forces were threatening Jerusalem.
  • The answer reaches Hezekiah through Isaiah rather than through a direct speech to the king. The verse says that Isaiah “sent to Hezekiah,” introducing the words attributed to the LORD.
  • The hearing of the prayer leads into a response about Assyria’s challenge. In the verses that follow, the message addresses Sennacherib’s mockery and announces what will happen to his campaign.

Where else these words appear

“Amoz” Hebrew H531 · used in 13 verses

  • 2 Kings 19:2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
  • Isaiah 20:2 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

“Sennacherib” Hebrew H5576 · used in 13 verses

  • 2 Kings 18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
  • Isaiah 36:1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.

“Isaiah” Hebrew H3470 · used in 39 verses

  • 2 Kings 19:2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
  • 1 Chronicles 3:21 And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.
  • Isaiah 13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

“Hezekiah” Hebrew H2396 · used in 78 verses

  • 2 Kings 16:20 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
  • 2 Kings 20:5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
  • Isaiah 36:16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;