The Meaning of Isaiah 37:38 Explained

Isaiah 37:38

KJV: And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

YLT: And it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.

Darby: And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

ASV: And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass, as he was worshipping  in the house  of Nisroch  his god,  that Adrammelech  and Sharezer  his sons  smote  him with the sword;  and they escaped  into the land  of Armenia:  and Esarhaddon  his son  reigned  in his stead. 

What does Isaiah 37:38 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Ironically, it was while worshipping in the temple of his idol in Nineveh that God effected Sennacherib"s assassination, whereas it was while worshipping the true God in His temple in Jerusalem, that God moved to spare Hezekiah"s life. Hezekiah went into the house of his God and got help, but Sennacherib went into the house of his god and got killed. The Babylonian royal chronicles recorded the assassination of Sennacherib and the accession of Esarhaddon in681 B.C. [1] It was not the Assyrian way to record their national disasters, so it is understandable that archaeologists have discovered no Assyrian accounts of Sennacherib"s humiliations.

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 37

1  Hezekiah mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6  Isaiah comforts them
8  Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14  Hezekiah's prayer
21  Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
36  An angel slays the Assyrians
37  Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons

What do the individual words in Isaiah 37:38 mean?

And it came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god that Adrammelech and Sarezer his sons struck him down with the sword and they escaped into the land of Ararat And reigned - Esarhaddon his son in his place -
וַיְהִי֩ ה֨וּא מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֜ה בֵּ֣ית ׀ נִסְרֹ֣ךְ אֱלֹהָ֗יו וְֽאַדְרַמֶּ֨לֶךְ וְשַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר בָּנָיו֙ הִכֻּ֣הוּ בַחֶ֔רֶב וְהֵ֥מָּה נִמְלְט֖וּ אֶ֣רֶץ אֲרָרָ֑ט וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ אֵֽסַר־ חַדֹּ֥ן בְּנ֖וֹ תַּחְתָּֽיו ס

וַיְהִי֩  And  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
ה֨וּא  as  he 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֜ה  was  worshiping 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.
בֵּ֣ית ׀  in  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
נִסְרֹ֣ךְ  of  Nisroch 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִסְרֹךְ  
Sense: an idol of Nineveh worshipped by Sennacherib; symbolised by the eagle-headed human figure.
אֱלֹהָ֗יו  his  god 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
וְֽאַדְרַמֶּ֨לֶךְ  that  Adrammelech 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַדְרַמֶּלֶךְ 
Sense: an idol or god of the Sepharvites, introduced to Israel by Shalmaneser the fifth.
וְשַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר  and  Sarezer 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׂרְאֶצֶר 
Sense: son of king Sennacherib of Assyria and murderer of his father.
בָּנָיו֙  his  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הִכֻּ֣הוּ  struck  him  down 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
בַחֶ֔רֶב  with  the  sword 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
וְהֵ֥מָּה  and  they 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
נִמְלְט֖וּ  escaped 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
אֶ֣רֶץ  into  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אֲרָרָ֑ט  of  Ararat 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָרַט  
Sense: a mountainous region of eastern Armenia, between the river Araxes and the lakes Van and Oroomiah, the site where Noah’s ark came to rest.
וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ  And  reigned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
אֵֽסַר־  - 
Parse:
חַדֹּ֥ן  Esarhaddon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵסַר־חַדֹּן  
Sense: king of Assyria in the seventh-century BC.
בְּנ֖וֹ  his  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
תַּחְתָּֽיו  in  his  place 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation