Isaiah 36 Commentary

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Isaiah 36:1 Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.

NLT  In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them.

• it came: 2Ki 18:13,17 2Ch 32:1 
• that Sennacherib: Isa 1:7,8 7:17 8:7,8 10:28-32 33:7,8 

Related Passages: 

2 Kings 18:13+ Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. (NOTE: Chapters 36–39 of Isaiah are essentially identical to 2 Kings 18:13–20:19, with the same historical events also summarized in 2 Chronicles 32:1–33.)

2 Kings 18:14-16+ Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. 

2 Chronicles 32:1-8+ After these acts of faithfulness (see 2Kings 18:1-8) Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself. 2 Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, 3 he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him (SEE MAP BELOW). 4 So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 5 And he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall and strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great number. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. 8 “With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Isaiah 36–39 recounts the dramatic events surrounding 701 B.C., when Assyria launched its decisive campaign against Judah. The crisis followed the death of Sargon II in 705 B.C., an event that triggered widespread rebellion throughout the Assyrian Empire early in the reign of his successor, Sennacherib. Resistance flared across the Fertile Crescent: Merodach-Baladan stirred revolt in Babylon to the east, while Shabako led opposition from Egypt in the west. Encouraged by a pro-Egyptian faction that gained influence in Jerusalem, King Hezekiah aligned Judah with this anti-Assyrian coalition.

In response, Sennacherib first secured his eastern territories, then marched west to crush the rebellion. Phoenicia was subdued, and the smaller regional powers quickly fell. Philistia and Egypt were devastated, and Judah itself was systematically ravaged as Sennacherib tightened the noose around Jerusalem. By 701 B.C., the Assyrian king stood poised to besiege the city. At this critical moment, Rabshakeh, Sennacherib’s chief spokesman, delivered a chilling ultimatum demanding Jerusalem’s surrender (Isa 36:8–13). Humanly speaking, Judah’s situation was hopeless—yet it was precisely then that the Lord intervened, miraculously delivering Jerusalem and demonstrating that the fate of nations ultimately rests not in imperial power, but in the sovereign hand of God.

ASSYRIANS ASSAULT
TAKES JUDEAN CITIES

Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them - The invasion described in Isaiah 36:1 and 2 Kings 18:13 took place in 701 BC, which corresponds to the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign and is one of the best-established dates in Old Testament history. It is confirmed not only by the biblical text but also by Assyrian records, including Nineveh inscriptions such as Sennacherib’s Prism, which describe Sennacherib’s campaign against Judah.

This moment marked a severe national crisis, placing immense pressure on Hezekiah’s faith and leadership as Judah faced overwhelming military odds against the mighty Assyrian forces, the greatest army in the world at that time. The invasion tested whether Hezekiah's trust would rest in human defenses or in the LORD Alone. This episode reminds us that even God’s faithful servants are not spared trials, but that such trials often become the stage on which God displays His saving power and faithfulness. As Ps 34:19+ declares, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Another way to look at this truth is that faith does not mean we will have no attacks or tests! (Jas 1:2-7+, 1Pe 1:6-7+, 1Pe 4:12+)

ARCHEAOLOGY FINDINGS CONFIRMING ASSYRIAN INVASION OF JUDAH - Here is part of the Akkadian insciption found on the Taylor Prism - "As for Hezekiah the Judahite, who did not submit to my yoke…Forty-six of his strong, walled cities… which were without number… I besieged, I captured…200,150 people… male and female… horses, mules, asses, camels, cattle and sheep… I brought away from them and counted as spoil. Hezekiah himself, like a caged bird I shut up in Jerusalem, his royal city…His cities which I had despoiled, I cut off from his land…" (Source)

Bob Utley - "in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah" Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, p. 207, asserts that a copyist miscopied "24" to "14." The 24^th year fits the other dates given in 2 Kings. SPECIAL TOPIC: TEXTUAL CRITICISM

Bob Utley -  "Sennacherib king of Assyria" He began this invasion in 701 B.C. See Introduction to Isaiah for further historical information.The Jewish Study Bible, p. 763, has a good summary of the Assyrian account of this incursion. "Sennacherib's own accounts mention that he conqered 46 strong cities and forts, that he captured over 200,000 people, that he made 'Hezekiah a prisoner in Jerusalem, like a bird in a cage,' and that Hezekiah paid him a large tribute, including his daughters, palace women, and male and female singers."

