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2 Kings 18:19-37
Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Rabshakeh’s Speech

19 Then(A) the Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[a](B) 20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?(C) 21 Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(D) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.(E) This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. 22 Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,(F) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?’

23 “So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! 24 How then can you drive back a single officer(G) among the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?(H) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(I) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew[b] within earshot of the people on the wall.”

27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”(J)

28 The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.[c] Then he spoke: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive(K) you; he can’t deliver you from my hand.(L) 30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’(M)

31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[d] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(N) and every one may drink water from his own cistern 32 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, a land of olive trees and honey(O)—so that you may live(P) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered(Q) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[e] Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?(R) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem?’”(S)

36 But the people kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,(T) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(U) and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:19 Lit What is this trust which you trust
  2. 2 Kings 18:26 Lit Judahite
  3. 2 Kings 18:28 Lit Judahite
  4. 2 Kings 18:31 Lit a blessing
  5. 2 Kings 18:34 Some LXX mss, Old Lat read Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria?
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2 Kings 18:19-37
International Standard Version

19 Rab-shakeh told them, “Tell Hezekiah right now, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says:

‘“Why are you so confident? 20 You’re saying—but they’re only empty words—‘I have enough[a] advice and resources to conduct warfare!’

‘“Now who are you relying on, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Look, you’re trusting on Egypt to lean on like a staff, but it’s a crushed reed, and if you lean on it, it will collapse and pierce your hand. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who relies on him!

22 ‘“Of course, you might tell me, “We rely on the Lord our God!” But isn’t it he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has demolished, all the while telling Jerusalem, “You’re to worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem?”’

23 ‘“Come now, and make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria, and I’ll give you 2,000 horses, if you can furnish them with riders. 24 How can you refuse even one official from the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 “Now then, haven’t I come up—apart from the Lord—to attack and destroy this place? The Lord told me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it!’”’”

26 At this, Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah asked Rab-shakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it, but don’t speak the language of Judah to us within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

27 But Rab-shakeh spoke to them, “Has my master sent me to talk about this just to your master and to you, and not also to the men who are sitting on the wall, who will soon be eating their own feces and drinking their own urine[b]—along with you?” 28 Then Rab-shakeh stood up and cried out loud, “Listen to what the great king, the king of Assyria has to say. 29 This is what the king says:

‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, because he will prove to be unable to deliver you from my control.[c] 30 And don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by telling you, “The Lord will certainly deliver us and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make peace with me and come out to me! Each of you will eat from his own vine. Each will eat from his own fig tree. And each of you will drink water from his own cistern 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, one overflowing with grain and new wine, a land filled with bread and vineyards, with olive trees and honey, so you may live and not die.”

‘But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us!” 33 Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land from control by[d] the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my control?[e] 35 Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered their land from my control[f], so that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from me?’”[g]

36 But the people remained silent and did not answer with even so much as a word, because the king’s order was, “Don’t answer him.”

37 But Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who managed the household, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came back to Hezekiah with their clothes torn[h] and told him what Rab-shakeh had said.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:20 The Heb. lacks I have enough
  2. 2 Kings 18:27 An alternate MT reading is own water at their feet
  3. 2 Kings 18:29 Lit. hand
  4. 2 Kings 18:33 Lit. from the hand of
  5. 2 Kings 18:34 Lit. hand
  6. 2 Kings 18:35 Lit. hand
  7. 2 Kings 18:35 Lit. from my hand
  8. 2 Kings 18:37 I.e. as a visible response to the pending calamity
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