ישעיהו, פרק ל״ז, פסוק י׳

The King of Assyria delivers a direct, threatening message aimed personally at the King of Judah, attempting to undermine his trust in God. Although Sennacherib dispatched detailed letters filled with insults to Hezekiah, he also commanded his messengers to deliver the essence of these threats verbally [מלבי״ם].

In this direct appeal, the Assyrian king changes his argument. He can no longer claim that God will refuse to save the people because Hezekiah destroyed the high places, as the Judean king knows perfectly well that he removed them specifically to fulfill the commandments of the Torah. Consequently, the message now centers on a blunt assertion: God simply lacks the power to save Jerusalem [מלבי״ם].

The Assyrian messengers explicitly warn the king not to allow God to incite and lure him [מצודת ציון], or to deceive him [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. They seek to make it entirely clear that any divine promise guaranteeing Jerusalem will not fall to Assyria is nothing more than a temporary delay [ביאור שטיינזלץ].