Introduction
Chapter 19 of Sefer Melachim B is the direct continuation of the great confrontation between Sancheriv, king of Ashur, and Chizkiyahu, king of Yehudah. In the previous chapter we heard the blasphemies of Ravshakeh beneath the walls of Yerushalayim; here we see Chizkiyahu's response: tearing his garments, donning sackcloth, entering the House of Hashem to pray, and sending a delegation to Yeshayahu the prophet. From here onward the confrontation is no longer a war between two kings, but a war that the Holy One, blessed be He, takes upon Himself, since the blasphemy was directed toward Heaven. We will proceed according to the order of the pesukim in light of the Malbim's explanations.
The Tearing of the Garments and the Sackcloth: Two Reasons
וַיְהִי כִּשְׁמֹעַ הַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ וַיִּקְרַע אֶת בְּגָדָיו וַיִּתְכַּס בַּשָּׂק וַיָּבֹא בֵּית יְהוָה׃ - And it was when King Chizkiyahu heard, that he tore his garments and covered himself with sackcloth and came to the House of Hashem.
Chizkiyahu hears from Shevna the scribe, Elyakim ben Chilkiyahu who was over the household, and Yoach ben Asaf the recorder, the terrible words that Ravshakeh and his companions had spoken. There are two responses here, each with its own reason: he tears his garments over the blasphemies with which they reviled the Name, and he covers himself with sackcloth over the great and grievous trouble that had befallen them. And he comes to the House of Hashem in order to pray.
וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת אֶלְיָקִים אֲשֶׁר עַל הַבַּיִת וְשֶׁבְנָא הַסֹּפֵר וְאֵת זִקְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים מִתְכַּסִּים בַּשַּׂקִּים אֶל יְשַׁעְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא בֶּן אָמוֹץ׃ - And he sent Elyakim who was over the household, and Shevna the scribe, and the elders of the Kohanim, covered with sackcloth, to Yeshayahu the prophet, the son of Amotz.
Chizkiyahu sends them to Yeshayahu ben Amotz, covered in sackcloth, so that the prophet would pray on behalf of the people.
"A Day of Trouble, of Rebuke, and of Contempt" - The Two Conditions for Sancheriv's Downfall
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו כֹּה אָמַר חִזְקִיָּהוּ יוֹם צָרָה וְתוֹכֵחָה וּנְאָצָה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי בָאוּ בָנִים עַד מַשְׁבֵּר וְכֹחַ אַיִן לְלֵדָה׃ - And they said to him: So says Chizkiyahu: This day is a day of trouble, of rebuke, and of contempt, for the children have come to the birthstool, but there is no strength to give birth.
The Malbim explains: Yeshayahu had already prophesied in Sefer Yeshayahu chapter 10 that Sancheriv was destined to fall on Har Tziyon, and there he made this conditional upon two conditions that would precede his downfall. The first, that he would revile and blaspheme the ranks of God, as the verse there states, "and he exalted himself over the God of gods." And the second, that the trouble would reach its utmost limit, that it would be a harsh and immense trouble, and only then would the salvation begin to sprout forth.
Now Chizkiyahu sends to the prophet to say: Behold, the time has come, the two conditions have been fulfilled. "A day of trouble" - this trouble is a harsh trouble, Sancheriv already stands before Yerushalayim and is about to conquer the city. "Contempt" - as you said, that he would revile the ranks of God, behold he blasphemes Hashem with revilings and slanders. "And rebuke" - moreover, from the fact that Hashem, as it were, does not respond to him, he takes it as proof for himself: behold, you see that your God too is no stronger than the other deities.
"The Children Have Come to the Birthstool, but There Is No Strength to Give Birth"
From all this it emerges that "the children have come to the birthstool." The birthstool (mashber) is the place where a woman gives birth. Just as when a woman sits on the birthstool, the more the contractions intensify the more we know the birth is near, so too Chizkiyahu says to the prophet: the trouble has reached its extremity, a sign that the time you prophesied about has arrived, when Hashem will take vengeance on Sancheriv.
However, even though the salvation is near, we are still in doubt: "but there is no strength to give birth." This carries two meanings. The first: we lack the mitzvot and good deeds, which are what bring the salvation to birth; consequently we fear that the salvation you spoke of in ancient years may not come. The second: we also lack physical strength, for in truth Chizkiyahu had no army.
