And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem,
Here is, I. The formidable design of Sennacherib against Hezekiah's kingdom, and the vigorous attempt he made upon it. This Sennacherib was now, as Nebuchadnezzar was afterwards, the terror and scourge and great oppressor of that part of the world. He aimed to raise a boundless monarchy for himself upon the ruins of all his neighbours.
Commenting on 2 Chronicles 32:1-8
And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come,.... Into the land of Judah, which he perceived and understood by reports brought to him: and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem; to besiege it and take it, if possible; this he saw was his design, by taking the fenced cities in his way, and coming forward with his forces. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come,....
when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib . . . was purposed to fight against Jerusalem--An account of the means taken to fortify Jerusalem against the threatened siege is given only in this passage. The polluting or filling up of wells, and the altering of the course of rivers, is an old practice that still obtains in the wars of the East.