Isaiah 36

1 And it cometh to pass, in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, come up hath Sennacherib king of Asshur against all the fenced cities of Judah, and seizeth 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 Asshur sendeth Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, unto the king Hezekiah, with a heavy force, and he standeth by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field,

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 go forth unto him doth Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [is] over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the remembrancer.

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 Rabshakeh saith unto them, 'Say ye, I pray you, unto Hezekiah, 'Thus said the great king, the king of Asshur, What [is] this confidence in which thou hast confided?

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

5 I have said: Only, a word of the lips! counsel and might [are] for battle: now, on whom hast thou trusted, that thou hast rebelled against me?

Is war carried on with counsel and [mere] words of the lips? and now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?

6 'Lo, thou hast trusted on the staff of this broken reed — on Egypt — which a man leaneth on, and it hath gone into his hand, and pierced it — so [is] Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting on him.

Behold, thou trustest 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 dost thou say unto me, Unto Jehovah our God we have trusted? is it not He, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath turned aside, and saith to Judah and to Jerusalem, Before this altar ye do bow yourselves?

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

8 'And now, negotiate, I pray thee, with my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to put for thee riders on them.

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

9 And how dost thou turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, and dost trust for thee on Egypt, for chariot and for horsemen?

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

10 And now, without Jehovah have I come up against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up unto this land, and thou hast destroyed it.'

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 And Eliakim saith — and Shebna and Joah — unto Rabshakeh, 'Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants [in] Aramaean, for we are understanding; and do not speak unto us [in] Jewish, in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall.'

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

12 And Rabshakeh saith, 'Unto thy lord, and unto thee, hath my lord sent me to speak these words? is it not for the men — those sitting on the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water with you?'

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 And Rabshakeh standeth and calleth with a great voice [in] Jewish, and saith, 'Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Asshur:

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

14 Thus said the king, Let not Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you;

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

15 and let not Hezekiah make you trust unto Jehovah, saying, Jehovah doth certainly deliver us, this city is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur.

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 hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur, Make ye with me a blessing, and come out unto me, and eat ye each of his vine, and each of his fig-tree, and drink ye each the waters of his own well,

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

17 till my coming in, and I have taken you unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards;

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

18 lest Hezekiah doth persuade you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us. 'Have the gods of the nations delivered each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur?

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 Arpad? Where the gods of Sepharvaim, that they have delivered 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 lands [are] they who have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of 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 And they keep silent, and have not answered him a word, for a command of the king is, saying, 'Do not answer him.'

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

22 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [is] over the house, cometh in, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the remembrancer, unto Hezekiah with rent garments, and they declare to him the words of Rabshakeh.

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 rent, and they reported to him the words of Rabsaces.