אוּלַי יִשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי רַבְשָׁקֵה אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר אֲדֹנָיו לְחָרֵף אֱלֹהִים חַי וְהוֹכִיחַ בַּדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְנָשָׂאתָ תְפִלָּה בְּעַד הַשְּׁאֵרִית הַנִּמְצָאָה׃ - Perhaps Hashem your God will hear all the words of Ravshakeh, whom the king of Ashur his master sent to blaspheme the living God, and will rebuke the words that Hashem your God has heard; therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that is found.
There is a possibility that the birth can be brought forward without our reaching, God forbid, a state of mortal danger. How? "Perhaps Hashem your God will hear all the words of Ravshakeh" - these are not merely the taunts of a private individual, but a mission from his master Sancheriv, who sent him to blaspheme the living God. If so, there is room for the Holy One, blessed be He, to bring the birth forward even though we have no strength, for the sake of His honor, so that His name not be desecrated among the nations. "And will rebuke the words" - for he comes, as it were, to defeat the Holy One, blessed be He, to argue with Him and to prove that we are stronger.
"Therefore lift up a prayer" - the only thing that can change the campaign is that you, the prophet, will pray. The merit of the prayer will avail us, so that after he exiled all the tribes, at the very least Hashem will have mercy on the surviving remnant. For a remnant is something more deserving of mercy: after everything has been destroyed and only a remnant is left, it is fitting to have mercy on it. And if he exiles us too and kills us too, no name or remnant will remain for the people of Israel in Jerusalem.
Yeshayahu's Answer: The War Is Not Yours
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם יְשַׁעְיָהוּ כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן אֶל אֲדֹנֵיכֶם כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה אַל תִּירָא מִפְּנֵי הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ אֲשֶׁר גִּדְּפוּ נַעֲרֵי מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר אֹתִי׃ - And Yeshayahu said to them: So shall you say to your master, thus said Hashem: Do not fear because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Ashur have blasphemed Me.
The king's servants come to Yeshayahu, and Yeshayahu conveys to them a prophecy: you have nothing to fear, since his war is not against you - "with which the servants of the king of Ashur have blasphemed Me." He has a war with Me, says the Holy One, blessed be He; he did not scorn you, he scorned Me. And if so, you have nothing to worry about: since it concerns My honor, I will demand My honor and I will wage the war against him.
הִנְנִי נֹתֵן בּוֹ רוּחַ וְשָׁמַע שְׁמוּעָה וְשָׁב לְאַרְצוֹ וְהִפַּלְתִּיו בַּחֶרֶב בְּאַרְצוֹ׃ - Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a report and return to his land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.
Here the Holy One, blessed be He, announces the plan of action: he will return to his land in disgrace, and there he will fall by the sword. First he will hear a report that Tirhakah king of Kush is gathering to himself the Egyptians and Put and other peoples in order to wage war against him in his own land. That is, while Sancheriv has gone out to fight here, Tirhakah and Egypt and Put seize the opportunity to march against his land. As a result, Sancheriv will leave the campaign here, go to save his land, fight against them, take all their treasures and precious things, and return here in order to finish the story. But then his own story will be finished. How he will fall here, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not announce to them; He only says that after he falls here, he will return to his land and there he will die.
The Radak's Question: Why Not Destroy Him at Once?
The Radak asks: why did the Holy One, blessed be He, not destroy him right here? Why send him to fight Tirhakah king of Kush and afterward bring him back here? In short, let us kill him and be done with it, why wear him out first? The answer is simple: when he fought against the king of Kush he plundered from them vast and enormous spoil, and took all their precious things and treasures. And when he came to fight here against the people of Israel, he was already laden with silver and gold, and when he fell here he left behind abundant possessions. The Holy One, blessed be He, was not content that he merely fall before the people of Israel, but wanted the people of Israel to also receive great spoil, all that he had gathered from Kush and Egypt and Put. Therefore He sent him there first: go gather all the silver and gold, come here and leave it here, and afterward flee. He and some of his servants fled, and in the end he fell by the hand of his sons in his own land, as we will see further on.
Two miracles in a single verse
The Malbim points here to several miracles. The first: "and he shall hear a rumor" - merely a rumor, unverified information, and nevertheless he abandoned the entire campaign here and believed the report. How does that make sense? Regarding this it says "behold, I will put a spirit in him" - I will place within him a spirit so that he will accept the report and believe it, even though he only heard a rumor.
