John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 37:29

"Because of thy raging against me, and because thine arrogancy is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest." — Isaiah 37:29 (ASV)

Because you were angry against me. The more furiously wicked men rise up against God, and the more outrageous the violence by which they are driven, the more he is eventually accustomed to set himself in opposition to them. For a time, indeed, he permits them to domineer and to have everything that they wish, but after long forbearance he restrains them and, as it were, puts a bridle on their neck, so that they may not imagine that they have everything in their power. Sennacherib was a remarkable instance of this, for in his rage against God, the more insolently he vaunted, the heavier he found God's wrath to be against him, which all wicked men should also expect.

Therefore I will put my hook (or, my ring) in your nose. This is fitting mockery of stupidity and insolence; as if he had said, “I see how it is: by treating you mildly and gently, I would gain nothing, for your rage is insatiable. But since you cannot be tamed, I will curb you like a savage beast.” In this way, he declares more plainly that God not only sees and knows what is proposed or contrived by wicked men, but also subdues and restrains their fierceness in such a manner, that he drags them reluctantly wherever he pleases, as one would lead a wild beast held by a bridle or a ring. חח (chach) is translated by some as a hook, but I have preferred to translate it as a ring; because a hook is used for catching fish and would not apply as well to a beast.

Sennacherib was compelled to return by the way by which he came, because while he was considering the project of subduing every part of Judea and Egypt, he hastily, without having accomplished anything, took the quickest method of returning—which he would not have done of his own accord if God had not drawn him back by unseen methods.