Isaiah 37:24

New Living Translation

By your messengers you have defied the Lord. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have conquered the highest mountains— yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypress trees. I have reached its farthest heights and explored its deepest forests.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You have mocked the Lord through your servants.You have said, “With my many chariotsI have gone up to the heights of the mountains,to the far recesses of Lebanon.I cut down its tallest cedars,its choice cypress trees.I came to its distant heights,its densest forest.

Hebrew Names Version
By your servants have you defied the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Levanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars of it, and the choice fir trees of it; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field;

King James Version
By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

English Standard Version
By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon, to cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, to come to its remotest height, its most fruitful forest.

New American Standard Bible
"Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, And you have said, 'With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice junipers. And I will come to its highest peak, its thickest forest.

New Century Version
You have sent your messengers to insult the Lord. You have said, "With my many chariots I have gone to the tops of the mountains, to the highest mountains of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars and its best pine trees. I have gone to its greatest heights and its best forests.

Amplified Bible
"Through your servants you have taunted and defied the Lord, And you have said, 'With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars and its choicest cypress trees; And I will go to its remotest height, its most luxuriant and thickest forest.

World English Bible
By your servants have you defied the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars of it, and the choice fir trees of it; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field;

Geneva Bible (1587)
By thy seruants hast thou railed on the Lord, and sayd, By the multitude of my charets I am come vp to the top of the mountaines to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut downe the hie cedars thereof, and the faire firre trees thereof, and I will goe vp to the heightes of his top and to the forest of his fruitfull places.

Legacy Standard Bible
Through your servants you have reproached the Lord,And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,To the remotest parts of Lebanon;And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses.And I will go to its highest peak, its thickest forest.

Berean Standard Bible
Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: "With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypress trees. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.

Contemporary English Version
You let your officials insult me, the Lord. And here is what you have said about yourself, "I led my chariots to the highest heights of Lebanon's mountains. I went deep into its forest, cutting down the best cedar and cypress trees.

Complete Jewish Bible
" ‘Through your servants you taunted Adonai. You said, "With my many chariots I have ascended the mountain heights even in the far reaches of the L'vanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best cypress trees. I reached its remotest heights and its best forests.

Darby Translation
By thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the recesses of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, the choice of its cypresses; and I will enter into its furthest height, [into] the forest of its fruitful field.

Easy-to-Read Version
You sent your officers to insult the Lord. This is what you said: "I took my many chariots up the high mountains deep inside Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars and its best fir trees. I have been on its highest mountain and deep inside its forests.

George Lamsa Translation
By the hand of your messengers you have reproached the LORD, and you have said, By the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof; and I will enter into the height of its border, to the forest of Carmel.

Good News Translation
You sent your servants to boast to me that with all your chariots you had conquered the highest mountains of Lebanon. You boasted that there you cut down the tallest cedars and the finest cypress trees, and that you reached the deepest parts of the forests.

Lexham English Bible
By the hand of your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said, "With my many chariots, I myself have gone up the height of the mountains, to the remote areas of Lebanon. And I cut off its tall cedars, the choicest of its junipers. And I came to the height of its limit, the forest of its orchard.

Literal Translation
By your servants, you have mocked the Lord, and said, By my many chariots I have come up to the tops of mountains, the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, its choice fir trees; and I will go to its greatest height, the forestof its fruitful field.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou with thy seruauntes hast blasphemed the LORDE, and thus holdest thou of thyself: I couer the hie mountaynes, & sydes of Libanus with my horsmen. And there wil I cut downe the hie Cedre trees & the fayrest Fyrre trees. I will vp in to the heyth of it & in to the chefest of his timbre woddes.

American Standard Version
By thy servants hast thou defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field;

Bible in Basic English
You have sent your servants with evil words against the Lord, and have said, With all my war-carriages I have come up to the top of the mountains, to the inmost parts of Lebanon; and its tall cedars will be cut down, and the best trees of its woods: I will come up into his highest places, into his thick woods.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
By thy servants hast thou taunted the Lord, and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I have cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice cypress-trees thereof; and I have entered into his farthest height, the forest of his fruitful field.

