21
Dost thou trust in Egypt a staff of a broken reed, upon which if a man lean, it will break and go into his hand, and pierce it? so is Pharao, king of Egypt, to all that trust in him.
22
But if you say to me: We trust in the Lord, our God: is it not he, whose high places and altars Ezechias hath taken away: and hath commanded Juda and Jerusalem: You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
23
Now therefore come over to my master, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, and see whether you be able to have riders for them.
24
And how can you stand against one lord of the least of my master’s servants? Dost thou trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
25
Is it without the will of the Lord that I am come up to this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me: Go up to this land, and destroy it.
26
Then Eliacim, the son of Helcias, and Sobna, and Joahe, said to Rabsaces: We pray thee, speak to us, thy servants, in Syriac: for we understand that tongue: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the hearing of the people that are upon the wall.
27
And Rabsaces answered them, saying: Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words, and not rather to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their urine with you?
28
Then Rabsaces stood, and cried out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said: Hear the word of the great king, the king of the Assyrians.
29
Thus saith the king: Let not Ezechias deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of my hand.
30
Neither let him make you trust in the Lord, saying: The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.
31
Do not hearken to Ezechias. For thus saith the king of the Assyrians: Do with me that which is for your advantage, and come out to me: and every man of you shall eat of his own vineyard, and of his own fig tree: and you shall drink water of your own cisterns,