Isaiah 37:29Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, when he remarked that your wrath, which has aroused your anger and your sorrow has descended upon me, he implied, as if to say, you will not go unpunished for your blasphemy; for I shall never disregard the cunning and wickedness of your impious deeds; but though your fury brings me anguish, I will impose upon you a penalty fitting of such transgression.

This is understood as a proclamation from God against the blasphemies of the Assyrian, indicating that I intended and foretold these events through you. Now, at this time, what I had previously decreed has come to pass — that the hills, signifying the rulers who vied against each other and the robust cities, will be laid waste when I retract My support. They trembled and vanished, not resembling the olive tree or the vine, nor the fruitful trees, but becoming like the stubble and the shoots on rooftops that wither before reaching maturity. Therefore, I knew your land and your movements and the madness of your rebellion against Me, having declared it through the prophets who proclaimed, 'I will ascend into heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High' (Isaiah 14:13-14). Your rage and arrogance have been made known to Me, and I will not tolerate it any longer, so that you understand that what you have accomplished was by My will, not by your might. For wicked nations and unfruitful trees justly deserve to be cut down by My axe and saw. Therefore, I shall place a ring or bridle in your nose to silence your blasphemous tongue, and I will put a bridle in your mouth to rein in your fury and lead you back to Assyria. The Scriptures also refer to this imagery in the Psalms regarding the wicked: 'With reins and bridles thou shalt girdle their jaws, they that come not near thee' (Psalm 31:9).