King James Version (1611)
By thy seruants hast thou reproched the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my charets am I come vp to the height of the mountaines, to the sides of Lebanon, and I wil cut downe the tall cedars thereof, and the choise firre trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forrest of his Carmel.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou with thy seruauntes hast blasphemed the Lorde, and thus holdest thou of thy selfe: I wyll couer the hye mountaynes and sydes of Libanus with my horsemen, and there wyll I cut downe the hye Cedar trees, and the fayrest Firre trees: I wyll vp in the heyght of it, and into the chiefest of his tymber woods.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For thou hast reproached the Lord by messengers; for thou hast said, With the multitude of chariots have I ascended to the height of mountains, and to the sides of Libanus; and I have cropped the height of his cedars and the beauty of his cypresses; and I entered into the height of the forest region:

English Revised Version
By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into his farthest height, the forest of his fruitful field.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
To the hooli of Israel. Bi the hond of thi seruauntis thou dispisidist the Lord, and seidist, In the multitude of my cartis Y stiede on the hiynesses of hillis, on the yockis of Liban; and Y schal kitte doun the hiy thingis of cedris therof, and the chosun beechis therof; and Y schal entre in to the hiynesse of the cop therof, in to the forest of Carmele therof.

Update Bible Version
By your slaves you have defied the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into its farthest height, its forest park;

Webster's Bible Translation
By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots have I come up to the hight of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, [and] its choice fir-trees: and I will enter into the hight of its border, [and] the forest of its Carmel.

New English Translation
Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.

New King James Version
By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, "By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest.

New Life Bible
Through your servants you have spoken against the Lord. You have said, ‘I came up to the high mountains with my many war-wagons, to the farthest parts of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedar trees and its best cypress trees. I came to its highest mountain top, and to the place that has the most trees.

New Revised Standard
By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon; I felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses; I came to its remotest height, its densest forest.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Through thy servants, thou hast reproached My Lord and hast said, - With my multitude of chariots, have I ascended The height of the mountains The recesses of Lebanon, That I may cut down Its tallest cedars Its choicest firs, That I may enter Its highest summit, Its thick garden forest:

Douay-Rheims Bible
By the hand of thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord: and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the top of Libanus: and I will cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir trees, and will enter to the top of its height, to the forest of its Carmel.

Revised Standard Version
By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon; I felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses; I came to its remotest height, its densest forest.

Young's Literal Translation
By the hand of thy servants Thou hast reviled the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of hills, The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the high place of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Through your servants you have reproached the Lord, And you have said, 'With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains, To the remotest parts of Lebanon; And I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypresses. And I will go to its highest peak, its thickest forest.

Contextual Overview

²¹ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, ²² the Lord has spoken this word against him: "The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee. ²³ "Whom have you been defying and ridiculing? Against whom did you raise your voice? At whom did you look with such haughty eyes? It was the Holy One of Israel! ²⁴ By your messengers you have defied the Lord. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have conquered the highest mountains— yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypress trees. I have reached its farthest heights and explored its deepest forests. ²⁵ I have dug wells in many foreign lands and refreshed myself with their water. With the sole of my foot, I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!' ²⁶ "But have you not heard? I decided this long ago. Long ago I planned it, and now I am making it happen. I planned for you to crush fortified cities into heaps of rubble. ²⁷ That is why their people have so little power and are so frightened and confused. They are as weak as grass, as easily trampled as tender green shoots. They are like grass sprouting on a housetop, scorched before it can grow lush and tall. ²⁸ "But I know you well— where you stay and when you come and go. I know the way you have raged against me. ²⁹ And because of your raging against me and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. I will make you return by the same road on which you came." ³⁰ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Here is the proof that what I say is true: "This year you will eat only what grows up by itself, and next year you will eat what springs up from that. But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them; you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thy servants: Heb. the hand of they servants, Isaiah 37:4, Isaiah 36:15-20, 2 Kings 19:22, 2 Kings 19:23

