Isaiah 36:8

Contemporary English Version

The king of Assyria wants to make a bet with you people! He will give you two thousand horses, if you have enough troops to ride them.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them!

Hebrew Names Version
Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Ashshur, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

New American Standard Bible
"Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them!

New Century Version
"‘Now make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough men to ride them.

Amplified Bible
"So now, exchange pledges with my master the king of Assyria and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them.

World English Bible
Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe therefore giue hostages to my lorde the King of Asshur, and I wil giue thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders vpon them.

Legacy Standard Bible
So now, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to give riders for them.

Berean Standard Bible
Now therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses-if you can put riders on them!

Complete Jewish Bible
All 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.

Darby Translation
And now engage, I pray thee, with 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.

Easy-to-Read Version
"‘If you still want to fight, my master, the king of Assyria, will make this agreement with you. I promise that I will give you 2000 horses if you can find enough men to ride them into battle.

George Lamsa Translation
Now therefore make an alliance with my lord, king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you have riders to set upon them.

Good News Translation
I will make a bargain with you in the name of the emperor. I will give you two thousand horses if you can find that many riders.

Lexham English Bible
And now please make a wager with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, that is, if you are able put riders for yourself on them!

Literal Translation
Now, then, please exchange pledges with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to set riders on them for you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Abyde the, thou hast made a condicion with my lorde the kinge of the Assirias, that he shulde geue the two thousande horses: Art thou able to set me there vp?

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
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.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now therefore, I pray thee, make a wager with 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.

King James Version (1611)
Now therefore giue pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will giue thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders vpon them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Nowe therfore deliuer hostages that thou rebell no more agaynst my Lorde the kyng of the Assyrians, and I wyll geue thee two thousande horses yf thou be able to set men vpon them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.

English Revised Version
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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And now bitake thee to my lord, the kyng of Assiriens, and Y schal yyue to thee twei thousynde of horsis, and thou maist not yyue of thee stieris of tho horsis.

Update Bible Version
Now therefore, I pray you, give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou canst on thy part set riders upon them.

New English Translation
Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

New King James Version
Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses--if you are able on your part to put riders on them!

New Living Translation
"I'll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!

New Life Bible
So now come and make an agreement with my leader, the king of Assyria. And I will give you 2,000 horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them.

New Revised Standard
Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, pledge thyself I pray thee with my lord, the king of Assyria, - That I supply thee with two thousand horses, If thou on thy part be able to set riders upon them;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now deliver thyself up to my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give thee two thousand horses, and thou wilt not be able on thy part to find riders for them.

Revised Standard Version
Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them.

Young's Literal Translation
`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.

THE MESSAGE
"‘Be reasonable. Face the facts: My master the king of Assyria will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them. You can't do it, can you? So how do you think, depending on flimsy Egypt's chariots and riders, you can stand up against even the lowest-ranking captain in my master's army?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

Contextual Overview

¹ Hezekiah had been king of Judah for fourteen years when King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded the country and captured every walled city ² except Jerusalem. The Assyrian king ordered his army commander to leave the city of Lachish and to take a large army to Jerusalem. The commander went there and stood on the road near the cloth makers' shops along the canal from the upper pool. ³ Three of the king's highest officials came out of Jerusalem to meet him. One of them was Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was the prime minister. The other two were Shebna, assistant to the prime minister, and Joah son of Asaph, keeper of the government records. ⁴ The Assyrian commander told them: I have a message for Hezekiah from the great king of Assyria. Ask Hezekiah why he feels so sure of himself. ⁵ Does he think he can plan and win a war with nothing but words? Who is going to help him, now that he has turned against the king of Assyria? ⁶ Is he depending on Egypt and its king? That's the same as leaning on a broken stick, and it will go right through his hand. ⁷ Is Hezekiah now depending on the Lord , your God? Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the Lord 's altars and places of worship? Didn't he tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place? ⁸ The king of Assyria wants to make a bet with you people! He will give you two thousand horses, if you have enough troops to ride them. ⁹ How could you even defeat our lowest ranking officer, when you have to depend on Egypt for chariots and cavalry? ¹⁰ Don't forget that it was the Lord who sent me here with orders to destroy your nation!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

pledges: or, hostages, 2 Kings 14:14

and I: Isaiah 10:13, Isaiah 10:14, 1 Samuel 17:40-43, 1 Kings 20:10, 1 Kings 20:18, 2 Kings 18:23, Nehemiah 4:2-5, Psalms 20:7, Psalms 20:8, Psalms 123:3, Psalms 123:4

