Isaiah 36

1 And it came about in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the walled towns of Judah and took them.

Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of the reign of Ezekias, [that] Sennacherim, king of the Assyrians, came up against the strong cities of Judea, and took them.

2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rab-shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a strong force, and he took up his position by the stream of the higher pool, by the highway of the washerman's

And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabsaces out of Laches to Jerusalem to king Ezekias with a large force: and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the way of the fuller's field.

3 And there came out to him Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.

And there went forth to him Heliakim the steward, the [son] of Chelcias, and Somnas the scribe, and Joach the [son] of Asaph, the recorder.

4 And the Rab-shakeh said to them, Say now to Hezekiah, These are the words of the great king, the king of Assyria: In what are you placing your hope?

And Rabsaces said to them, Say to Ezekias, Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians, Why are you secure?

5 You say you have a design and strength for war, but these are only words: now to whom are you looking for support, that you have gone against my authority?

Is war carried on with counsel and [mere] words of the lips? and now on whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?

6 See, you are basing your hope on that broken rod of Egypt, which will go into a man's hand if he makes use of it for a support; for so is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who put their faith in him.

Behold, you trust on this bruised staff of reed, on Egypt: [as soon] as a man leans upon it, it shall go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharao king of Egypt and all that trust in him.

7 And if you say to me, Our hope is in the Lord our God; is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and Jerusalem that worship may only be given before this altar?

But if you say, We trust in the Lord our God;

8 And now, take a chance with my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them.

yet now make an agreement with my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you shall be able to set riders upon them.

9 How then may you put to shame the least of my master's servants? and you have put your hope in Egypt for war-carriages and horsemen:

And how can you [then] turn to the face of the satraps? They that trust on the Egyptians for horse and rider, are [our] servants.

10 And have I now come to send destruction on this land without the Lord's authority? It was the Lord himself who said to me, Go up against this land and make it waste.

And now, Have we come up against this land to fight against it without the Lord? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

11 Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rab-shakeh, Please make use of the Aramaean language in talking to your servants, for we are used to it, and do not make use of the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall.

Then Eliakim and Somnas and Joach said to him, Speak to your servants in the Syrian tongue; for we understand [it]: and speak not to us in the Jewish tongue: and therefore speak you in the ears of the men on the wall?

12 But the Rab-shakeh said, Is it to your master or to you that my master has sent me to say these words? has he not sent me to the men seated on the wall? for they are the people who will be short of food with you when the town is shut in.

And Rabsaces said to them, Has my lord sent me to your lord or to you, to speak these words? [has he] not [sent] me to the men that sit on the wall, that they may eat dung, and drink [their] water together with you?

13 Then the Rab-shakeh got up and said with a loud voice in the Jews' language, Give ear to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria:

And Rabsaces stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language, and said, Hear you the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians:

14 This is what the king says: Do not be tricked by Hezekiah, for there is no salvation for you in him.

thus says the king, Let not Ezekias deceive you with words: he will not be able to deliver you.

15 And do not let Hezekiah make you put your faith in the Lord, saying, The Lord will certainly keep us safe, and this town will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.

And let not Ezekias say to you, That God will deliver you, and this city will not at all be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.

16 Do not give ear to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says, Make peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone will be free to take the fruit of his vine and of his fig-tree, and the water of his spring;

Listen not to Ezekias: thus says the king of the Assyrians, If you wish to be blessed, come out to me: and you shall eat every one [of] his vine and his fig-trees, and you shall drink water out of your own cisterns:

17 Till I come and take you away to a land like yours, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vine-gardens.

until I come and take you to a land, like your own land, a land of corn and wine, and bread, and vineyards.

18 Give no attention to Hezekiah when he says to you, The Lord will keep us safe. Has any one of the gods of the nations kept his land from falling into the hands of the king of Assyria?

Let not Ezekias deceive you, saying, God will deliver you. Have the gods of the nations delivered each one his own land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians?

19 Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? where are the gods of Samaria? and have they kept Samaria out of my hand?

Where is the god of Emath, and Arphath? and where is the god of Eppharuaim? have they been able to deliver Samaria out of my hand?

20 Who among all the gods of these countries have kept their country from falling into my hand, to give cause for the thought that the Lord will keep Jerusalem from falling into my hand?

Which is the god of all these nations, that has delivered his land out of my hand, that God should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

21 But they kept quiet and gave him no answer: for the king's order was, Give him no answer.

And they were silent, and none answered him a word; because the king had commanded that none should answer.

22 Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothing parted as a sign of grief, and gave him an account of what the Rab-shakeh had said.

And Heliakim the [son] of Chelcias, the steward, and Somnas the military scribe, and Joach the [son] of Asaph, the recorder, came in to Ezekias, having their garments tore, and they reported to him the words of Rabsaces.