| Chapter
36 |
| 1 | Now it
came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of
Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. |
| 2 | And the king of Assyria
sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army.
And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's
field. |
| 3 | Then came forth
unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the
scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder. |
| 4 | And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah,
Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein
thou trustest? |
| 5 | I say,
sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war:
now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? |
| 6 | Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this
broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and
pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. |
| 7 | But if thou say to me, We trust in
the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah
hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before
this altar? |
| 8 | Now
therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I
will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders
upon them. |
| 9 | How then
wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's
servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? |
| 10 | And am I now come up without
the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against
this land, and destroy it. |
| 11
| Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray
thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak
not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the
wall. |
| 12 | But Rabshakeh
said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words?
hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their
own dung, and drink their own piss with you? |
| 13 | Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in
the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of
Assyria. |
| 14 | Thus saith
the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver
you. |
| 15 | Neither let
Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us:
this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. |
| 16 | Hearken not to Hezekiah: for
thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and
come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig
tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; |
| 17 | Until I come and take you away to a
land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and
vineyards. |
| 18 | Beware
lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, the LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the
gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of
Assyria? |
| 19 | Where are
the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they
delivered Samaria out of my hand? |
|
20 | Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have
delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out
of my hand? |
| 21 | But they
held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was,
saying, Answer him not. |
| 22 |
Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and
Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with
their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. |
