Isaiah 36
36
Isaiah 36
1¶ 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.
2And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he camped by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the washer’s field.
3Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the writer of chronicles.
4And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this in which thou dost trust?
5I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust that thou dost rebel against me?
6Behold, thou dost trust in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt upon which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it, so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
7But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God; is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
8Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou art able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9How, therefore, wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s slaves even if thou art trusting in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
10And peradventure 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 slaves in the Syrian language, for we understand it, and do not speak to us in the Jewish language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
12But Rabshakeh said, Has my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? Has 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?
13Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
14Thus saith the king, Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15Neither 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.
16Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make peace with me and come out to me and eat each one of his vine and each one of his fig tree and drink each one the waters of his own cistern
17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Have any of the gods of the Gentiles delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19Where is the god of Hamath and Arphad? Where is the god of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20What god is there 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?
21But they held their peace and did not answer him a word, for the king had commanded thus, 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 writer of chronicles, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
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Isaiah 36: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Isaiah 36
36
The Assyrians Threaten Jerusalem
(2 Kgs 18.13–27; 2 Chr 32.1–19)
1In the fourteenth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2Then he ordered his chief official to go from Lachish to Jerusalem with a large military force to demand that King Hezekiah should surrender. The official occupied the road where the clothmakers work, by the ditch that brings water from the upper pond. 3Three Judeans came out to meet him: the official in charge of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah; the court secretary, Shebna; and the official in charge of the records, Joah son of Asaph. 4The Assyrian official told them that the emperor wanted to know what made King Hezekiah so confident. 5He demanded, “Do you think that words can take the place of military skill and might? Who do you think will help you rebel against Assyria? 6#Ezek 29.6–7You are expecting Egypt to help you, but that would be like using a reed as a walking stick — it would break and jab your hand. That is what the king of Egypt is like when anyone relies on him.”
7The Assyrian official went on, “Or will you tell me that you are relying on the LORD your God? It was the LORD's shrines and altars that Hezekiah destroyed when he told the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship at one altar only. 8I will make a bargain with you in the name of the emperor. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many riders. 9You are no match for even the lowest ranking Assyrian official, and yet you expect the Egyptians to send you chariots and cavalry. 10Do you think I have attacked your country and destroyed it without the LORD's help? The LORD himself told me to attack it and destroy it.”
11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the official, “Speak Aramaic to us. We understand it. Don't speak Hebrew; all the people on the wall are listening.”
12He replied, “Do you think you and the king are the only ones the emperor sent me to say all these things to? No, I am also talking to the people who are sitting on the wall, who will have to eat their excrement and drink their urine, just as you will.”
13Then the official stood up and shouted in Hebrew, “Listen to what the emperor of Assyria is telling you. 14He warns you not to let Hezekiah deceive you. Hezekiah can't save you. 15And don't let him persuade you to rely on the LORD. Don't think that the LORD will save you and that he will stop our Assyrian army from capturing your city. 16Don't listen to Hezekiah! The emperor of Assyria commands you to come out of the city and surrender. You will all be allowed to eat grapes from your own vines and figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own wells — 17until the emperor resettles you in a country much like your own, where there are vineyards to give wine and there is corn for making bread. 18Don't let Hezekiah fool you into thinking that the LORD will rescue you. Did the gods of any other nations save their countries from the emperor of Assyria? 19Where are they now, the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Did anyone save Samaria? 20When did any of the gods of all these countries ever save their country from our emperor? Then what makes you think the LORD can save Jerusalem?”
21The people kept quiet, just as King Hezekiah had told them to; they did not say a word. 22Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes in grief and went and reported to the king what the Assyrian official had said.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.