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What the Bible Says About Assyria

Overview

The Bible addresses assyria across 204 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Isaiah, Ezekiel and 2 Kings. Closely related themes include Jerusalem, Rab-Shakeh, Sennacherib and Pride. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Hezekiah, Isaiah, Amoz and Jonah.

Key Bible verses about assyria

Old Testament

2 Kings

2 Kings 18:14

And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

2 Kings 18:15

And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house.

2 Kings 18:16

At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. it: Heb. them

2 Kings 18:17

And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. great: Heb. heavy

2 Kings 18:18

And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. scribe: or, secretary

2 Kings 18:19

And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?

2 Kings 18:20

Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? sayest: or, talkest vain: Heb. word of the lips I have: or, but counsel and strength are for the war

2 Kings 18:21

Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. trustest: Heb. trustest thee

2 Kings 18:22

But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?

2 Kings 18:23

Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. pledges: or, hostages

2 Kings 18:24

How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

2 Kings 18:25

Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

2 Kings 18:26

Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

2 Kings 18:27

But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? their own piss: Heb. the water of their feet

2 Kings 18:28

Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:

2 Kings 18:29

Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:

2 Kings 18:30

Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

2 Kings 18:31

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 then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: Make: or, Seek my favour: Heb. Make with me a blessing cistern: or, pit

2 Kings 18:32

Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. persuadeth: or, deceiveth

2 Kings 18:33

Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

2 Kings 18:34

Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?

2 Kings 18:35

Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?

2 Kings 19:10

Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

2 Kings 19:11

Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

2 Kings 19:12

Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?

2 Kings 19:13

Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

2 Kings 19:14

And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

2 Kings 19:15

And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

2 Kings 19:16

LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

2 Kings 19:17

Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

2 Kings 19:18

And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. cast: Heb. given

2 Kings 19:19

Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.

2 Kings 19:20

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 19:21

This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

2 Kings 19:22

Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

2 Kings 19:23

By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. By: Heb. By the hand of tall: Heb. tallness, etc of his Carmel: or, and his fruitful field

2 Kings 19:24

I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. besieged: or, fenced

2 Kings 19:25

Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. long: or, how I have made it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? should I now bring it to be laid waste, and fenced cities to be ruinous heaps?

2 Kings 19:26

Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. of small: Heb. short of hand

2 Kings 19:27

But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. abode: or, sitting

2 Kings 19:28

Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

2 Kings 19:29

And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

2 Kings 19:30

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. remnant: Heb. escaping of the house of Judah that remaineth

2 Kings 19:31

For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. they: Heb. the escaping

2 Kings 19:32

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

2 Kings 19:33

By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

2 Kings 19:34

For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

Isaiah

Isaiah 5:26

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

Isaiah 5:27

None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

Isaiah 5:28

Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

Isaiah 5:29

Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

Isaiah 7:17

The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

Isaiah 7:18

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

Isaiah 7:19

And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. bushes: or, commendable trees

Isaiah 7:20

In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

Isaiah 7:21

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;

Isaiah 7:22

And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. the land: Heb. the midst of the land

Isaiah 7:23

And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.

Isaiah 7:24

With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

Isaiah 7:25

And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Isaiah 8:4

For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. the riches: or, he that is before the king of Assyria shall take away the riches, etc

Isaiah 8:5

The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,

Isaiah 8:6

Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

Isaiah 8:7

Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:

Isaiah 8:8

And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. stretching: Heb. fulness of the breadth of thy land shall be the stretchings out of his wings

Isaiah 8:9

Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. people and: or, people, yet

Isaiah 8:10

Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Isaiah 10:5

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. O: or, Woe to the Assyrian: Heb. Asshur and: or, though

Isaiah 10:6

I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. tread: Heb. lay them a treading

Isaiah 10:7

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

Isaiah 10:8

For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Isaiah 10:9

Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

Isaiah 10:10

As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

Isaiah 10:11

Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

Isaiah 10:12

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. punish: Heb. visit upon stout: Heb. greatness of the heart

Isaiah 10:13

For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: a valiant: or, many people

Isaiah 10:14

And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Isaiah 10:15

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. the rod: or, a rod should shake them that lift it up itself, as if: or, that which is not wood

Isaiah 10:16

Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

Isaiah 10:17

And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

Isaiah 10:18

And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. both: Heb. from the soul, and even to the flesh

Isaiah 10:19

And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. few: Heb. number

Isaiah 10:20

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

Isaiah 10:21

The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

Isaiah 10:22

For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. of them: Heb. in, or, among, etc with: or, in

Isaiah 10:23

For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

Isaiah 10:24

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. and shall: or, but he shall lift up his staff for

Isaiah 10:25

For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.

Isaiah 10:26

And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.

Isaiah 10:27

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. be taken: Heb. remove

Isaiah 10:28

He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:

Isaiah 10:29

They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.

Isaiah 10:30

Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. Lift: Heb. Cry shrill with

Isaiah 10:31

Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.

Isaiah 10:32

As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 10:33

Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

Isaiah 10:34

And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. by: or, mightily

Isaiah 14:24

The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

Isaiah 14:25

That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

Isaiah 14:26

This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

Isaiah 14:27

For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

Isaiah 14:28

In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

Isaiah 19:23

In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

Isaiah 19:24

In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

Isaiah 19:25

Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Isaiah 20:1

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

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. by: Heb. by the hand of

Isaiah 20:3

And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

Isaiah 20:4

So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. the Egyptians: Heb. the captivity of Egypt shame: Heb. nakedness

Isaiah 20:5

And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

Isaiah 20:6

And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape? isle: or, country

Isaiah 30:27

Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: burden: or, grievousness of flame heavy: Heb. heaviness

Isaiah 30:28

And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

Isaiah 30:29

Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. mighty: Heb. Rock

Isaiah 30:30

And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. his glorious: Heb. the glory of his voice

Isaiah 30:31

For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.

