Yeshayah 36
36
1Now it came to pass in the fourteenth shanah of Melech Chizkiyah, that Sancheriv Melech Ashur came up against all the fortified cities of Yehudah, and captured them.
2And Melech Ashur sent Rav Shakeh from Lakhish to Yerushalayim unto Melech Chizkiyah with a large army. And he stood by the te'alat haberekhah haelyonah (aqueduct of the Upper Pool) on the highway of the sadeh of the launderer.
3Then came forth unto him Elyakim Ben Chilkiyah, who was over the Bais (palace), and Shevna the Sofer, and Yoach Ben Asaph, the Mazkir (secretary).
4And Rav Shakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Chizkiyah, Thus saith the HaMelech Hagadol, Melech Ashur, What bitachon (confidence) is this wherein thou trustest?
5I say, Your etzah (counsel) and gevurah (strength) for milchamah (war) are only devar sefatayim (words of the lips);#36:5 words of the lips empty words now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
6Hinei, thou trustest in the mishenet (staff) of this broken reed, on Mitzrayim; whereon if an ish lean, it will go into his palm, and pierce it; so is Pharaoh Melech Mitzrayim to all that trust in him.
7But if thou say to me, We trust in Hashem Eloheinu; is it not He, whose high places and whose mizbechot Chizkiyah hath taken away, and said to Yehudah and to Yerushalayim, Ye shall worship before this Mizbe'ach?
8Therefore give pledges, now, to adoni HaMelech Ashur, and I will give thee two thousand susim, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9How then wilt thou turn away the face of one officer of the least of the avadim of adoni, and put thy trust on Mitzrayim for chariots and for parashim?
10And am I now come up without Hashem against this land to destroy it? Hashem said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
11Then said Elyakim and Shevna and Yoach unto Rav Shakeh, Speak now, thee, unto thy avadim in Aramit (Aramaic); for we understand it; and speak not to us in Yehudit (Hebrew), in the ears of the people that are on the chomah.
12But Rav Shakeh said, Is it to adoneicha and to you that adoni has sent me to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the anashim that sit upon the chomah, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own urine with you?
13Then Rav Shakeh stood, and cried with a kol gadol in Yehudit, and said, Hear ye the words of HaMelech Hagadol, the Melech Ashur.
14Thus saith HaMelech, Let not Chizkiyah deceive you; for he shall not be able to save you.
15Neither let Chizkiyah make you trust in Hashem, saying, Hashem will surely save us; this city shall not be given into the Melech Ashur.
16Pay heed not to Chizkiyah; for thus saith HaMelech Ashur, Make a brocha with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his gefen, and every one of his te'enah and drink ye every one the waters of his own bor;
17Until I come and take you away to an eretz like your own eretz, an eretz dagan and tirosh, an eretz lechem and kramim (vineyards).
18Beware lest Chizkiyah mislead you, saying, Hashem will save us. Hath any of the elohei HaGoyim delivered his land out of the yad Melech Ashur?
19Where are the elohei Chamat and Arpad? Where are the elohei Sepharvayim? And have they saved Shomron out of my yad?
20Who are they among all elohim of these lands, that have saved their land out of my yad, that Hashem should save Yerushalayim out of my yad?
21But they held their peace, and answered him not a davar; for the mitzvat HaMelech was saying, Answer him not.
22Then came Elyakim Ben Chilkiyah, that was over the Bais, and Shevna the Sofer, and Yoach Ben Asaph, the Mazkir, to Chizkiyah with their begadim torn, and told him the words of Rav Shakeh.
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Yeshayah 36: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Isaiah 36
36
Assyria Invades Judah
1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,#36:1 The fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign was 701 b.c. King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. 2Then the king of Assyria sent his chief of staff#36:2a Or the rabshakeh; also in 36:4, 11, 12, 22. from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.#36:2b Or bleached.
3These are the officials who went out to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem
4Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah:
“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? 5Do you think#36:5 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 18:20); Masoretic Text reads Do I think. that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? 6On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!
7“But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?
8“I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them! 9With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers? 10What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord’s direction? The Lord himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’”
11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew,#36:11 Hebrew in the dialect of Judah; also in 36:13. for the people on the wall will hear.”
12But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”
13Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! 14This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you. 15Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’
16“Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. 17Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards.
18“Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? 19What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? 20What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?”
21But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.”
22Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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