Isaiah 36
King James Version
36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.
3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.
4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
8 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
10 And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? the Lord said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, the Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Isaiah 36
International Children’s Bible
The Assyrians Invade Judah
36 During Hezekiah’s fourteenth year as king, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked Judah. He attacked all the strong, walled cities of Judah and defeated them. 2 The king of Assyria sent out his field commander. He went with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. When the commander came near the waterway from the upper pool, he stopped. The upper pool is on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 3 Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to meet him. Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the palace manager. Shebna was the royal assistant. And Joah son of Asaph was the recorder.
4 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this:
“‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says: You have nothing to trust in to help you. 5 You say you have battle plans and power for war. But your words mean nothing. Whom are you trusting for help so that you turn against me? 6 Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you. Egypt is like a splintered walking stick. If you lean on it for help, it will stab you and hurt you. The king of Egypt will hurt those who depend on him. 7 You might say, “We are depending on the Lord our God.” But Hezekiah destroyed the Lord’s altars and the places of worship. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship only at this one altar.”
8 “‘Now make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find enough men to ride them. 9 You cannot defeat one of my master’s least important officers. So why do you depend on Egypt to give you chariots and horsemen? 10 I have not come to attack and destroy this country without an order from the Lord. The Lord himself told me to come to this country and destroy it.’”
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah spoke to the field commander. They said, “Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew because the people on the city wall can hear you.”
12 But the commander said, “No. My master did not send me to tell these things only to you and your king. My master sent me to tell them also to those people sitting on the wall. They will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine like you.”
13 Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in the Hebrew language. He said, “Listen to the words from the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 The king says you should not let Hezekiah fool you. Hezekiah can’t save you. 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord. Hezekiah says, ‘The Lord will surely save us. This city won’t be given over to the king of Assyria.’
16 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me. Come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree. Everyone will be free to drink water from his own well. 17 Then I will come and take you to a land like your own. It is a land with grain and new wine. It has bread and vineyards.’
18 “Don’t let Hezekiah fool you. He says, ‘The Lord will save us.’ The god of any other nation has not saved his people from the power of the king of Assyria. 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? They did not save Samaria from my power. 20 Not one of all the gods of these countries has saved his people from me. Then the Lord cannot save Jerusalem from my power.”
21 The people were silent. They didn’t answer the commander at all. This was because King Hezekiah had ordered, “Don’t answer him.”
22 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah tore their clothes to show how upset they were. (Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the palace manager. Shebna was the royal assistant. And Joah son of Asaph was the recorder.) The three men went to Hezekiah and told him what the field commander had said.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
