Discovery BoxIsaiah 37:7 
Context37:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 1 he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 2 with a sword in his own land.”’”
Isaiah 37:30
Context37:30 3 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 4 This year you will eat what grows wild, 5 and next year 6 what grows on its own. But the year after that 7 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 8
1 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
2 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
3 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
4 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
5 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
6 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
7 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
8 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