Isaiah 30:32

And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. in every: Heb. every passing of the rod founded lay: Heb. cause to rest upon him with it: or, against them

Isaiah 30:33

For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. of old: Heb. from yesterday

Isaiah 31:8

Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. from: or, for fear of discomfited: or, tributary: Heb. for melting, or, tribute

Isaiah 31:9

And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. he: Heb. his rock shall pass away for fear his strong hold: or, his strength

Isaiah 37:21

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:

Isaiah 37:22

This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn;3932 the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

Isaiah 37:23

Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 37:24

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. By thy: Heb. By the hand of thy servants the tall: Heb. the tallness of the cedars thereof and the choice of the fir trees thereof the forest: or, the forest and his fruitful field

Isaiah 37:25

I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. besieged: or, fenced and closed

Isaiah 37:26

Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. Hast: or, Hast thou not heard how I have made it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? should I now bring it to be laid waste, and defenced cities to be ruinous heaps?

Isaiah 37:27

Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. of small: Heb. short of hand

Isaiah 37:28

But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. abode: or, sitting

Isaiah 37:29

Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

Isaiah 37:30

And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

Isaiah 37:31

And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: the remnant: Heb. the escaping of the house of Judah that remaineth

Isaiah 37:32

For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. they: Heb. the escaping

Isaiah 37:33

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it.

Isaiah 37:34

By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

Isaiah 37:35

For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 23:7

Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. committed: Heb. bestowed her whoredoms upon them the chosen: Heb. the choice of the children of Asshur

Ezekiel 23:8

Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

Ezekiel 23:9

Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

Ezekiel 23:10

These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. famous: Heb. a name

Ezekiel 23:11

And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. she was: Heb. she corrupted her inordinate love more than, etc more than: Heb. more than the whoredoms of her sister

Ezekiel 23:12

She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.

Ezekiel 23:13

Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,

Ezekiel 23:14

And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

Ezekiel 23:15

Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:

Ezekiel 23:16

And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. as soon: Heb. at the sight of her eyes

Ezekiel 23:17

And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. Babylonians: Heb. children of Babel alienated: Heb. loosed, or, disjointed

Ezekiel 23:18

So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

Ezekiel 23:19

Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

Ezekiel 23:20

For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

Ezekiel 23:21

Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.

Ezekiel 23:22

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;

Ezekiel 23:23

The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

Ezekiel 23:24

And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

Ezekiel 23:25

And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

Ezekiel 23:26

They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. fair: Heb. instruments of thy decking

Ezekiel 23:27

Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

Ezekiel 23:28

For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:

Ezekiel 23:29

And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

Ezekiel 23:30

I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.

Ezekiel 23:31

Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.

Ezekiel 23:32

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much.

Ezekiel 23:33

Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

Ezekiel 23:34

Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 23:35

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.

Ezekiel 23:36

The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; judge: or, plead for

Ezekiel 23:37

That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.

Ezekiel 23:38

Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

Ezekiel 23:39

For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

Ezekiel 23:40

And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, to come: Heb. coming

Ezekiel 23:41

And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. stately: Heb. honourable

Ezekiel 23:42

And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. of the: Heb. of the multitude of men Sabeans: or, drunkards

Ezekiel 23:43

Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them? whoredoms: Heb. her whoredoms

Ezekiel 23:44

Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

Ezekiel 23:45

And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

Ezekiel 23:46

For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. to be: Heb. for a removing and spoil

Ezekiel 23:47

And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. dispatch: or, single them out

Ezekiel 23:48

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.

Ezekiel 23:49

And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 31:3

Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. with fair branches: Heb. fair of branches

Ezekiel 31:4

The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. made: or, nourished him set: or, brought him up little rivers: or, conduits

Ezekiel 31:5

Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. when: or, when it sent them forth

Ezekiel 31:6

All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.

Ezekiel 31:7

Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

Ezekiel 31:8

The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

Ezekiel 31:9

I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

Ezekiel 31:10

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;

Ezekiel 31:11

I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. he: Heb. in doing he shall do unto him

Ezekiel 31:12

And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.

Ezekiel 31:13

Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:

Ezekiel 31:14

To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. their trees: or, stand upon themselves for their height

Ezekiel 31:15

Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. to mourn: Heb. to be black

Ezekiel 31:16

I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Ezekiel 31:17

They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.

People in the Bible and assyria

Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.

In the Bible dictionary

Studying assyria for yourself

  • Begin with Genesis 10:8, then read the passages below in canonical order.
  • Compare how Isaiah, Ezekiel and 2 Kings each treat the theme.
  • Consider the lives of Hezekiah, Isaiah and Amoz and how their stories intersect with it.
  • Widen the study to related themes: Jerusalem, Rab-Shakeh, Sennacherib and Pride.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about assyria?

The Bible addresses assyria across 204 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Isaiah, Ezekiel and 2 Kings. Closely related themes include Jerusalem, Rab-Shakeh, Sennacherib and Pride. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Hezekiah, Isaiah, Amoz and Jonah.

How many Bible verses are about assyria?

The Bible references assyria in 204 verses (King James Version).

Where does the Bible first mention assyria?

In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 10:8: “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.”

Which people in the Bible are associated with assyria?

Hezekiah, Isaiah, Amoz, Jonah and Nimrod.

Preach & teach

Outline a sermon or build a study series on assyria.

Preach a series on Assyria