Isaiah 36:14-22

14 Thus said the king, Let not Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you;
15 and let not Hezekiah make you trust unto Jehovah, saying, Jehovah doth certainly deliver us, this city is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur.
16 `Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur, Make ye with me a blessing, and come out unto me, and eat ye each of his vine, and each of his fig-tree, and drink ye each the waters of his own well,
17 till my coming in, and I have taken you unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards;
18 lest Hezekiah doth persuade you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us. `Have the gods of the nations delivered each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur?
19 Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where the gods of Sepharvaim, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20 Who among all the gods of these lands [are] they who have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'
21 And they keep silent, and have not answered him a word, for a command of the king is, saying, `Do not answer him.'
22 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [is] over the house, cometh in, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the remembrancer, unto Hezekiah with rent garments, and they declare to him the words of Rabshakeh.

Isaiah 36:14-22 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.

Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.