Isaiah 36
36
1In the fourteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked and conquered all the fortified towns of Judah.#36:1. Much of the next three chapters parallel 2 Kings 18 to 2 Kings 20. 2The king of Assyria sent his army general,#36:2. Literally, “the Rabshakeh.” However, this is an Assyrian title, not a personal name. along with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer's Field. 3Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, the palace manager, Shebnah the scribe, and Joah, son of Asaph, the record-keeper, went out to speak with him.
4The Assyrian army general said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What are you trusting in that gives you such confidence? 5You say you have a strategy and are ready for war, but these are empty words. Who are you relying on, now that you have rebelled against me? 6Now look! You're trusting in Egypt, a walking stick that's like a broken reed that will cut the hand of anyone leaning on it. That's what Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is like to everyone who trusts in him. 7If you tell me, ‘We're trusting in the Lord our God,’ well didn't Hezekiah remove his high places and his altars, telling Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You have to worship at this altar in Jerusalem’? 8Why don't you accept a challenge from my master, the king of Assyria? He says, I'll give you two thousand horses, if you can find enough riders for them! 9How could you defeat even a single officer in charge of the weakest of my master's men when you're trusting in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10More than that—would I have come to attack this place without the Lord's encouragement? It was the Lord himself who told me, ‘Go and attack this land and destroy it.’”
11Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah, said to the army general, “Please speak to us, your servants, in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew while the people on the wall are listening.”
12But the army general replied, “Did my master only send me to say these things to your master and to you, and not to the people sitting on the wall? They too, just like you, are going to have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine!”
13Then the army general shouted out in Hebrew, “Listen to this from the great king, the king of Assyria! 14This is what the king says: Don't let Hezekiah trick you! He can't save you! 15Don't believe Hezekiah when he tells you to trust in the Lord, saying, ‘I'm certain the Lord will save us. This city will never fall into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ 16Don't listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king says: Make a peace treaty with me and surrender to me. That way everyone will eat from their own vine and their own fig tree, and drink water from their own well! 17I will come and take you to a land that's like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18But don't let Hezekiah trick you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have any of the gods of any nation ever saved their land from the power of the king of Assyria? 19Where were the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where were the gods of Sepharvaim? Were they able to save Samaria from me? 20Which one of all the gods of these countries has saved their land from me? How then could the Lord save Jerusalem from me?”
21But the people remained silent and didn't say anything, for Hezekiah had given the order, “Don't answer him.”
22Then Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, the palace manager, Shebna the scribe, and Joah, son of Asaph, the record-keeper, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they told him what the Assyrian army general had said.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 36
36
Sennacherib Invades Judah
1Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 2And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the road to the #36:2 I.e., launderer’sfuller’s field. 3Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to him.
4And 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? 5I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only #36:5 Lit a word of lipsempty words.’ Now on whom have you relied, that you have revolted against me? 6Behold, you have relied on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his #36:6 Lit palmhand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7But 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 has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? 8Now 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! 9How then can you #36:9 Lit turn away the face ofdrive back even one #36:9 Or governorofficial of the least of my master’s servants and #36:9 Lit rely on for yourselfrely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10And have I now come up #36:10 Lit without the Lordwithout the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’ ” ’ ”
11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we #36:11 Lit hearunderstand it; and do not speak to us in #36:11 I.e., HebrewJudean #36:11 Lit in the ears of...wallso that the people who are on the wall hear you.” 12But 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?”
13Then Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you; 15and do not let Hezekiah lead you to rely on the Lord, saying, “The Lord will certainly save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘#36:16 Lit Make with me a blessingSurrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of 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 new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “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? 19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they saved Samaria from my hand? 20Who among all the gods of these lands have saved their land from my hand, that the Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
21But they were silent and did not answer him so much as a word; for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and 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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