Isaiah 36 - Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Sennacherib’s Invasion

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,(A) Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish(B) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller’s Field.(C) 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(D) and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him.

4 The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on?[a] 5 I[b] say that your strategy and military preparedness are mere words. What are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?(E) 6 Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(F) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him.(G) 7 Suppose you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar’?(H)

8 Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! 9 How then can you drive back a single officer among the weakest of my master’s officers and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?(I) 10 Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(J) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew[c] within earshot of the people who are on the wall.”

12 But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew:[d]

Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: “Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you,(K) for he cannot deliver you. 15 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will certainly deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’”

16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make peace[e] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree(L) and drink water from his own cistern 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’(M) Has any one of the gods of the nations(N) delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?(O) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my power?(P) 20 Who among all the gods of these lands ever delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem.”

21 But they kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.”(Q) 22 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:4 Lit What is this trust that you trust
  2. Isaiah 36:5 DSS read You
  3. Isaiah 36:11 Lit Judahite
  4. Isaiah 36:13 Lit Judahite
  5. Isaiah 36:16 Lit a blessing

Cross references

  1. 36:1-22 : 2Kg 18:13, 17-37; 2Ch 32:1-16, 18
  2. 36:2 : Jos 15:20, 39
  3. 36:2 : Is 7:3
  4. 36:3 : Is 22:15, 20-21
  5. 36:5 : 2Kg 18:7
  6. 36:6 : Ezk 29:6-7
  7. 36:6 : Is 30:3-7
  8. 36:7 : Dt 12:2-5; 2Kg 18:4-5
  9. 36:9 : Is 20:5; 30:2-5, 7; 31:3
  10. 36:11 : Ezr 4:7; Dn 2:4
  11. 36:14 : Is 37:10
  12. 36:16 : 1Kg 4:25; Mc 4:4; Zch 3:10
  13. 36:18 : Is 37:10
  14. 36:18 : 1Ch 5:25; Is 37:12
  15. 36:19 : Is 10:9-11; 37:11-13; Jr 49:23
  16. 36:19 : 2Kg 17:6
  17. 36:21 : Pr 26:4

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36 And it cometh to pass, in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, come up hath Sennacherib king of Asshur against all the fenced cities of Judah, and seizeth them. 2 And the king of Asshur sendeth Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, unto the king Hezekiah, with a heavy force, and he standeth by th...
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36 And it was done in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of Assyrians, ascended on all the strong cities of Judah, and took them. 2 And the king of Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with great power; and he stood at the water conduit of th...
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Isaiah 36 - World English Bible (WEB)

36 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah with a large army. He stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool in the fuller’...
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Isaiah 36 - The Voice (VOICE)

36 After Hezekiah had been Judah’s king for 14 years, King Sennacherib of Assyria launched an attack against Judah’s fortified cities and conquered them. 2 Sennacherib sent his right-hand man (whom they call the Rabshakeh) to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem along with an army to intimidate him. The Rabs...
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Isaiah 36 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Sennacherib Dares Jerusalem36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent the Rab-shakeh[a] from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a massive army...
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Isaiah 36 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki′ah, Sennach′erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rab′shakeh from Lachish to King Hezeki′ah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the...
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Isaiah 36 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki′ah, Sennach′erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rab′shakeh from Lachish to King Hezeki′ah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the...
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Isaiah 36 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. He stood by the conduit...
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Isaiah 36 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(A)2 The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He stood by the conduit...
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Isaiah 36 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Assyria Invades Judah36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,[a] 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[b] from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assy...
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Isaiah 36 - New Life Version (NLV)

Assyria Takes Cities of Judah36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the strong cities of Judah and took them. 2 The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a large army. And he stood by the ditch of the uppe...
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Isaiah 36 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord(A)36 Now (B)it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the [a]Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah ...
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Sennacherib threatens Jerusalem36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the com...
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Isaiah 36 - New International Version (NIV)

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Isaiah 36 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Sennacherib Warns Jerusalem36 Sennacherib attacked and captured all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. It was in the 14th year of the rule of Hezekiah. Sennacherib was king of Assyria. 2 He sent his field commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He sent him along with...
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