And another point: logic would have dictated that he send part of his army to fight Tirhakah king of Kush, and with the other part finish the task here. For the army stationed here numbered in the millions, as we will see further on, and what need was there for so large an army against so small a city? Original Jerusalem was even smaller than the Old City of our times, as we can see in the sketches and drawings. And nevertheless this too came about by way of a miracle, for the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged matters so that they would all go there, in order to seize all the spoil, and then return here, and fall here with all the spoil.
Sancheriv's letters
"So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. And he heard concerning Tirhakah king of Kush, saying, Behold, he has come out to fight against you." Sancheriv hears this and leaves the place, but he fears that Chizkiyahu will see it as a defeat or a surrender, and therefore he sends messengers.
כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן אֶל חִזְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה לֵאמֹר אַל יַשִּׁאֲךָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בֹּטֵחַ בּוֹ לֵאמֹר לֹא תִנָּתֵן יְרוּשָׁלִַם בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר׃ - Thus shall you speak to Chizkiyahu king of Judah, saying: Let not your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Let not your God entice you to say: behold, he has departed, a sign that Jerusalem will not be handed over to him. "Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, to utterly destroy them, and shall you be delivered?" "Did the gods of the nations deliver them, which my fathers destroyed: Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Telassar?" - did all these gods save their peoples? "Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?" - where are all those kings? Sancheriv moved them from their places and distorted their borders, as our Sages said, that Sancheriv mixed up the nations. And we also saw another explanation, that some say "Hena and Ivvah" are names of deities or names of peoples and places, like Arpad, Hamath, and Sepharvaim.
וַיִּקַּח חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶת הַסְּפָרִים מִיַּד הַמַּלְאָכִים וַיִּקְרָאֵם וַיַּעַל בֵּית יְהוָה וַיִּפְרְשֵׂהוּ חִזְקִיָּהוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה׃ - And Chizkiyahu took the letters from the hand of the messengers, and read them, and went up to the house of the Lord, and Chizkiyahu spread it out before the Lord.
"Sefarim" in the language of the prophet, as we explained previously, means letters and dispatches. Chizkiyahu reads the letters they sent him and spreads them out before God, as if to say: Master of the Universe, You said that it was You he offended and You would deal with it, so behold, I am placing this before You. And therefore he goes to pray. Note the difference: on the previous occasions Rabshakeh blasphemed, as it were, in his own name, whereas here the blasphemy comes from Sancheriv himself and in his own name, and therefore it is more severe.
Chizkiyahu's prayer: "who dwells between the cherubim"
וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל חִזְקִיָּהוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יֹשֵׁב הַכְּרֻבִים אַתָּה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים לְבַדְּךָ לְכֹל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ׃ - And Chizkiyahu prayed before the Lord, and said: O Lord, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, over all the kingdoms of the earth; You have made the heavens and the earth.
On the one hand You rule over all the hosts, upper and lower, and on the other hand Your divinity is made known in the world through the people of Israel. "Who dwells between the cherubim" - because the place of Divine providence in particular is the place of the cherubim. And for this reason every person standing in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer must direct himself toward Jerusalem the holy city, the Temple, the Holy of Holies, toward the holy Shechinah which is found between the cherubim. So too Moshe Rabbeinu, when he stood beside the Ark, as we read at the end of Parashat Naso, heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim, for there is the place of the Shechinah.
Whoever recalls what we discussed in our study of Nefesh HaChaim, about that thin line descending from the Ein Sof, blessed be He, entering the place of the tzimtzum and clothing itself in all the sefirot: where does that line reach? The Ramchal says it reaches all the way to the world of Asiyah, to Jerusalem the holy city, the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy of Holies, between the keruvim. This is that thin line that unfolds from the Ein Sof, blessed be He, upon which all the worlds are clothed. If so, You, Ribono shel Olam, "who sits upon the keruvim," Your providence there is constant, and it is fitting for You to fight our battle. For when Sancheriv threatens, he does not threaten us alone, but the entire Beit HaMikdash, even to exile the keruvim.
And further: You who made the heavens and the earth, to whom are they comparing You? To the gods of the nations, Gozan and Charan and Retzef and the children of Eden, to a god with no substance, that cannot help and cannot save. But if You are Hashem, the God of Israel who sits upon the keruvim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth, what is there to compare, what is there to liken? You made the heavens and the earth, and all the other gods count as nothing.
