Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 19:23

"By thy messengers thou hast defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into his farthest lodging-place, the forest of his fruitful field." — 2 Kings 19:23 (ASV)

The multitude. —This is the reading of the Hebrew margin, of many MSS., Isaiah, and all the versions. The Hebrew text has “with the chariotry of my chariotry”—obviously a scribe’s error.

I am come up ... mountains. — I (emphatic) have ascended lofty mountains. Such boasts are common in the Assyrian inscriptions.

To the sides of Lebanon. —Thenius explains: “the spurs of the Lebanon—i.e., the strongholds of Judea, which Sennacherib had already captured.” “Lebanon, as the northern bulwark of the land of Israel, is used as a representative or symbol for the whole country (Zechariah 11:1)” (Cheyne). The language is similar in Isaiah 14:13.

And will cut down ... —Or, and I will fell its tallest cedars, its choicest firs. Cedars and firs in Isaiah’s language symbolize “kings, princes, and nobles, all that is highest and most stately” (Birks), or “the most powerful defenders” (Thenius). (Isaiah 10:33–34.)

The lodgings of his borders. —Or, its furthest lodging—i.e., Mount Zion or Jerusalem. Isaiah has height for lodging, either a scribe’s error or an editor’s correction.

Carmel — i.e., pleasure-garden or park (Isaiah 10:18). The royal palace and grounds appear to be meant. Thenius compares the house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:2).