By the: Isaiah 10:13, Isaiah 10:14, Isaiah 36:9, Exodus 15:9, Psalms 20:7, Daniel 4:30

tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: Heb. tallness of the cedars thereof and the choice of the fir trees thereof. Isaiah 10:18, Isaiah 14:8, Ezekiel 31:3-18, Daniel 4:8-14, Daniel 4:20-22, Zechariah 11:1, Zechariah 11:2

of his Carmel: or, and his fruitful field, Isaiah 29:17

Reciprocal: Exodus 9:17 - General Exodus 14:7 - General Numbers 15:30 - reproacheth Deuteronomy 20:1 - horses Joshua 19:26 - Carmel Judges 9:15 - the cedars 1 Kings 20:1 - and horses 1 Kings 20:10 - if the dust 2 Chronicles 32:1 - win them 2 Chronicles 32:17 - to rail Psalms 44:16 - For the Psalms 74:18 - the foolish Psalms 94:4 - boast Isaiah 2:13 - General Isaiah 10:33 - lop Isaiah 10:34 - cut down Isaiah 14:14 - ascend Isaiah 21:7 - And he saw Isaiah 32:19 - it shall Isaiah 33:9 - Lebanon Jeremiah 21:14 - in the Jeremiah 22:7 - cut Jeremiah 46:8 - I will go Jeremiah 46:22 - and come Ezekiel 38:11 - go up Obadiah 1:12 - spoken proudly Micah 7:14 - in the midst Nahum 2:4 - chariots Habakkuk 1:16 - they Zephaniah 3:6 - cut

Cross-References

Genesis 37:1
So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.

Genesis 37:2
This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.

Psalms 35:7
I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me. I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.

Psalms 40:2
He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Psalms 88:6
You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths.

Psalms 88:8
You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape.

Jeremiah 38:6
So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.

Lamentations 4:20
Our king—the Lord 's anointed, the very life of our nation— was caught in their snares. We had thought that his shadow would protect us against any nation on earth!

Zechariah 9:11
Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord,.... Particularly by Rabshakeh, and the other two that were with him, who, no doubt, assented to what he said; not content to reproach him himself, he set his servants to do it likewise; he made use of them as instruments, and even set them, as well as himself, above the Lord:

and hast said, by the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains; not only with his foot soldiers, but with his chariots, and a great number of them, he had travelled over hills and mountains, as Hannibal over the Alps, and was now upon the high mountains which were round about Jerusalem, and very near the mountain of the Lord's house; of which Jarchi interprets the words:

to the sides of Lebanon; meaning either the mountain of Lebanon, which was on the borders of the land of Israel, famous for cedars and fir trees, later mentioned; or, the temple made of the wood of Lebanon, near which his army now lay; so the Targum and Jarchi understand it:

and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof; to make way for his army, and to support himself with materials for the siege; to make tents with for his soldiers to lie in, or wooden fortresses from whence to annoy the city. The cedars of Lebanon were very large and tall. Mr. Maundrell p says he measured one of the largest, and

"found it six and thirty feet and six inches thick; its branches spread a hundred and eleven feet; its trunk from the ground was about fifteen or sixteen feet, and then divided into five branches, each of which would make a large tree.''

Monsieur Thevenot q says, now there are no more nor less that, twenty three cedars on Mount Lebanon, great and small: or it may be, these metaphorically intend the princes, and nobles, and chief men of the Jewish nation, he threatens to destroy; so the Targum,

"and I will kill the most beautiful of their mighty ones, and the choicest of their princes:''

and I will enter into the height of his border; some think the tower of Lebanon, which stood on the east part of it towards Syria, is meant; but it seems rather to design Jerusalem, the metropolis of the nation, which he thought himself sure of entering into, and taking possession of; and this was what his heart was set upon; so the Targum,

and I will subdue the city of their strength; their strong city Jerusalem, in which they placed their strength:

and the forest of his Carmel: or "the forest and his fruitful field" r; the same city, which, for the number of its houses and inhabitants, was like a forest, and was Hezekiah's fruitful field, where all his riches and treasure were. The Targum interprets it of his army,

"and I will consume the multitude of their army.''

p Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 179. q Travels, part 1. B. 2. ch. 60. p. 221. r יער כרמלו "sylvas, arva ejus", Junius Tremellius "sylvas et arva ejus", Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

By thy servants - Hebrew, ‘By the hand of thy servants.’ That is, by Rabshakeh Isaiah 36:0, and by those whom he had now sent to Hezekiah with letters Isaiah 37:9, Isaiah 37:14.