הַטֵּה יְהוָה אׇזְנְךָ וּשְׁמָע פְּקַח יְהוָה עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה וּשְׁמַע אֵת דִּבְרֵי סַנְחֵרִיב אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ לְחָרֵף אֱלֹהִים חָי׃ - Incline Your ear, Hashem, and hear; open Your eyes, Hashem, and see; and hear the words of Sancheriv, which he sent to blaspheme the living God.
"Incline Your ear, Hashem, and hear" refers to what the first messengers blasphemed, which was said orally. "Open Your eyes, Hashem, and see" refers to the letters in which the later messengers blasphemed. And these are more severe: "and hear the words of Sancheriv," for in the later ones there are the words of Sancheriv himself, whereas in the first ones it is possible that the young men, Ravshakeh and his companions, blasphemed on their own initiative. But here these are "the words of Sancheriv, which he sent to blaspheme the living God."
אׇמְנָם יְהוָה הֶחֱרִיבוּ מַלְכֵי אַשּׁוּר אֶת הַגּוֹיִם וְאֶת אַרְצָם׃ וְנָתְנוּ אֶת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ כִּי לֹא אֱלֹהִים הֵמָּה כִּי אִם מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם עֵץ וָאֶבֶן וַיְאַבְּדוּם׃ - Truly, Hashem, the kings of Ashur have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone, and so they destroyed them.
It is true that they laid waste the nations and cast their gods into the fire, and there might have been room to be impressed by Sancheriv's great past successes. But we are not impressed by that: you come and boast that you succeeded against many gods, and yet "they were no gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone" - what great wisdom it is to destroy gods of wood and stone.
וְעַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ נָא מִיָּדוֹ וְיֵדְעוּ כׇּל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ כִּי אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים לְבַדֶּךָ׃ - And now, Hashem our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Hashem, are God.
Therefore I ask that You save us from his hand, so that they will not say that they succeeded in defeating even the God of heaven and earth. And through Your saving us, all will see: Sancheriv defeated all the gods, and when he came to Hashem he fell before Him. And through this "all the kingdoms of the earth will know that You alone, Hashem, are God," there is none besides Him, and all the gods count as nothing, having no power and no substance at all.
"That which you prayed to Me" - why the prayer was answered
וַיִּשְׁלַח יְשַׁעְיָהוּ בֶן אָמוֹץ אֶל חִזְקִיָּהוּ לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הִתְפַּלַּלְתָּ אֵלַי אֶל סַנְחֵרִב מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר שָׁמָעְתִּי׃ - And Yeshayahu son of Amotz sent to Chizkiyahu, saying: So says Hashem, the God of Israel, that which you prayed to Me concerning Sancheriv king of Ashur, I have heard.
"Concerning Sancheriv" means: regarding the matter of Sancheriv. And what is "that which you prayed to Me"? The Malbim explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, heard his prayer because the essence of the prayer was "to Me," that is, for My sake. For there are two blasphemies here: an affront to the people of Israel and an affront to the Holy One, blessed be He. And over what did Chizkiyahu grieve most? Over the honor of the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: what concerns My honor, that I have heard. Since the honor of Hashem pains you, I have heard and will answer for the sake of My honor.
The prophecy of downfall: "She despises you, she mocks you, the virgin daughter of Zion"
זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה עָלָיו בָּזָה לְךָ לָעֲגָה לְךָ בְּתוּלַת בַּת צִיּוֹן אַחֲרֶיךָ רֹאשׁ הֵנִיעָה בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃ - This is the word that Hashem has spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you, the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head after you.
"The virgin daughter of Zion" characterizes Jerusalem, and why is she called a virgin? Because no king has yet succeeded in conquering her. She despises you and she mocks you. "The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head after you" - as if she nods her head and says: you too are destined to fall here. And even after you fall, she will still shake her head after you, as if to say: see what danger and what challenge you brought upon yourself, from which you emerged beaten and battered.
