This final verse of the chapter fittingly records the end of Sennacherib. He was murdered by two of his sons, something that was not part of the prophet’s earlier prediction. But there is definite irony here: Sennacherib, who had been mocking Yahweh as being powerless, was murdered while worshiping his god. His own god was unable to save him from being murdered by his sons!

And as …: Revised Standard Version gives the impression that Sennacherib’s death took place soon after he returned home. However, he reigned for another twenty years before he was killed in 681 B.C. And as is literally “And it happened.” This verbal transition indicates that some time passed before his murder. Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible render it well with “One day.”

He was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god: Nothing is known about the god Nisroch from Assyrian sources. The house of Nisroch refers to the temple dedicated to him.

Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, slew him with the sword: Although the text uses a singular form, the sword means that both sons used their swords to kill their father. Slew him with the sword may be rendered “killed him with/using [their] swords.” The Assyrian records speak of them killing their father with statues of the gods from the temple.

And escaped into the land of Ararat: The name of Ararat is best known to most Bible readers as the mountainous area where the ark of Noah landed after the Flood (see Gen 8.4). It was northwest of Nineveh in the eastern part of what is known today as Turkey.

And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead: Esar-haddon was also a son of Sennacherib. For clarity Good News Translation renders his son as “Another of his sons.” Reigned in his stead means Esarhaddon succeeded his father as king. He became king of Assyria in 681 B.C. He was the king who brought many other ethnic groups into the region of the former northern kingdom of Israel. He was responsible for mixing the population in that area (who became known as “Samaritans”) and for the exile of many Israelites (see Ezra 4.2).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• One day when Sennacherib was worshiping his god Nisroch in the temple of that god, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. They then fled to Ararat. Esarhaddon, another of his sons, reigned in Assyria after his death.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .