Isaiah 36
Lexham English Bible
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
36 And this happened: In the fourteenth year[a] of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh[b] from Lachish to Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah, with a large army, and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the field of the washer. 3 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace,[c] came out to him, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder.
4 And Rabshakeh said to them, “Now say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What is this confidence in which you trust? 5 I said, ‘Only a word of lips! War has power and a plan!’[d] Now, in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Look, you trust in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which if a man leans on it, goes into his hand and bores through it! Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all those who trust in him. 7 And if you say to me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God,’ was it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed? And he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall bow down in the presence[e] of this altar.’” 8 And now please make a wager with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, that is, if you are able put[f] riders for yourself on them! 9 But how can you drive back one governor among the least of my master’s servants,[g] when[h] you trust in Egypt for chariots[i] and horsemen? 10 And now was it without Yahweh that I have come up against this land to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it!”’”
11 And Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we can understand[j] it, and you must not speak to us in Judean in the hearing[k] of the people who are on the wall.”
12 But[l] Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your masters and you? Was it not for the people who sit on the wall, to eat their dung and drink their urine[m] with you?”
13 Then[n] Rabshakeh stood and called in a great voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you! 15 And do not let Hezekiah make you rely on Yahweh, saying, “Surely Yahweh will deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!” 16 You must not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: “Make a blessing[o] with me, and come out to me, and each one will eat from his vine and from his fig tree and drink water from[p] his cistern, 17 until I come[q] and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, 18 lest Hezekiah mislead you, saying, ‘Yahweh will save us!’ Did the gods of the nations each save 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, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 Who are there among all the gods of these countries who have saved their land from my hand, that Yahweh should save Jerusalem from my hand?”’”
21 But[r] they were silent and did not answer him a word, for the command of the king was, “You must not answer him.” 22 Then[s] Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the palace,[t] Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah with torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 36:1 Literally “four ten year”
- Isaiah 36:2 Rabshekah is the title of a high Assyrian official
- Isaiah 36:3 Literally “was over the house”
- Isaiah 36:5 The Hebrew here is awkward; literally “Plan and power for war”
- Isaiah 36:7 Literally “face”
- Isaiah 36:8 Literally “give”
- Isaiah 36:9 Literally “the face of the governor of the one of the insignificant servants of my master”
- Isaiah 36:9 Or “and”
- Isaiah 36:9 Hebrew “chariot”
- Isaiah 36:11 Or “hear”
- Isaiah 36:11 Literally “ear”
- Isaiah 36:12 Or “And”
- Isaiah 36:12 So Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib); the reading tradition (Qere) has “feet-water”
- Isaiah 36:13 Or “And”
- Isaiah 36:16 That is, a gesture of surrender
- Isaiah 36:16 Or “of”
- Isaiah 36:17 Literally “my coming”
- Isaiah 36:21 Or “And”
- Isaiah 36:22 Or “And”
- Isaiah 36:22 Literally “house”
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.
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