ESV Study Bible page 790 (borrow)

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See Sennacherib’s Siege of Lachish - Study reveals how Assyria conquered the Judahite city - excerpt...

Plan and section drawings of the reconstructed siege ramp at Lachish,
starting from the far end with a stone quarry nearby
Credit: Yosef Garfinkel et al.

Perhaps no event recorded in the Hebrew Bible is better supported by archaeology and external evidence than Sennacherib’s siege of Lachish in 701 B.C.E. The siege of Lachish is documented in multiple Assyrian texts and reliefs and is also clearly visible in the site’s archaeology. These various sources agree that Lachish eventually fell to the Assyrians, who built a massive siege ramp to reach the top of the city’s walls. The same tactic would later be used by the Romans in their siege of Masada. A study, published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, examines what went into the construction of the Lachish siege ramp and, in turn, argues for the accuracy of the biblical description of the event. (full article)

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QUESTION - Who was Sennacherib? gotquestions.org

ANSWER - Sennacherib was the king of Assyria who reigned from about 720 BC to 683 BC. Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of his palace in Khorsebad, near the ancient city of Nineveh (Jonah 1:1–3). During the reign of King Hezekiah in Judah, Sennacherib invaded Judah, bent on conquering Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13). Assyria had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and had taken the people captive. Second Kings 18:12 says, “This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.” Now, under Sennacherib, Assyria stood poised to conquer Judah, too.

King Sennacherib’s men first attacked forty-six of Judah’s fortified cities and captured them (Isaiah 36:1). Then they laid siege on Jerusalem. In desperation, Hezekiah sent gold and silver as a peace offering to Assyria, hoping to appease the power-hungry Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13–16). The Lord sent word to Hezekiah that Sennacherib would not step foot inside the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:33), so Hezekiah stood firm and refused to give in to the Assyrian king’s boastful threats (2 Kings 18:28–35; 2 Chronicles 32:17). He commanded the terrified citizens of Jerusalem not to answer taunts from Sennacherib’s men outside the wall (2 Kings 18:36). Instead, Hezekiah encouraged the people in the Lord: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chronicles 32:7–8).

Hezekiah sent messengers to Isaiah the prophet to learn what God said on the matter. Because Sennacherib had blasphemed the Lord in his threats against Jerusalem, Isaiah told the king’s messengers, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword’” (2 Kings 19:5–7).

Hezekiah received the message from Isaiah gladly, but Sennacherib sent Hezekiah a letter of his own: “Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?” (2 Kings 19:10–13). King Sennacherib had a long list of victories to boast of, but he made the mistake of thinking Israel’s God was just like the gods of the nations he had defeated.

King Hezekiah took the boastful letter he received from Sennacherib to the temple where he spread it out before the Lord. Then he prayed, “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God” (2 Kings 19:15–16). Hezekiah acknowledged that Assyria was powerful, but he knew that God was more powerful: “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God” (2Ki 19:17–19).

The prophet Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah that, because of Sennacherib’s blasphemous taunts about the God of Israel, the Lord Himself would fight for them and destroy Sennacherib and his armies. Sennacherib was not just defying Israel; he was defying the Living God. That night, the angel of the Lord slew 185,000 in the Assyrian camp. When Sennacherib saw the carnage, he abandoned his conquest of Jerusalem and fled to Nineveh. He never stepped foot inside Jerusalem, just as Isaiah had said.

As Psalm 139:7–12 reminds us, no one can hide from the Lord. One day as Sennacherib was worshiping in his god’s temple, his own sons killed him with a sword (2 Kings 19:36–37). Thus Isaiah’s prophecy of verse 7 was fulfilled.

Hezekiah’s passive victory over Sennacherib is another example of the Lord’s promise to fight for His people (Exodus 14:14; 1 Samuel 17:47; cf. 2 Kings 19:34). As long as they honored Him and obeyed His commands, the Lord was their Defender. He often allowed them to face opposition greater than their resources in order to demonstrate His power and love. The Lord still seeks those who will honor Him so that He can show Himself strong on their behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9). The account of Sennacherib’s failed siege ends with this: “So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side” (2 Chronicles 32:22). Once again, the Lord demonstrated to Judah and to all who call upon His name that “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47).

