Isaiah 36:4

4 The Rabshakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: 'What are you basing your confidence on?^[a]

Isaiah 36:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 36:4

And Rabshakeh said unto them
The three ministers above mentioned: say ye now to Hezekiah;
tell him what follows; he does not call him king, as he does his own master: thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria;
this he said boastingly of his master, and in order to terrify Hezekiah and his subjects; whom he would represent as little in comparison of him, who had subdued many kingdoms, and aimed at universal monarchy; so the eastern kings used to be called, as now the Grand Signior with the Turks, and the French call their king the great monarch; but the title of a great king suits best with God himself, ( Psalms 95:3 ) : what confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
meaning, what was the ground and foundation of his confidence? what was it that kept him in high spirits, that he did not at once submit to the king of Assyria, and surrender the city of Jerusalem to him?

Isaiah 36:4 In-Context

2 Then the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller's Field.

3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the record keeper, came out to him.

4 The Rabshakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: 'What are you basing your confidence on?

5 I say that your plans and military preparedness are mere words. Now who are you trusting in that you have rebelled against me?

6 Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit What is this trust that you trust