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:18 - General Deuteronomy 17:16 - multiply horses Judges 9:29 - Increase thine army 1 Samuel 17:36 - seeing 2 Kings 13:7 - fifty horsemen Psalms 80:6 - our enemies Isaiah 10:8 - General Jeremiah 9:23 - neither Hosea 14:3 - we will not

Cross-References

Genesis 14:6
They also defeated the Horites in the hill country of Edom, as far as El-Paran, near the desert.

Genesis 32:3
Jacob sent messengers on ahead to Esau, who lived in the land of Seir, also known as Edom.

Genesis 36:1
Esau, also known as Edom, had many descendants.

Genesis 36:2
He married three Canaanite women: The first was Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; the second was Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

Genesis 36:7
He did this because the land was too crowded and could not support him and his brother with their flocks and herds.

Genesis 36:19
All of these clans descended from Esau, who was known as Edom.

Genesis 36:20
Seir was from the Horite tribe that had lived in Edom before the time of Esau. The clans that had descended from him were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

Deuteronomy 2:5
but don't start a war with them. I have given them the hill country of Seir, so I won't give any of it to you, not even enough to set a foot on.

Joshua 24:4
Then I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I had Esau live in the hill country of Mount Seir, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went to live in Egypt.

1 Chronicles 4:42
Some time later, five hundred men from the Simeon tribe went into Edom under the command of Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel the sons of Ishi.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now therefore give pledges to my master the king of Assyria,.... Or; "hostages" h; that thou wilt not rebel against him, but be faithful to him, and he will withdraw his army; or give security for the horses after promised: "or mingle thyself with him"; agree the matter with him, give pledges for future fidelity; or join in battle with him, come out and fight him, if able:

and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders on them; thus scoffing at him, as if he had not so many soldiers to bring out against him; or so many men in his kingdom as had skill enough to ride a horse; in his bravado he signifies, that if he would come out and fight him, he would lend him so many horses, if he could put men upon them, to assist him; this he said as boasting of his master's strength and power, and in scorn and derision at Hezekiah's weakness.

h התערב "da obsides", Vatablus; "paciscere cum domino meo, Gataker; "misceto, quaeso, [bellum] cum domino meo", Junius & Tremellius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now, therefore, give pledges - Margin, ‘Hostages.’ The Hebrew verb (ערב ‛ârab) means properly to mix or mingle; then, to exchange commodities by barter or traffic; then, to become surety for anyone, to exchange with him, to stand in his place; then, to pledge, to pledge one’s life, or to give security of any kind. Here it is used in a spirit of taunting or derision, and is equivalent to what would be said among us, ‘I will bet you, or I will lay a wager, that if we should give you only two thousand horses, you could not find men enough to ride them, or men that had knowledge of horsemanship enough to guide them.’ There was much severity in this taunt. The Jews hoped to defend themselves. Yet here was an immense army coming up to lay siege against them. What hope had they of defense? So weak and feeble were they, that Rabshakeh said they could not furnish even two thousand horsemen to resist all the host of the Assyrians. There was also, doubtless, much truth in this taunt. It was not permitted by the law of Moses for the Jews to keep cavalry, nor for their kings to multiply horses. The reason of this may be seen in the notes at Isaiah 2:7. Though some of the kings, and especially Solomon, had disregarded this law of Moses, yet Hezekiah had endeavored to restore the observance of the law, and it is probable that he find no cavalry, and that the art of horsemanship was little known in Jerusalem. As the Assyrians prided themselves on their cavalry, they consequently looked with contempt on a people who were destitute of this means of defense.