Isaiah 36
36
XXXVI
1Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fenced 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 stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the high-way of the fuller’s field. 3Then came forth unto him Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.
4And Rabshakeh said unto them: Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 5I say, sayest thou, (but they are vain words) there is counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 6Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man lean, it will pierce his hand, and go through it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 7But if thou say to me, We trust in Jehovah our God: is it not He, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, 8Ye shall worship before this altar? Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria; and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 9How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10And am I now come up without Jehovah against this land to destroy it? Jehovah hath said unto me, Go up against this land and destroy it.
11Then said Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh: Speak, we beseech thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it; and speak not unto us in the Jewish language, in the hearing of the people who are on the wall. 12But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own filth, and drink their own urine with you?
13Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said: Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14Thus saith the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you. 15And let not Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah; saying, Jehovah will certainly deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16Hearken not unto Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make peace with me and come out unto me. And eat ye every one of his own vine, and every one of his own fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; 17until I come and take you to a land like your own land, a land of corn and of wine, a land of bread and of vineyards. 18Let not Hezekiah seduce you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Have the gods of the nations delivered, each his own land, from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their own lands out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? 21But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's command was, saying, Answer him not.
22Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
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Isaiah 36: TEG
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 36
36
1It was in the fourteenth year of King Hizkiyahu that Sancheriv king of Ashur advanced against all the fortified cities of Y’hudah and captured them. 2From Lakhish the king of Ashur sent Rav-Shakeh to Hizkiyahu in Yerushalayim with a large army. He positioned himself by the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, which is by the road to the Launderers’ Field. 3Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo’ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister went out to meet him.
4Rav-Shakeh addressed them: “Tell Hizkiyahu: ‘Here is what the great king, the king of Ashur, says: “What makes you so confident? 5I say: do mere words constitute strategy and strength for battle? In whom, then, are you trusting when you rebel against me like this? 6Look! Relying on Egypt is like using a broken stick as a staff — when you lean on it, it punctures your hand. That’s what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like for anyone who puts his trust in him. 7But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Adonai our God,’ then isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hizkiyahu has removed, telling Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, ‘You must worship before this altar’? 8All right, then, make a wager with my lord the king of Ashur: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough riders for them. 9How then can you repulse even one of my master’s lowest-ranked army officers? Yet you are relying on Egypt for chariots and riders! 10Do you think I have come up to this land to destroy it without Adonai’s approval? Adonai said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it!’ ” ’ ”
11Elyakim, Shevnah and Yo’ach said to Rav-Shakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it; don’t speak to us in Hebrew while the people on the wall are listening.” 12But Rav-Shakeh answered, “Did my master send me to deliver my message just to your master and yourselves? Didn’t he send me to address the men sitting on the wall, who, like you, are going to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?” 13Then Rav-Shakeh stood up and, speaking loudly in Hebrew, said: “Hear what the great king, the king of Ashur, says! 14This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hizkiyahu deceive you, because he won’t be able to save you. 15And don’t let Hizkiyahu make you trust in Adonai by saying, “Adonai will surely save us; this city will not be given over to the king of Ashur.” 16Don’t listen to Hizkiyahu.’ For this is what the king says: ‘Make peace with me, surrender to me. Then every one of you can eat from his vine and fig tree and drink the water in his own cistern, 17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land with grain and wine, a land with bread and vineyards. 18Beware of Hizkiyahu; he is only deluding you when he says, “Adonai will save us.” Has any god of any nation ever saved his land from the power of the king of Ashur? 19Where are the gods of Hamat and Arpad? Where are the gods of S’farvayim? Did they save Shomron from my power? 20Where is the god of any of these countries that has saved its country from my power, so that Adonai might be able to save Yerushalayim from my power?’” 21But they kept still and didn’t answer him so much as a word, for the king’s order was, “Don’t answer him.”
22Then Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo’ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister went to Hizkiyahu with their clothes torn and reported to him what Rav-Shakeh had said.
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