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F B Meyer - Sennacherib. -- It must have been a vast disappointment when the Assyrian came to invade Judah. But the invasion would probably give a great assistance to the cause of reform, arresting and warning many who thought the king too particular. It was a great mistake to bribe Sennacherib; and, like so many of our expedients, it did not avail. What a lamentable pity that Hezekiah did not, from the commencement of his trouble, throw himself on the protecting care of God! If the king had only trusted this time as he did the next, there would have been no need for the bribe. God would have delivered His people.

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Gleason Archer - How could Sennacherib’s invasion have occurred in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah?

2 Kings 18:13 in the Masoretic text states: “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.” Since Sennacherib’s own record in the Taylor Prism establishes 701 B.C. as the date of that invasion, the fourteenth year of Hezekiah would mean that he did not ascend the throne until 715 B.C. Yet 2 Kings 18:1 (the very same chapter, be it noted) states that Hezekiah became king in the third year of Hoshea king of Israel—which comes out to 729 or 728. This would have been the year in which he was crowned as subordinate king, under his father Ahaz (who did not die until 725). The Masoretic text of 2 Kings 18:13 therefore stands in clear contradiction to 18:1, 9, and 10, which confirm that Hezekiah’s fourth year was Hoshea’s seventh and that Hezekiah’s sixth was Hoshea’s ninth (i.e., 722 B.C.). We must therefore conclude that the Masoretic text has preserved an early textual error (which also appears in Isa. 36:1—where the error probably originated), in which a mistake was made in the decade column. The word “fourteen” was originally “twenty-four.” (for further details, see the articles on 2 Kings 8:24 and Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7. Compare also my Survey of Old Testament Introduction, pp. 291–92, and E.J. Young, Book of Isaiah: New International Commentary, 2 vols. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969], 2:540–42.)

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Norman Giesler -  2 KINGS 18:13—How can this verse say that Sennacherib invaded Judah in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah?

PROBLEM: 2 Kings 18:13 claims that “in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.” Since archaeological evidence has established Sennacherib’s invasion at 701 B.C., this would mean that Hezekiah became co-regent with his father Ahaz in 719 B.C., and sole ruler of Judah in 715 B.C. However, according to 2 Kings 18:1, Hezekiah became co-regent in 729 B.C., and he became sole ruler of Judah when his father died in 725 B.C. This is a discrepancy of ten years. Which account is correct?

SOLUTION: The claim that Sennacherib invaded Judah in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah is clearly a copyist error. Sennacherib actually invaded Judah in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Hezekiah of Judah. The error is easy to explain since the difference between the two numbers is a single Hebrew letter. The Hebrew consonants for “fourteen” are rb srh, while the Hebrew consonants for “twenty-four” are rb srm (the ancient manuscripts did not write the vowels, see Appendix 2). The final letters are the only difference in the written text. In fact, the words are the same, only the word “twenty” is simply the plural form of the word “ten.” We might express the way the Hebrew is written as “four ten,” or “four twenty.” It is simply a case where a copyist miscopied the form from “four twenty” to “four ten.”

• See When Critics Ask

Isaiah 36:2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller’s field.

NLT  Then the king of Assyria sent his personal representative with a huge army from Lachish to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians stopped beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is bleached.

• sent: 2Ki 18:17-37 2Ch 32:9-23 
• the conduit: Isa 7:3 22:9-11 

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh - Note that this is not actually this man's name but means "chief cupbearer" (or "chief wine-pourer) and is the title for a high official, presumably the chief officer of the Assyrian army.

from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller’s field.

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QUESTION - Who was Rabshakeh in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

ANSWER - The term Rabshakeh means “the chief of the princes” and refers to a field commander sent by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, as a messenger to King Hezekiah of Judah (Isaiah 36). It is unclear whether Rabshakeh was the man’s given name or whether it was merely his title, designating his office. Other Bible versions translate Rabshakeh as “field commander” (NIV), “Assyrian chief of staff” (NLT), and “royal spokesman” (CSB). Rabshakeh could also refer to the chief cupbearer or vizier of the Assyrian court.

Sennacherib’s Assyrian army had defeated the northern kingdom of Israel. 2 Kings 18:12 says that “this happened because they [Israel] had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out.” Sennacherib had also captured all the fortified cities in Judah and was poised to capture Jerusalem, too. He sent the Rabshakeh with a great army to issue a challenge to Hezekiah. Using the Hebrew language, the Rabshakeh said, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours? You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?” (Isaiah 36:4–5). The Rabshakeh used the native language of the Jews in order to be heard by the Jewish guards on the wall. He may have been hoping his words would terrify them into pressuring Hezekiah to surrender.

