Isaiæ 36
1 Et factum est in quartodecimo anno regis Ezechiae, ascendit Sennacherib rex Assyriorum super omnes civitates Iuda munitas, et cepit eas.
And it happened that, in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he seized them.
2 Et misit rex Assyriorum Rabsacen de Lachis in Ierusalem, ad regem Ezechiam in manu gravi, et stetit in aquaeductu piscinae superioris in via Agri fullonis.
And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish into Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a great force, and he stood near the aqueduct of the upper pool, at the road to the fuller’s field.
3 Et egressus est ad eum Eliachim filius Helchiae, qui erat super domum, et Sobna scriba, et Ioahe filius Asaph a commentariis.
And those who went to him were Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, son of Asaph, the historian.
4 Et dixit ad eos Rabsaces: Dicite Ezechiae: Haec dicit rex magnus, rex Assyriorum: Quae est ista fiducia, qua confidis?
And Rabshakeh said to them: “Tell Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians: What is this faith in which you believe?
5 aut quo consilio vel fortitudine rebellare disponis? super quem habes fiduciam, quia recessisti a me?
And by what counsel or strength would you prepare to rebel? In whom do you have faith, so much so that you would withdraw from me?
6 Ecce confidis super baculum arundineum confractum istum, super Aegyptum: cui si innixus fuerit homo, intrabit in manum eius, et perforabit eam: sic Pharao rex Aegypti omnibus, qui confidunt in eo.
Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, in that broken staff of a reed. But if a man were to lean against it, it would enter his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who trust in him.
7 Quod si responderis mihi: In Domino Deo nostro confidimus: nonne ipse est, cuius abstulit Ezechias excelsa et altaria, et dixit Iuda et Ierusalem: Coram altari isto adorabitis?
But if you answer me by saying: ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ Is it not his high places and altars that Hezekiah has taken away? And he has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar.’
8 Et nunc trade te domino meo regi Assyriorum, et dabo tibi duo millia equorum, nec poteris ex te praebere ascensores eorum.
And now, hand yourselves over to my lord, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, and you will not be able to find riders for them on your own.
9 Et quomodo sustinebis faciem iudicis unius loci ex servis domini mei minoribus? Quod si confidis in Aegypto, in quadrigis, et in equitibus:
So how will you withstand the face of the ruler of even one place, of even the least of my lord’s subordinates? But if you trust in Egypt, in four-horse chariots and in horsemen:
10 et nunc numquid sine Domino ascendi ad terram istam ut disperderem eam? Dominus dixit ad me: Ascende super terram istam, et disperde eam.
do I intend to go up against this land to destroy it without the Lord? But the Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”
11 Et dixit Eliachim, et Sobna, et Ioahe ad Rabsacen: Loquere ad servos tuos Syra lingua: intelligimus enim: ne loquaris ad nos Iudaice in auribus populi, qui est super murum.
And Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh: “Speak to your servants in the Syrian language. For we understand it. Do not speak to us in the Jewish language, in the hearing of the people, who are upon the wall.”
12 Et dixit ad eos Rabsaces: Numquid ad dominum tuum et ad te misit me dominus meus, ut loquerer omnia verba ista; et non potius ad viros, qui sedent in muro, ut comedant stercora sua, et bibant urinam pedum suorum vobiscum?
And Rabshakeh said to them: “Has my lord sent me to your lord and to you in order to speak all these words, and not even more so to the men who are sitting on the wall, so that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
13 Et stetit Rabsaces, et clamavit voce magna Iudaice, et dixit: Audite verba regis magni, regis Assyriorum.
Then Rabshakeh stood up, and he cried out with a loud voice in the Jewish language, and he said: “Listen to the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians.
14 Haec dicit rex: Non seducat vos Ezechias, quia non poterit eruere vos.
Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. For he will not be able to rescue you.
15 Et non vobis tribuat fiduciam Ezechias super Domino, dicens: Eruens liberabit nos Dominus, non dabitur civitas ista in manu regis Assyriorum.
And do not let Hezekiah cause you to trust in the Lord, saying: ‘The Lord will rescue and free us. This city will not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.’
16 Nolite audire Ezechiam: haec enim dicit rex Assyriorum: Facite mecum benedictionem, et egredimini ad me, et comedite unusquisque vineam suam, et unusquisque ficum suam: et bibite unusquisque aquam cisternae suae,
Do not listen to Hezekiah. For the king of the Assyrians says this: Act with me to your own benefit, and come out to me. And let each one eat from his own vine, and each one from his own fig tree. And let each one drink water from his own well,
17 donec veniam, et tollam vos ad terram, quae est ut terra vestra, terram frumenti et vini, terram panum et vinearum.
until I arrive and take you away to a land which is like your own: a land of grain and of wine, a land of bread and of vineyards.
18 Nec conturbet vos Ezechias, dicens: Dominus liberabit nos. Numquid liberaverunt dii gentium unusquisque terram suam de manu regis Assyriorum?
But you should not let Hezekiah disturb you, saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have any of the gods of each of the nations delivered their land from the hand of the king of the Assyrians?
19 Ubi est deus Emath, et Arphad? ubi est deus Sepharvaim? numquid liberaverunt Samariam de manu mea?
Where is the god of Hamath and of Arpad? Where is the god of Sepharvaim? Have they freed Samaria from my hand?
20 Quis est ex omnibus diis terrarum istarum, qui eruerit terram suam de manu mea, ut eruat Dominus Ierusalem de manu mea?
Who is there, among all the gods of these lands, who has rescued his land from my hand, so that the Lord would rescue Jerusalem from my hand?”
21 Et siluerunt, et non responderunt ei verbum. Mandaverat enim rex, dicens: Ne respondeatis ei.
And they remained silent and did not answer a word to him. For the king had commanded them, saying, “You shall not respond to him.”
22 Et ingressus est Eliachim filius Helchiae, qui erat super domum, et Sobna scriba, et Ioahe filius Asaph a commentariis ad Ezechiam scissis vestibus, et nunciaverunt ei verba Rabsacis.
And Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, son of Asaph, the historian, entered to Hezekiah with their garments rent, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.
