Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
Behold, I will send a blast upon him. The usual way of interpreting this clause is by considering it the first announcement in the series of divine judgments which were to befall the haughty blasphemer. The blast, the rumour, the fall by the sword, contained a brief prediction that was soon fulfilled in all the three particulars-namely, the alarm that hastened his retreat, the destruction that overtook his army, and the violent death that suddenly ended his career. "I will send a blast" х noteen (H5414) bow (H871a) ruwach (H7307). The word ruwach does sometimes signify a blast, a violent wind (2 Kings 2:16; Job 1:19; Job 30:15; Isaiah 27:8; Isaiah 40:7; Hosea 13:15; Jonah 1:4); and what is here called a spirit, is called (2 Kings 19:36-37) "an angel," according to Psalms 104:4. But it cannot bear such a meaning in its present connection. The import of this clause, rendered literally, is, 'I will put a spirit in him.' And so also the Septuagint: egoo (G1473) didoomi (G1325) en (G1722) autoo (G846) pneuma (G4151), 'I will infuse a spirit into him;' pneuma (G4151) deilias (G1167), a spirit of timidity, misgiving (Secker, quoted by Lowth). In this sense of imagination, affection, or state of mind, the word occurs frequently-the spirit of jealousy (Numbers 5:14), the spirit of slumber (Romans 11:8), the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7) (Many attach this meaning to it here, thinking the reference in to a sudden panic, which drove the foe hurriedly back to Assyria), and the spirit of courage, energy, fortitude (Joshua 2:11; Joshua 5:1; 1 Kings 10:5). This last view is advocated by Henderson (Isaiah 37:7). Gesenius thinks it denotes the spirit mind, resolution of a person to do a thing, and accordingly translates the clause, 'I will inspire him with a purpose'-namely, to prosecute his expedition into Egypt, instead of coming in person to besiege Jerusalem.]
And he shall hear a rumour - the report of the destruction of a large portion of his army, or the intelligence that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, was to join his forces with those of Lower Egypt, in opposing his invasion. This news, immediately consequent upon the awful disaster that had befallen his army, would be sufficient, in his disabled state, to urge upon him the necessity of a hasty retreat.