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Isaiah 36:20

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 36:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
Isaiah 36:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 36

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king`s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
22Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
← Isaiah 36:19Isaiah 36:21 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Who are they amongst all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand? &c.] Not one of them, it is suggested; wherefore then should it be thought practicable, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? thus blasphemously setting the Lord God of Israel upon a level with the fictitious gods of the Gentiles; though these could not, the Lord could, being the Lord God Almighty. If Rabshakeh was an apostate Jew, he must have known better; but the malice of such is usually the greatest.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“(Compare Isa 10:11; Ch2 32:19). Here he contradicts his own assertion (Isa 36:10), that he had "come up against the land with the Lord." Liars need good memories. He classes Jehovah with the idols of the other lands; nay, thinks Him inferior in proportion as Judah, under His tutelage, was less than the lands under the tutelage of the idols.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“that the Lord: Isa 37:18, Isa 37:19, Isa 37:23-29, Isa 45:16, Isa 45:17; Exo 5:2; 2Kings 19:22-37; Ch2 32:15, Ch2 32:19; Job 15:25, Job 15:26, Job 40:9-12; Psa 50:21, Psa 73:9; Dan 3:15 Isaiah 36:21”
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Related study paths

Read Isaiah 36 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification