And Sennacherib king of the Assyrians departing went away, and he re- turned and abode in Ninive.

And Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and abode at Nineveh.

And Sennacherib king of Asshur journeyeth, and goeth, and turneth back, and dwelleth in Nineveh;

So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelled at Nineveh.

So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went back to his place at Nineveh.

And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, returned and dwelled in Nineveh.

Dwelt at Nineveh - The meaning is not that Sennacherib made no more expeditions at all, which would he untrue, for his annals show us that he warred in Armenia, Babylonia, Susiana, and Cilicia, during his later years; but that he confined himself to his own part of Asia, and did not invade Palestine or threaten Jerusalem anymore. Nineveh, marked by some ruins opposite Mosul, appears here unmistakably as the Assyrian capital, which it became toward the close of the 9th century B.C. It has previously been mentioned only in Genesis (marginal reference). Sennacherib was the first king who made it his permanent residence. Its great size and large population are marked in the description of Jonah Jonah 3:2-3; Jonah 4:11, whose visit probably fell about 760 B.C.

Dwelt at Nineveh - This was the capital of the Assyrian empire.

So Sennacherib king of Assyria . . . went and returned--the same way as he came (2-Kings 19:33). The route is described (Isaiah 10:28-32). The early chariot track near Beyrout is on the rocky edge of Lebanon, which is skirted by the ancient Lycus (Nahr-el Kelb). On the perpendicular face of the limestone rock, at different heights, are seen slabs with Assyrian inscriptions, which having been deciphered, are found to contain the name of Sennacherib. Thus, by the preservation of these tablets, the wrath of the Assyrian invaders is made to praise the Lord.
dwelt at Nineveh--This statement implies a considerable period of time, and his Annals carry on his history at least five years after his disastrous campaign at Jerusalem. No record of his catastrophe can be found, as the Assyrian practice was to record victories alone. The sculptures give only the sunny side of the picture.

This divine judgment compelled Sennacherib to retreat without delay, and to return to Nineveh, as Isaiah 28 and 32, had predicted. The heaping up of the verbs: "he decamped, departed, and returned," expresses the hurry of the march home. בּנינוה ויּשׁב, "he sat, i.e., remained, in Nineveh," implies not merely that Sennacherib lived for some time after his return, but also that he did not undertake any fresh expedition against Judah. On Nineveh see at Genesis 10:11.

So Sennacherib, &c. - The manner of the expression intimates the great disorder and distraction of mind he was in.