Isaiah 36
36
Sennacherib Invades Judah
2Ki 18:13–37; 2Ch 32:9–19
1#2Ch 32:1; 2Ki 18:13Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2#Isa 7:3; 2Ki 18:17–37The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh#Possibly Commanding General. from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field. 3Then Eliakim came to him, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.
4The Rabshakeh said to them:
“Say now to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this that you have? 5#2Ki 18:7I say, Your counsel and strength for war are only empty words. Now on whom do you rely that you rebel against me? 6#Eze 29:6–7You rely on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7#2Ki 18:4–5But if you 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, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?
8“Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9#Isa 10:8How then will you turn away one captain of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10#1Ki 13:18Have I now come up without the approval of the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.”
11#Ezr 4:7; Da 2:4Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. And do not speak to us in Hebrew in the ears of the people who are on the wall.”
12But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
13#2Ch 32:18Then the Rabshakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you; 15nor 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#1Ki 4:25; Zec 3:10“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat every one of his vine and every one of his fig tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern, 17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18#Isa 36:15“ ‘Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19#Jer 49:23; Isa 10:9–11Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20#2Ch 32:19Who 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#Pr 26:4But they held their peace, and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”
22#Isa 36:3; 33:7Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 36: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
Isaiah 36
36
Sennacherib Invades Judah
1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,#tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2. King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser#sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30. from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem,#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. along with a large army. The chief adviser#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity. stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.#tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.
4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?#tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?” 5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.#tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23. In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ 8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.#tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.” 10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’”#sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,#sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire. for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect#tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.” in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you.#tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!”#tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,#tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.” “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me.#tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.” Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?#tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!” 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?#tn The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.” Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. from my power?#tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20). 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”#tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them? 21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief#tn Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning. and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC