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2 Kings 18:24-26
New English Translation
2 Kings 18:24-26
New English Translation
24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.[a] 25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up[b] against this land and destroy it.’”’”[c]
26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,[d] for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect[e] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
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- 2 Kings 18:24 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
- 2 Kings 18:25 tn Heb “Go up.”
- 2 Kings 18:25 sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
- 2 Kings 18:26 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.
- 2 Kings 18:26 tn Or “Hebrew.”
New English Translation (NET)
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