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Wednesday, August 27th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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New King James Version

2 Kings 18:31

Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: "Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Cistern;   Diplomacy;   Hypocrisy;   Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Jerusalem;   Rab-Shakeh (Rabshakeh);   Sennacherib;   War;   Thompson Chain Reference - Cisterns;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Assyria;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Temple;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Assyria;   Fig;   Hezekiah;   Jerusalem;   Nahum;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Rabshakeh;   Scribes;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Hezekiah;   House;   Sennacherib;   Well;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Assyria, History and Religion of;   Cupbearer;   Rabshakeh;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Cistern;   Hezekiah;   Isaiah, Book of;   Israel;   Philistines;   Rab-Shakeh;   Text, Versions, and Languages of Ot;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Cisterns;   Rabshakeh ;   Sennacherib ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Hezekiah;   Presents;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Hezekiah;   Rabshakeh;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Fig (tree);  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cistern;   Fig;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Assyria;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and each may drink water from his own cistern
Hebrew Names Version
Don't listen to Hizkiyahu: for thus says the king of Ashshur, Make your shalom with me, and come out to me; and eat you everyone of his vine, and everyone of his fig tree, and everyone drink the waters of his own cistern;
King James Version
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
English Standard Version
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern,
New Century Version
"Don't listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own well.
New English Translation
Don't listen to Hezekiah!' For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,
Amplified Bible
'Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: "Surrender to me and come out to [meet] me, and every man may eat from his own vine and fig tree, and every man may drink the waters of his own well,
New American Standard Bible
'Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern,
World English Bible
Don't listen to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat you everyone of his vine, and everyone of his fig tree, and everyone drink the waters of his own cistern;
Geneva Bible (1587)
Hearken not vnto Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Asshur, Make appointment with me, and come out to me, that euery man may eate of his owne vine, & euery man of his owne figge tree, and drinke euery man of the water of his owne well,
Legacy Standard Bible
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, "Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern,
Berean Standard Bible
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,
Contemporary English Version
Stop listening to Hezekiah! Pay attention to my king. Surrender to him. He will let you keep your own vineyards, fig trees, and cisterns
Complete Jewish Bible
Don't listen to Hizkiyahu.' For this is what the king of Ashur says: ‘Make peace with me, surrender to me. Then every one of you can eat from his vine and fig tree and drink the water in his own cistern;
Darby Translation
Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me, and come out to me; and eat every one of his vine and every one of his fig-tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern;
Easy-to-Read Version
Don't listen to Hezekiah! This is what the king of Assyria says: Come out here and show me that you want peace. Then you will all be free to have grapes from your own vines, figs from your own trees, and water from your own well.
George Lamsa Translation
Do not hearken to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat every one of you of his own vine and of his own fig tree and drink every one the waters of his own cistern,
Good News Translation
Don't listen to Hezekiah. The emperor of Assyria commands you to come out of the city and surrender. You will all be allowed to eat grapes from your own vines and figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own wells—
Lexham English Bible
Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make with me a treaty of peace and come out to me that each may eat from his vine and each from his fig tree, and each may drink water from his cistern!
Literal Translation
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for so says the king of Assyria, Make with me a peace treaty and come out to me; and you each shall eat of his vine, and each of his fig tree, and you each shall drink of the waters of his own well,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Folowe not ye Ezechias, for thus sayeth the kynge of Assiria: Do me this blessynge, and come forth vnto me, so shal eueryman eate of his vyne and of his fygge tre, and drynke of his well,
American Standard Version
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;
Bible in Basic English
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;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Hearken not vnto Hezekia: For thus sayth the king of Assyria, Deale kindely with me, and come out to me, and then eate euery man of his owne vine, and of his owne figge tree, and drincke euery man of the water of his owne well,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
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;
King James Version (1611)
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus sayth the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eate yee euery man of his owne vine, and euery one of his figge tree, and drinke yee euery one the waters of his cisterne:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
for thus says the king of the Assyrians, Gain my favour, and come forth to me, and every man shall drink of the wine of his own vine, and every man shall eat of his own fig-tree, and shall drink water out of his own cistern;
English Revised Version
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;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
nyle ye here Ezechie. For the kyng of Assiriens seith these thingis, Do ye with me that, that is profitable to you, and go ye out to me; and eche man schal ete of his vyner, and of his fige tree, and ye schulen drynke watris of youre cisternes,
Young's Literal Translation
`Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur, Make 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,
Update Bible Version
Don't listen to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern;
Webster's Bible Translation
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make [an agreement] with me by a present, and come out to me, and [then] eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
New Living Translation
"Don't listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.
New Life Bible
Do not listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says, "Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat of his own vine and fig tree. And every one of you will drink the water of his own well.
New Revised Standard
Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat from your own vine and your own fig tree, and drink water from your own cistern,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, - for, thus, saith the king of Assyria, Deal with me thankfully, and come out unto me, then shall ye eat - every one of his own vine, and every one of his own fig-tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Do not hearken to Ezechias. For thus saith the king of the Assyrians: Do with me that which is for your advantage, and come out to me: and every man of you shall eat of his own vineyard, and of his own fig tree: and you shall drink water of your own cisterns,
Revised Standard Version
Do not listen to Hezeki'ah; for thus says the king of Assyria: 'Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and every one of you will drink the water of his own cistern;
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, "Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern,

Contextual Overview

17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, [fn] the Rabsaris, [fn] and the Rabshakeh [fn] from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller's Field. 18 And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, "Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What confidence is this in which you trust? 20 You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21 Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, "We trust in the LORD our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem'?"' 23 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! 24 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Have I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, "Go up against this land, and destroy it."' 26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew [fn] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Make an agreement with me: or, Seek my favour, Heb. Make with me a blessing, Genesis 32:20, Genesis 33:11, Proverbs 18:16

eat ye: 1 Kings 4:20, 1 Kings 4:25, Zechariah 3:10

cistern: or, pit

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 11:2 - On this 1 Kings 20:6 - and they shall search 2 Kings 17:3 - and Hoshea 2 Kings 17:24 - Ava Isaiah 33:18 - receiver Isaiah 36:16 - Make an agreement with me by a present Jeremiah 14:3 - pits

Cross-References

Genesis 18:20
And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
Genesis 18:22
Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
Genesis 18:27
Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
Matthew 7:7
Luke 11:9-13">[xr] "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Luke 11:8
I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Luke 18:1
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
Ephesians 6:18
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Make an agreement ... - Rather, “Make peace with me.” The word, which primarily means “blessing,” and secondarily “a gift,” has also the meaning, though more rarely, of “peace.” Probably it acquired this meaning from the fact that a peace was commonly purchased by presents.

eat ... drink - A picture of a time of quiet and prosperity, a time when each man might enjoy the fruits of his land, without any fear of the spoiler’s violence. The words are in contrast with the latter part of 2 Kings 18:27.

Cistern - Rather, “well” Deuteronomy 6:11. Each cultivator in Palestine has a “well” dug in some part of his ground, from which he draws water for his own use. “Cisterns,” or reservoirs for rain-water, are comparatively rare.


 
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