And hast said - Isaiah does not here quote the precise words which Rabshakeh or the other messengers had used, but quotes the substance of what had been uttered, and expresses the real feelings and intentions of Sennacherib.

By the multitude of my chariots - The word ‘chariots’ here denotes war-chariois (see the notes at Isaiah 2:7; Isaiah 66:20).

To the height of the mountains - Lebanon is here particularly referred to. Chariots were commonly used, as cavalry was, in plains. But it is probable that Lebanon was accessible by chariots drawn by horses.

To the sides of Lebanon - On the situation of Lebanon see the notes at Isaiah 10:34; Isaiah 29:17. Sennacherib is represented as having carried desolation to Lebanon, and as having cut down its stately trees (see the note at Isaiah 33:9).

I will cut down the tall cedars thereof - Margin, ‘The tallness of the cedars thereof.’ The boast of Sennacherib was that he would strip it of its beauty and ornament; that is, that he would lay the land waste.

And the choice fir-trees thereof - (see the note at Isaiah 14:8). The Septuagint renders it, Υπαρίσσου Uparissou - ‘The beauty of the cypress.’ The word here denotes the cypress, a tree resembling the white cedar. It grew on Lebanon, and, together with the cedar, constituted its glory. Its wood, like that of the cedar, was employed for the floors and ceilings of the temple 1Ki 5:10; 1 Kings 6:15, 1 Kings 6:34. It was used for the decks and sheathing of ships Ezekiel 27:5, for spears Nehemiah 2:4; and for musical instruments 2 Samuel 6:5.

The height of his border - The extreme retreats; the furthest part of Lebanon. In 2 Kings 19:23, it is, ‘I will enter the lodgings of his borders;’ perhaps referring to the fact that on the ascent to the top of the mountain there was a place for the repose of travelers; a species of inn or caravansera which bounded the usual attempts of persons to ascend the mountain. Such a lodging-place on the sides or tops of mountains which are frequently ascended, is not uncommon.

And the forest his Carmel - On the meaning of the word Carmel, see the note at Isaiah 29:17. Here it means, as in that passage, a rich, fertile, and beautiful country. It is known that Lebanon was covered on the top, and far down the sides, with perpetual snow. But there was a region lying on its sides, between the snow and the base of the mountain, that was distinguished for fertility, and that was highly cultivated. This region produced grapes in abundance; and this cultivated part of the mountain, thick set with vines and trees, might be called a beautiful grove. This was doubtless the portion of Lebanon which is here intended. At a distance, this tract on the sides of Lebanon appeared doubtless as a thicket of shrubs and trees. The phrase ‘garden-forest,’ will probably express the sense of the passage. ‘After leaving Baalbec, and approaching Lebanon, towering walnut trees, either singly or in groups, and a rich carpet of verdure, the offspring of numerous streams, give to this charming district the air of an English park, majestically bordered with snow-tipped mountains. At Deir-el-Akmaar, the ascent begins winding among dwarf oaks, hawthorns, and a great variety of shrubs and flowers. A deep bed of snow had now to be crossed, and the horses sunk or slipped at every moment. To ride was impracticable, and to walk dangerous, for the melting snow penetrated our boots, and our feet were nearly frozen. An hour and a half brought us to the cedars.’ (Hogg.)

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 37:24. By thy servants - "By thy messengers"] The text has עבדיך abdeycha, thy servants; but the true reading seems to be מלאכיך malacheycha, thy messengers, as in the other copy, 2 Kings 19:23; and as the Septuagint and Syriac found it in their copies in this place.

Reproached the Lord — אדני Adonai: but one of my MSS. has יהוה אדני Yehovah Adonai, Jehovah the Lord. This reading is not found, I think, in any other MS., but several have יהוה Yehovah for אדני Adonai.

I will enter into the height of his border - "I will penetrate into his extreme retreats"] The text has מרום marom, the height which seems to have been taken by mistake from the line but one above. Two MSS. have here מלון malon, the lodge or retreat; which is the word in the other copy, 2 Kings 19:23, and I think is the true reading.

The forest of his Carmel. — The forest and his fruitful field; that is, I will possess myself of the whole country.