Isaiah 37:4

It may be Or "Peradventure." The one hope is that Jehovah will take notice of the dishonour done to His name by the threats and blasphemies of the Assyrian king. the Lord thy God See ch. Isaiah 7:13. The prophet stands nearer to God than other men. Jehovah is the living God, as opposed to the dead idols to whose level the boast of the Assyrian had degraded Him. (Cf. 1Sa 17:26; 1 Samuel 17:36.)

wherefore lift up Or perhaps "and that thou wilt lift up," still dependent on "It may be." The efficacy of intercessory prayer is taught and assumed throughout the Old Testament: see Genesis 18:23 ff.; Exodus 32:31 ff.; 1 Samuel 12:19; Amos 7:2; Amos 7:5; Jeremiah 14:11; Jeremiah 15:1, &c.

the remnant that is left Cf. Isaiah 37:32. The idea is Isaiah's; but the word is not that used elsewhere by the prophet himself.