Study Desk

Then the king of Assyria sent ^(C1)Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the ^(C2)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the road of the ^(F1)fuller's field.

Then they called to the king, and ^(C1)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, ^(C2)Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, went out to them.

And Rabshakeh said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah, 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: "^(C1)What is this confidence that you ^(F1)have?

"You say—but they are only ^(F1)empty words—'I have a plan and strength for the war.' Now on whom have you relied, ^(C1)that you have revolted against me?

"Now behold, you have ^(F1)(C1)relied on the ^(F2)support of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his ^(F3)hand and pierce it. That is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him.

"However, if you say to me, 'We have trusted in the LORD our God,' is it not He whose high places and ^(C1)whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem'?

"Now then, ^(F1)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!

"How then can you drive back even ^(F1)one ^(F2)official of the least of my master's servants, and ^(F3)rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

"Have I now come up without ^(F1)the LORD'S approval against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.'"'"

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, "Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, because we ^(F1)understand it; and do not speak with us in ^(F2)(C1)Judean ^(F3)so that the people who are on the wall hear you."

But Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"

Then Rabshakeh stood up and shouted with a loud voice in Judean, ^(F1)saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

"This is what the king says: '^(C1)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you from ^(F1)my hand.

'And do not let Hezekiah lead you to trust in the LORD by saying, "The LORD will certainly save us, and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

'Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make ^(F1)your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, ^(C1)each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern,

until I come and take you ^(C1)to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees producing oil, and of honey, so that you will live and not die." But do not listen to Hezekiah, because he misleads you by saying, "The LORD will save us."

'^(C1)Has any of the gods of the nations actually saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

'^(C1)Where are the gods of Hamath and ^(C2)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and ^(F1)(C3)Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my hand?

'Who among all the gods of the lands are there who have saved their land from my hand, ^(C1)that the LORD would save Jerusalem from my hand?'"

But the people were silent and did not answer him with even a word, because it was the king's ^(F1)command: "Do not answer him."

Then ^(C1)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah ^(C2)with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.