Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 19:16

"Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to defy the living God." — 2 Kings 19:16 (ASV)

Bow down thine ear, and hear. — This refers not so much to my prayer as to the words of Sennacherib.

Open, Lord, thine eyes, and see. — This refers, as Thenius says, to Sennacherib’s letter. This does not mean, however, that Jehovah’s eyes were closed before this prayer.

To treat the figurative language of the Old Testament in such a way does violence to common sense. Bow thine ear and Open thine eyes, in Hezekiah’s mouth, simply meant, “Intervene actively between me and my enemy;” although, no doubt, such expressions originally conveyed the actual thoughts of the Israelites about God.

Which hath sent him. — Rather, which he hath sent. The “words” are regarded as a single whole, a message.

The living God. — In contrast with the lifeless idols of Hamath, Arpad, etc.