Isaiah 36

Isaiah · Chapter 36

Isaiah 36:5

1Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.2And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.3Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder.4And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?5I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?6Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.7But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?8Now 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.9How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?10And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.11Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.12But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?13Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.14Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.15Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.16Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, 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;17Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.18Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?20Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?21But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.22Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
5I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?I say, thy counsel and strength for the war are but vain words: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
I sayאָמַ֙רְתִּי֙'a-MAR-tiH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

onlyאַךְ־'akh-H0389
surely

אַךְ (akh) 1) indeed, surely (emphatic) 2) howbeit, only, but, yet (restrictive)

a word ofדְּבַר־de-var-H1697G
word

דָּבָר (da.var) : word/speech/command 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words 1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner (by extension)

lipsשְׂפָתַ֔יִםse-fa-TA-yimH8193H
lips

שָׂפָה (sa.phah) : lips/mouth 1) lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding 1a) lip (as body part) 1b) language 1c) edge, shore, bank (of cup, sea, river, etc)

[are] a planעֵצָ֥ה'e-TZAHH6098
counsel

עֵצָה (e.tsah) counsel, advice, purpose

and strengthוּגְבוּרָ֖הu-ge-vu-RAHH1369
might

גְּבוּרָה (ge.vu.rah) 1) strength, might 1a) strength 1b) might, valour, bravery 1c) might, mighty deeds (of God) Aramaic equivalent: ge.vu.rah (גְּבוּרָה "might" H1370)

for the warלַמִּלְחָמָ֑הla-mil-cha-MAHH4421
battle

מִלְחָמָה (mil.cha.mah) battle, war

nowעַתָּה֙'a-TAHH6258
now

עַתָּ֫ה (at.tah) 1) now 1a) now 1b) in phrases

onעַל־'al-H5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

whom?מִ֣יmiH4310
who?

מִי (mi) who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever

do you relyבָטַ֔חְתָּva-TACH-taH0982
to trust

בָּטַח (ba.tach) 1) to trust 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to trust, trust in 1a2) to have confidence, be confident 1a3) to be bold 1a4) to be secure 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to cause to trust, make secure 2) (TWOT) to feel safe, be careless

thatכִּ֥יkiH3588A
for

כִּי (ki) 1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since 1a) that 1a1) yea, indeed 1b) when (of time) 1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force) 1c) because, since (causal connection) 1d) but (after negative) 1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if 1f) but rather, but 1g) except that 1h) only, nevertheless 1i) surely 1j) that is 1k) but if 1l) for though 1m) forasmuch as, for therefore

you have rebelledמָרַ֖דְתָּma-RAD-taH4775
to rebel

מָרַד (ma.rad) 1) to rebel, revolt, be rebellious 1a) (Qal) to rebel, revolt 1a1) against human king 1a2) against God 1a3) against light (poetic)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.