Hezekiah’s emissaries, Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall” (Isaiah 36:11). But the Rabshakeh only shouted louder in Hebrew, hoping to shake their faith and turn the common people of Judah against their king (Isaiah 36:13).

The Rabshakeh’s message to the people of Jerusalem was full of lies, boasts, and blasphemies:

• he questioned the object of their trust
• he ridiculed Hezekiah’s strategy as weak and ineffective
• he discounted any help they might receive from Egypt
• he told them the Lord had turned against them
• he claimed the Lord had sent him to destroy the land of Judah
• he crudely reminded them of the horrors of being under siege
• he accused Hezekiah of deceiving the people
• he scoffed at the notion of trusting in the Lord
• he offered gifts of land and peace to anyone who would surrender
• he reminded them that no nation’s gods had yet been able to deliver it from Assyria
• he equated the Lord with the impotent gods of the other nations

When Hezekiah heard the threats, he sent his emissaries to consult with the Lord’s prophet, Isaiah (Isaiah 37:1–2). Isaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword” (verses 6–7). Hezekiah also took the message he had received from the Rabshakeh to the temple, where he laid it before the Lord and prayed for help.

The Lord did defend Jerusalem, just as He promised (Isaiah 37:36–38). Despite the taunts and manipulative attempts by the Rabshakeh to defeat God’s people, the Assyrian army was destroyed, and the Lord’s purpose prevailed. It will always prevail (Isaiah 46:9–11).

Many today attempt to dishearten God’s people, through ridicule, blasphemy, and lies. Like the Rabshakeh, they see themselves as invincible and possibly even claim that God is on their side. Believers must run to God’s Word, seek for wisdom, and pray. Then they must trust in God’s promises.

Malachi 3:17–18 reveals God’s response when a modern-day Rabshakeh challenges us:

“‘On the day when I act,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘[those who feared the Lord] will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’”

Isaiah 36:3 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.  

NLT These are the officials who went out to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.

• Eliakim: Isa 22:15-20 
• Shebna: 2Sa 8:16,17 20:24,25 
• scribe: or, secretary

Related passages: 

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.  

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QUESTION - Who was Eliakim son of Hilkiah? | GotQuestions.org

ANSWER - Eliakim son of Hilkiah was an important figure during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. Eliakim was known for his role as royal steward during a tremendous political and military crisis. His service in Hezekiah's administration, particularly during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, reveals his significance as a faithful and trusted leader. Eliakim’s actions demonstrate wisdom, loyalty, and trust in God. During his brief but significant presence in the Bible during a challenging time, Eliakim models the steadfastness of those who sought to defend the city and its people.

Eliakim’s story is recorded in the books of 2 Kings and Isaiah, where he is described as the steward or palace administrator during Hezekiah’s reign. His position was one of considerable influence, as he managed the royal household and served as an advisor to the king. Eliakim is first mentioned during the Assyrian invasion of Judah when the Assyrian army besieges Jerusalem: “[The Assyrian envoy] called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them” (2 Kings 18:18).

The historical context in which Eliakim son of Hilkiah lived is critical. The Assyrian Empire, under King Sennacherib, had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and was now threatening the southern kingdom of Judah. Sennacherib’s army was known for its brutality, and the siege of Jerusalem was part of the Assyrians’ broader campaign to subjugate the region. As the Assyrian forces surrounded the city, the Assyrian envoy, the Rabshakeh, delivered a speech intended to demoralize the people of Jerusalem and make them question God and Hezekiah’s leadership (2 Kings 18:28–30).

Eliakim and his colleagues were sent to meet with the Rabshakeh. During the exchange, Eliakim asked the Assyrian official to not speak in Hebrew: “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall” (2 Kings 18:26). Eliakim’s concern was that, if the people of Jerusalem heard and understood what the Assyrians were saying, they would be that much more demoralized. However, the Rabshakeh refused to speak in Aramaic and continued to communicate in Hebrew, further inciting fear among the citizens of Jerusalem.