אֶת מִי חֵרַפְתָּ וְגִדַּפְתָּ וְעַל מִי הֲרִימוֹתָ קּוֹל וַתִּשָּׂא מָרוֹם עֵינֶיךָ עַל קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Whom have you reviled and blasphemed, and against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
The daughter of Zion, as it were, says to him: do you not notice whom you are reviling and blaspheming? And moreover, "against whom have you raised your voice" - this is far more severe, for you did it with clamor and publicity. Had you reviled quietly it would already be a grave sin, and all the more so to revile aloud. And not only that, but your entire aim was to anger the Holy One, blessed be He: you were not content with angering the people of Israel, but "you lifted your eyes on high" - to anger Hashem Himself.
Sancheriv's Arrogance
בְּיַד מַלְאָכֶיךָ חֵרַפְתָּ אֲדֹנָי וַתֹּאמֶר בְּרֹב רִכְבִּי אֲנִי עָלִיתִי מְרוֹם הָרִים יַרְכְּתֵי לְבָנוֹן וְאֶכְרֹת קוֹמַת אֲרָזָיו מִבְחוֹר בְּרֹשָׁיו וְאָבוֹאָה מְלוֹן קִצֹּה יַעַר כַּרְמִלּוֹ׃ - Through your messengers you have reviled the Lord, and you said: With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the far reaches of Lebanon, and I cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, and I came to its highest lodging, the forest of its fruitful land.
You sent through your messengers and reviled Hashem, and you boasted and said: can you stand against me? By the strength of my might and by my power I encircled great mountains and cleared entire forests of cedars and cypresses. I reached the heights of the mountains, the far reaches of Lebanon and Sidon, and there I cut down the forests and cleared a path for my troops to come and conquer Jerusalem. Until I reached the "highest lodging," the very topmost point, "the forest of its fruitful land," the choicest forest. And our Sages explain that this does not refer to Mount Carmel, but that he had already reached close to Jerusalem, to the highest place from which it was easy to conquer the city, for it is in the nature of things that when one comes from a high place there is more strength and power to conquer a low place. That is to say: I have already leveled the ground, I have already cleared the forests, everything is ready for my entry into Jerusalem, and consequently you have no chance of stopping me and victory is assured.
אֲנִי קַרְתִּי וְשָׁתִיתִי מַיִם זָרִים וְאַחְרִב בְּכַף פְּעָמַי כֹּל יְאֹרֵי מָצוֹר׃ - I dug and drank foreign waters, and with the sole of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.
Chizkiyahu stopped up the springs so that the enemy would not find water to drink. We spoke before about the question of whether the Sages approved of this or not, and I checked it again: there are two opinions on this. From the plain meaning of the Gemara and the plain meaning of the Mishnah it emerges that the Sages did not approve of his stopping up the Gihon spring, so that when Sancheriv came to besiege he would not find water to sustain his soldiers and would fall. On the other hand, the Radak brings a Midrash that in precisely this the Sages did approve of him, that it was a proper act. And some resolve the contradiction by saying that there were two acts here - rivers and the Gihon - that in one they approved of him and in one they did not approve of him.
In addition to this, Chizkiyahu made a reservoir of water between the two walls, in the manner customary in their times of digging a moat around the castles and filling it with water, in order to prevent the enemies from entering and conquering the city. And to all this Sancheriv responds: I do not need your pool water. "I dug" - a term for uncovering sources from the ground: when I need to drink, I dig in the ground and bring out water from there for my men, and I do not need your springs. And do you suppose that the river you placed around the city will deter me from conquering it, that I will fear it and be unable to conquer it because of it? This river is no obstacle for me at all. "And with the sole of my feet I dried up" - with the soles of my feet, with my steps: when my soldiers pass through the river, after two or three troops the river has already dried up, just from the water clinging to their shoes. If so, do you think that your rivers and your obstacles can delay me or frighten me?
The Holy One's Response: "I Made It"
הֲלֹא שָׁמַעְתָּ לְמֵרָחוֹק אֹתָהּ עָשִׂיתִי לְמִימֵי קֶדֶם וִיצַרְתִּיהָ עַתָּה הֲבֵיאתִיהָ וּתְהִי לַהְשׁוֹת גַּלִּים נִצִּים עָרִים בְּצֻרוֹת׃ - Have you not heard? Long ago I made it, in days of old I formed it, now I have brought it to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: had you, in the distant place where you settled, heard the words of My prophets, who prophesied all of this in advance, you would have known that even everything you have done until now, "I have done it" - you did not accomplish it by your own strength, rather it was brought about by My power. And more than that: "and I formed it." There is the making of a thing as it appears at its end, and there is forming, which is the planning in advance. Had you heard the words of the prophets, you would have understood that everything is planned, and that I formed the very matter in advance, for I am the One who "declares the end from the beginning" and I informed My prophets of what would come to be.
