Isaiah 36:22

22 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes to show how upset they were. (Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the palace manager, Shebna was the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph was the recorder.) The three men went to Hezekiah and told him what the field commander had said.

Isaiah 36:22 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 36:22

Then came Eliakim, that was over the household
The first of the commissioners sent to Rabshakeh: and Shebna the Scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to
Hezekiah:
by which it seems that he could not be with them on the wall, but was all the while in his own palace, whither they came to him, to report the issue of their conference with Rabshakeh: with their clothes rent;
which was done perhaps not in the presence and within the sight of Rabshakeh, but as they came along; and that partly on account of the blasphemies they had heard, ( Matthew 26:65 ) , and partly through the grief of heart, for the distress and calamity they might fear were coming on themselves, their king, their city, and country, ( Joel 2:13 ) : and told him the words of Rabshakeh;
what he had said against him, and against the God of Israel, his menaces and his blasphemies; they made a faithful report of the whole, as messengers ought to do. What effect this had upon the king, we have an account of in the following chapter.

Isaiah 36:22 In-Context

20 Not one of all the gods of these countries has saved his people from me. Neither can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power."
21 The people were silent. They didn't answer the commander at all, because King Hezekiah had ordered, "Don't answer him."
22 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes to show how upset they were. (Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the palace manager, Shebna was the royal secretary, and Joah son of Asaph was the recorder.) The three men went to Hezekiah and told him what the field commander had said.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.