Isaiah 36:4-14

4 The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah this: "'The great king, the king of Assyria, says: What can you trust in now?

5 You say you have battle plans and power for war, but your words mean nothing. Whom are you trusting for help so that you turn against me?

6 Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you, but Egypt is like a splintered walking stick. If you lean on it for help, it will stab your hand and hurt you. The king of Egypt will hurt all those who depend on him.

7 You might say, "We are depending on the Lord our God," but Hezekiah destroyed the Lord's altars and the places of worship. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship only at this one altar."

8 "'Now make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough men to ride them.

9 You cannot defeat one of my master's least important officers, so why do you depend on Egypt to give you chariots and horsemen?

10 I have not come to attack and destroy this country without an order from the Lord. The Lord himself told me to come to this country and destroy it.'"

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the field commander, "Please speak to us in the Aramaic language. We understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew, because the people on the city wall can hear you."

12 But the commander said, "My master did not send me to tell these things only to you and your king. He sent me to speak also to those people sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine like you."

13 Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in the Hebrew language, "Listen to what the great king, the king of Assyria says,

14 The king says you should not let Hezekiah fool you, because he can't save you.

Isaiah 36:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 36

In this chapter we have an account of the king Assyria's invasion of Judea, and of the railing speech of Rabshakeh his general, to discourage the ministers and subjects of the king of Judah. The time and success of the invasion are observed in Isa 36:1 the messenger the former king sent to the latter, and from whence, and with whom, he conferred, Isa 36:2,3, the speech of the messenger, which consists of two parts; the first part is directed to the ministers of Hezekiah, showing the vain confidence of their prince in his counsels and strength for war, in the king of Egypt, and in his chariots and horsemen, and even in the Lord himself, pretending that he came by his orders to destroy the land, Isa 36:4-10. The other part is directed to the common people on the wall, he refusing to speak in the Syrian language, as desired, Isa 36:11,12, dissuading them from hearkening to Hezekiah to their own deception; persuading them to come into an agreement with him for their own safety and good; observing to them that none of the gods of the nations could deliver them out of his master's hands, and therefore it was in vain for them to expect deliverance from the Lord their God, Isa 36:13-20, to which neither ministers nor people returned any answer; but the former went with their clothes rent to Hezekiah, and reported what had been said, Isa 36:21,22.