And know that what I brought you to do, to destroy the land of Yehuda and turn them into heaps - "to lay waste as heaps," to make them like heaps, ruins, for a house that is torn down becomes a pile of stones - its entire purpose was "fortified cities budding." "Budding" is from the expression of blossoming, as in "the pomegranates have budded," that it will begin to grow anew: out of these very heaps will sprout fortified cities, strong cities that will not be able to be destroyed in the future.
The meaning of this: the first portion that you conquered from Yehuda was meant to bring Yehuda back in repentance. And through their repentance they will trust in Hashem, and through their trust in Hashem the destruction that you thought you carried out will turn into something good, for from it will sprout fortified cities. And all of it is by design. Do not think that you were able to be victorious at first because Hashem opposed you and you overcame Him; on the contrary, it was Hashem who sent you to do this, as it is written, "Woe to Ashur, the rod of My anger." The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I use you when I am angry with Israel, you are like a rod that strikes Israel. If so, did you think that you defeated Hashem? On the contrary, you were an instrument in the hand of Hashem to bring Israel back in repentance, and through this there will be fortified cities that will grow strong in faith and in the service of Hashem, and thereby the place will be fortified so that it can no longer be destroyed.
The Grass and the Standing Grain
וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶן קִצְרֵי יָד חַתּוּ וַיֵּבֹשׁוּ הָיוּ עֵשֶׂב שָׂדֶה וִירַק דֶּשֶׁא חֲצִיר גַּגּוֹת וּשְׁדֵפָה לִפְנֵי קָמָה׃ - And their inhabitants were of little power, they were dismayed and put to shame, they were as the grass of the field and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as blighted grain before it is standing.
The cities that you managed to destroy in Yehuda - their inhabitants were "of little power," an expression for one who cannot act with his hands, whose hand is too short to save. They could not stand before you, but rather "were dismayed and put to shame": "dismayed" - they were broken; "and put to shame" - either from the expression of drying up, for the verse immediately continues to speak of the grass of the field and the green herb, or from the expression of shame.
"They were as the grass of the field and as the green herb... and as blighted grain before it is standing": before the grain ripens, at first the grass sprouts quickly, and in the end the standing grain grows more and more while the herb and the small grass dry up - that with the same speed with which they grew, they also wither. Those against whom you succeeded were like that grass, whose entire purpose is to bring forth from within it the standing grain. And the standing grain is Chizkiyahu and his company, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim who grew strong in faith in Hashem and were righteous. It turns out, then, that the downfall of the first ones does not hint at what is coming, for out of their downfall the standing grain will rise and grow: out of this, the people of Israel will rise and grow strong in faith and trust in Hashem, and out of those generations of wicked people a new generation will arise, the generation of Chizkiyahu, a generation of righteous ones, who will emerge from the earlier crisis only strengthened.
In summary:
Chapter 19 opens at the peak of the crisis - Chizkiyahu tears his garments and covers himself in sackcloth - and reveals that precisely at the lowest point the salvation begins. The two conditions about which Yeshayahu had prophesied were fulfilled: the blasphemy against Heaven and the crisis that reached its very limit, "the children have come to the birthstool." And since Israel has no strength, neither in merits nor in an army, the salvation rests entirely on the honor of Heaven and on prayer. The Holy One, blessed be He, announces that the war is His, and He plans out an entire course of events: a spirit and a rumor that will divert Sancheriv, spoil that will be gathered and fall into the hands of Israel, and a downfall in his own land. Chizkiyahu, whose entire prayer was for the honor of Heaven, is answered - "that which you prayed to Me I have heard." And in the prophecy of the downfall the great truth is revealed: all of Sancheriv's pride over his mountains and forests and over "I dug and drank" is nothing but an illusion, for "I have done it... and I formed it" - he was merely the rod of the anger of the Holy One, blessed be He. And even the destruction that had already been carried out in Yehuda has building as its purpose: from the heaps will bud fortified cities, and from the withering grass will grow the standing grain - the generation of Chizkiyahu, a generation strengthened in faith and in trust in Hashem, blessed be He.