Isaiah 36:8

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®
“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!

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 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 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 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. ² Then the king of Assyria sent 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. ³ These are the officials who went out to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian. ⁴ 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? ⁵ Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? ⁶ 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! ⁷ "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? ⁸ "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! ⁹ 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? ¹⁰ 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!'"

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
and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the wilderness.

Genesis 32:3
Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom.

Genesis 36:1
This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom).

Genesis 36:2
Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.

Genesis 36:7
There was not enough land to support them both because of all the livestock and possessions they had acquired.

Genesis 36:19
These are the clans descended from Esau (also known as Edom), identified by their clan leaders.

Genesis 36:20
These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

Deuteronomy 2:5
Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land.

Joshua 24:4
To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

1 Chronicles 4:42
Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel—all 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.