Isaiah 36
Expanded Bible
The Assyrians Invade Judah(A)
36 During Hezekiah’s fourteenth year as king [C 701 bc], Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent out ·his field commander [or chief advisor; or the Rabshakeh] with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem [2 Chr. 32:9]. When the commander came near the ·waterway [aqueduct; conduit] from the upper pool on the road ·where people do their laundry [or to the Launderer’s/T Fuller’s Field], he stopped. 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah [22:20], ·the palace manager [L who was over the house], Shebna [22:15], the ·royal secretary [scribe], and Joah son of Asaph, the ·recorder [royal historian] went out to meet him.
4 The ·field commander [chief advisor; or Rabshakeh] said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this:
“‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says: ·What can you trust in now [On what do you base your confidence; Where does this confidence come from]? 5 You say you have ·battle plans [strategy; counsel] and ·power [strength] for war, but your words ·mean nothing [are empty]. Whom are you ·trusting [relying/counting on] for help so that you ·turn [rebel] against me? 6 Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you, but Egypt is like a ·splintered [broken] ·walking stick [reed]. If you lean on it for help, it will stab your hand and ·hurt [pierce] you. So it will be with the king of Egypt for all those who depend on him. 7 You might say, “We are depending on the Lord our God,” but ·Hezekiah destroyed [L did not Hezekiah destroy…?] the Lord’s altars and ·the places of worship [L high places; 2 Kin. 18:4; 2 Chr. 30:14; 31:1]. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship only at this one altar [C at the temple in Jerusalem; the Assyrian official wrongly assumes that the other altars and high places were dedicated to the Lord and that restricting worship to Jerusalem would offend him; Deut. 12].”
8 “‘Now make an ·agreement [pledge; deal] with my ·master [lord], the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough men to ride them [C a taunt that Judah’s army is too small even if Assyria were to supply it]. 9 You cannot ·defeat [repel] one of my ·master’s [lord’s] least important officers, so why do you depend on Egypt to give you chariots and ·horsemen [charioteers]? 10 ·I have not [L Do you think I have…?] come to attack and destroy this country without ·an order from the Lord [L the Lord]. The Lord himself told me to come ·to [against] this country and destroy it [C echoing Isaiah’s prophecy that this is judgment from the Lord].’”
11 Then Eliakim [22:20], Shebna [22:15], and Joah said to the ·field commander [chief advisor; or Rabshakeh], “Please speak to ·us [L your servants] in the Aramaic language [C the language of trade and diplomacy]. We understand it. Don’t speak to us in ·Hebrew [L Judean], because the people on the city wall can hear you.”
12 But the commander said, “My master did not send me to tell these ·things [words] only to you and your ·king [L master; lord]. He sent me to speak also to those people sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own ·dung [excrement] and drink their own urine like you [C because of shortages caused by the upcoming siege].”
13 Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in ·the Hebrew language [L Judean], “·Listen to what [L Hear the word of] the great king, the king of Assyria, says. 14 The king says you should not let Hezekiah ·fool [deceive; delude] you, because he can’t ·save [rescue; T deliver] you. 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely ·save [rescue; T deliver] us. This city won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria.’
16 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own ·well [cistern; C symbols of freedom and prosperity]. 17 ·After that [L …until] I will come and take you to a land like your own—a land with grain and new wine, bread and vineyards.’
18 “Don’t let Hezekiah ·fool [mislead] you, saying, ‘The Lord will save us.’ Has a god of any other nation saved his people from the ·power [L hand] of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [C cities conquered by Assyria; 10:9]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim [C city in northern Syria conquered by Assyria]? They did not save Samaria from my ·power [L hand]. 20 ·Not one [L Which…?] of all the gods of these countries has ·saved [rescued; T delivered] his people from me. Neither can the Lord ·save [rescue; T deliver] Jerusalem from my ·power [L hand].”
21 ·The people [L They] were silent. They didn’t answer the commander at all, because King Hezekiah had ordered, “Don’t answer him.”
22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah [22:20], ·the palace manager [L who was over the house], Shebna [22:15], the ·royal secretary [scribe], and Joah son of Asaph, the ·recorder [royal historian], went to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes [C a sign of grief, anguish or despair] and went in and told him what the field commander had said.
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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.
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- 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
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