And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
Hesekiah ... rent his clothes ... The rending of his clothes was a mode of expressing horror at the daring blasphemy-the assumption of sackcloth, a sign of his mental distress-his entrance into the temple to pray, the refuge of a pious man in affliction-and the forwarding an account of the Assyrian's speech to Isaiah was to obtain the prophet's counsel and comfort. This mission, consisting of some of the most important members of time court and the priesthood, shows the great influence which Isaiah, by his prophetic character and sage counsels, exercised over the proceedings of Hezekiah, and no circumstances could evince that monarch's wisdom and habitual piety more strikingly than his solicitude for Isaiah's advice and aid, as the servant of Yahweh, in that critical juncture.