2 Kings 18:23

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!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“So now, make a bargain 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, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver 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 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.

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.

Amplified Bible
"Now then, make a bargain with my lord the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if on your part you can put 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!

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)
Now therefore giue hostages to my lord the King of Asshur, & I will giue thee two thousand horses, if thou be able 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!

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.

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 canst set the riders upon them.

Easy-to-Read Version
‘If you still want to fight my master, the king of Assyria, I 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 the 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 men to ride them!

Lexham English Bible
So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses if you are able on your part to put riders on them.

Literal Translation
And, now, I ask you, exchange pledges for yourself to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will give to you two thousand horses if you are able to give for yourself riders on them.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Make a multitude now therfore vnto my lorde the kynge of Assiria, and I wil geue ye two thousande horses, let se yf thou be able to man them:

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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Nowe therfore I pray thee geue hostages to my lorde the king of Assyria, and I will deliuer thee two thousande horses, if thou be able to set ryders vpon 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, I pray thee, giue pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliuer thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders vpon them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now, I pray you, make and agreement with my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou shalt be able on thy part 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)
Now therfor passe ye to my lord, the kyng of Assiriens, and Y schal yyue to you twei thousynde of horsis, and se ye, whether ye moun haue rideris of `tho horsis?

Young's Literal Translation
`And, now, give a pledge for thee, I pray thee, to my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to give for thee riders on them.

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, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou shalt be able on thy part to set riders upon 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 Life Bible
Come now, make an agreement with my ruler 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
Now therefore come over to my master, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, and see whether you be able to have 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.

THE MESSAGE
"So be reasonable. Make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I'll give you two thousand horses if you think you can provide riders for them. You can't do it? Well, then, how do you think you're going to turn back even one raw buck private from my master's troops? How long are you going to hold on to that figment of your imagination, these hoped-for Egyptian chariots and horses?

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

¹⁷ Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of staff from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed. ¹⁸ They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian. ¹⁹ Then the Assyrian king's chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? ²⁰ Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? ²¹ On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable! ²² "But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God!' But isn't he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn't Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem? ²³ "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! ²⁴ With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master's troops, even with the help of Egypt's chariots and charioteers? ²⁵ What's more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord 's direction? The Lord himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!'" ²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, "Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don't speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

pledges: Heb. hostages

I will deliver: 1 Samuel 17:42, 1 Samuel 17:44, 1 Kings 20:10, 1 Kings 20:18, Nehemiah 4:2-5, Psalms 123:3, Psalms 123:4, Isaiah 10:13, Isaiah 10:14, Isaiah 36:8, Isaiah 36:9

Reciprocal: Judges 9:29 - Increase thine army 2 Samuel 17:12 - we will light 2 Kings 14:14 - and hostages 2 Kings 19:23 - With the multitude Nehemiah 4:3 - Tobiah

Cross-References

Genesis 18:4
Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.

Genesis 18:5
And since you've honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey." "All right," they said. "Do as you have said."

Genesis 18:6
So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread."

Genesis 18:7
Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.

Genesis 18:25
Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"

Genesis 20:4
But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?

2 Samuel 24:17
When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord , "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family."

Job 8:3
Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?

Job 34:17
Could God govern if he hated justice? Are you going to condemn the almighty judge?

Psalms 73:28
But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The phrase translated “give pledges,” or “hostages” (margin) may perhaps be best understood as meaning “make an agreement.” If you will “bind yourself to find the riders” (i. e., trained horsemen), we will “bind ourselves to furnish the horses.” The suggestion implied that in all Judaea there were not 2000 men accustomed to serve as cavalry.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 18:23. I will deliver thee two thousand horses — Another insult: Were I to give thee two thousand Assyrian horses, thou couldst not find riders for them. How then canst thou think that thou shalt be able to stand against even the smallest division of my troops?