Isaiah 36
New American Standard Bible
Sennacherib Invades Judah
36 (A)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, (B)Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 2 And the (C)king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the (D)conduit of the upper pool on the road to the [a]fuller’s field. 3 Then (E)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (F)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to him.
4 And (G)Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “What is this confidence that you have? 5 I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only [b]empty words.’ Now on whom have you relied, that (H)you have revolted against me? 6 Behold, you have relied on the (I)staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his [c]hand and pierce it. (J)So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He (K)whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? 8 Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 How then can you [d]drive back even one [e]official of the least of my master’s servants and [f](L)rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 And have I now come up [g]without the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? (M)The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in (N)Aramaic, for we [h]understand it; and do not speak to us in [i](O)Judean [j]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” 12 But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
13 Then Rabshakeh stood and (P)called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah (Q)deceive you, for he will not be able to save you; 15 and do not let Hezekiah lead you to (R)rely on the Lord, saying, “The Lord will certainly save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘[k]Surrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his (S)vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of the (T)waters of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “(U)The Lord will save us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of (V)Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of (W)Sepharvaim? And when have they (X)saved Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the (Y)gods of these lands have saved their land from my hand, that the (Z)Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”
21 But they were silent and did not (AA)answer him so much as a word; for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then (AB)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (AC)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 36:2 I.e., launderer’s
- Isaiah 36:5 Lit a word of lips
- Isaiah 36:6 Lit palm
- Isaiah 36:9 Lit turn away the face of
- Isaiah 36:9 Or governor
- Isaiah 36:9 Lit rely on for yourself
- Isaiah 36:10 Lit without the Lord
- Isaiah 36:11 Lit hear
- Isaiah 36:11 I.e., Hebrew
- Isaiah 36:11 Lit in the ears of...wall
- Isaiah 36:16 Lit Make with me a blessing
Isaiah 36
Tree of Life Version
Sennacherib Dares Jerusalem
36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent the Rab-shakeh[a] from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a massive army. The Rab-shakeh stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool in the highway of the washer’s field. 3 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder came out to him.
4 So the Rab-shakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: ‘What is this confidence you’ve relied on? 5 I say your strategy and strength for war are only words of a lip. Who do you rely on now, so that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you rely on this splintered reed as a staff—Egypt! If a man leans on it, it will go into the palm of his hand and pierce it—thus Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him.
7 “‘But if you say to me: ‘We trust in Adonai our God’—is it not He whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, and then said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar’?
8 “So now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses—if you could put riders of your own on them. 9 So, how can you repulse a single lieutenant—the least of my master’s servants? Yes, you’re relying on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen.
10 “Moreover, have I now come up against this land to destroy it without Adonai’s approval? Adonai said to me: ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”
11 Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rab-shakeh: “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak to us in the language of the Jews when the people on the wall are listening.”
12 But the Rab-shakeh said: “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn’t he sent me to the men who sit on the wall—who will eat their own waste and drink their own urine with you?”
13 Then the Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the language of the Jews and said: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 Thus says the king: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you! 15 Nor let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in Adonai by saying, “Adonai will surely deliver us—this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’
16 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah! For thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’
18 “Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘Adonai will deliver us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, when did they deliver Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their country out of my hand? So will Adonai deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
21 But they were silent, and did not answer him a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rab-shakeh.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 36:2 Official title, possibly meaning Chief Cupbearer or Chief Adviser.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.