Isaiah 36

1 Now 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.

When King Hezekiah had been [ruling Judah] for almost 14 years, King Sennacherib of Assyria came [with his army] to attack the cities in Judah that had walls around them. [They did not conquer Jerusalem, but] they conquered all the other cities.

2 And 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 highway of the fuller’s field.

Then the king of Assyria sent a large army with some of his important officials from Lachish [city] to [persuade] King Hezekiah [to surrender]. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they stood in their positions alongside the aqueduct/channel in which water flows into the upper pool [into Jerusalem], near the road to the field where the women wash clothes.

3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.

The Israeli officials who went out of the city to talk with them were Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, the (palace administrator/man who supervised the workers in the palace), Shebna the king’s secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, who wrote down the government decisions.

4 And 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?

Then one of Sennacherib’s important officials told them to take this message to Hezekiah: This is what the King of Assyria, the great king, says: “What are you trusting in to rescue you?

5 I say, [thy] counsel and strength for the war are but vain words: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?

You say that you have weapons to fight us and some country’s promises [to help you], [and that will enable you to defeat us], but that is only talk [RHQ]. Who do you think will help you to rebel against my [soldiers from Assyria]?

6 Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.

Listen to me! You are relying on [the army of] Egypt. But [that will be like] [MET] using a broken reed for a walking stick on which you could lean. [But] it would pierce the hand of anyone who would lean on it! That is what the King of Egypt would be like for anyone who relied on him [for help].

7 But if thou say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?

But perhaps you will say to me, ‘[No], we are relying on Yahweh our God [to help us].’ [I would reply], ‘Is he not the one whom [you insulted by] tearing down his shrines and altars and forcing everyone in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah to worship [only] in front of the altar [in Jerusalem]?’

8 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges 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.

So I suggest that you make a deal with my master/boss, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses, but [I do not think that] you can find 2,000 of your men who can ride on them!

9 How then canst 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 for horsemen?

You are expecting the king of Egypt to send chariots and men riding horses [to assist you]. But they certainly would not [RHQ] be able to resist/defeat even the most insignificant/unimportant official in the army of Assyria!

10 And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

Furthermore, [do not think that] [RHQ] we have come here to attack and destroy this land without Yahweh’s orders! It is Yahweh himself who told us to come here and destroy this land!”

11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the official from Assyria, “Please speak to us in [your] Aramaic language, because we understand it. Do not speak to us in [our] Hebrew language, because the people who are standing on the wall will understand it [and become frightened].”

12 But 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, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?

But the official replied, “Do you think that my master sent me to say these things [only] to you, and not to the people standing on the wall [RHQ]? [If you reject this message], the [people in this city] will soon need to eat their own dung and drink their own urine, just like you will, [because there will be nothing more for you to eat or drink].”

13 Then 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.

Then the official stood up and shouted in the Hebrew language [to the people sitting on the wall]. He said, “Listen to this message from the great king, the King of Assyria!

14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he shall not be able to deliver you:

He says, ‘Do not allow Hezekiah to deceive you! He will not be able to rescue you!

15 neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Do not allow him to persuade you to trust in Yahweh, saying that Yahweh will rescue you, and that [the army of] the King of Assyria will never capture this city!’

16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern:

Do not pay attention to what Hezekiah says! This is what the king [of Assyria] says: ‘Come out of the city and surrender to me. [If you do that, I will arrange for] each of you to drink the juice from your own grapevines and to eat figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own well.

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

[You will be able to do that] until we come and take you to a land that is like your land—a land where there is grain to make bread and [vineyards to produce grapes for making] new wine and, and where we make lots of bread.’

18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Do not allow Hezekiah to mislead you by saying, “Yahweh will rescue us.” The gods that people of other nations worship have never [RHQ] rescued any of them from the power [MTY] of the King of Assyria!

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

Why were the gods of Hamath and Arpad [cities], and the gods of Sepharvaim unable to rescue Samaria from my power [MTY]?

20 Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

No, no god [RHQ] of any nation has been able to rescue their people from me. So why do you think that Yahweh will rescue you people of Jerusalem from my power [MTY]?’”

21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

But the people [who were listening] were silent. No one said anything, because King [Hezekiah] had commanded, “[When the official from Assyria talks to you], do not answer him.”

22 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, that 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.

Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah returned to Hezekiah with their clothes torn [because they were extremely distressed]. They told him what the official from Assyria had said.