Eliakim’s actions reflect his commitment to maintaining calm and order in the city. After the meeting with the Assyrian envoy, Eliakim and the other officials tore their clothes in grief and returned to Hezekiah, reporting the blasphemous words they had heard. In response, Hezekiah sought guidance from the prophet Isaiah, who delivered a message of reassurance. Isaiah prophesied that God would defend Jerusalem and that Sennacherib would fail in his siege. In Isaiah 37:6–7, Isaiah tells Hezekiah’s officials, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.”

Eliakim’s role extended beyond the immediate crisis. Isaiah 22 contains a prophecy about Eliakim’s future leadership and his authority in Judah: “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Isaiah 22:20–22). This prophecy foretells Eliakim’s rise to even greater authority, symbolized by his having the “key to the house of David,” which represents the stewardship of the royal household and the responsibility for guiding the people of Judah.

The description of Eliakim as a “father to those who live in Jerusalem” in Isaiah 22:21 emphasizes his role as a compassionate and caring leader, someone who would lead with integrity and wisdom. His leadership contrasts with that of Shebna, the previous steward, who had misused his position for personal gain (see Isaiah 22:15–19). Eliakim’s appointment to this position was a divinely ordained act that would stabilize Judah. He was not only Hezekiah’s servant but God’s.

Isaiah 36:4 Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have?

NLT Then the Assyrian king's personal representative sent this message to King Hezekiah: "This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?

• Thus saith: Isa 10:8-14 37:11-15 Pr 16:18 Eze 31:3-18 Da 4:30 Ac 12:22,23 Jude 1:16 
• What: 2Ki 18:5,19-37 19:10 2Ch 32:7-10,14-16 Ps 42:3,10 71:10,11 

Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have?

Isaiah 36:5 “I say, ‘Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

NLT  Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Which of your allies will give you any military backing against Assyria?

• vain words: Heb. a word of lips.  I have counsel and strength for war.  or, but counsel and strength are for the war. Pr 21:30,31 24:5,6 
• that: 2Ki 18:7 24:1 Ne 2:19,20 Jer 52:3 Eze 17:15 

I say, ‘Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

The Rabshakeh is mocking Judah’s trust, not just military strength, but ultimately faith in the LORD.

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F B Meyer -  Now on whom do you rely?

It was no small thing for Hezekiah to rebel against the proud King of Assyria. Hamath and Arpad, Samaria and Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivah, reduced to heaps of stones, were sufficient proofs of the might of his ruthless soldiers. How could Jerusalem hope to withstand? Rabshakeh could not comprehend the secret source of Hezekiah’s confidence. It was of no use for him to turn to Egypt. Pharaoh was a bruised reed. And as for Jehovah! Was there any likelihood that He could do for Israel more than the gods of the other nations had done for them? Not infrequently does the puzzled world ask the Church, “In whom dost thou trust?”

Our life must to a large extent be a mystery, our peace pass understanding, and our motives be hidden. The sources of our supply, the ground of our confidence, the reasons for our actions, must evade the most searching scrutiny of those who stand outside the charmed circle of the face of God; as it is written, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard . . . what God hath prepared.”

We all ought to have the secrets which the world cannot penetrate. Doubt your religion if it all lies on the surface, and if men are able to calculate to a nicety the considerations by which you are actuated. We must be prepared to be misunderstood and criticized, because our behavior is determined by facts which the princes of this world know not. We do not look up to the hills, because we look beyond them to God; we do not trust in silver or gold, or human re source, because God is our confidence. We cannot but seem eccentric to this world, because we have found another center, and are concentric with the Eternal Throne.

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Dianne Matthews - On What are you basing your confidence Isaiah 36:4

The Assyrian field commander scoffed at the representatives King Hezekiah had sent. The besieged city of Jerusalem would prove to be no match for Sennacherib’s massive army, but he hoped to convince Hezekiah to surrender without fighting. “Tell Hezekiah,” the commander said, sneering, “‘this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What makes you so confident?’”

The commander ridiculed Hezekiah’s hope of receiving aid from Egypt and their hope that God would rescue them. He claimed that God had turned against Judah. In a further effort to demoralize the starving inhabitants of Jerusalem, he shouted an offer to take them to a land where they would have plenty of food. He ended by listing other nations whose gods had proven ineffective against the power of Assyria. “Could the LORD then rescue Jerusalem from my control?” he mocked.

A crisis has a way of revealing where we place our confidence. Do we trust in our own wisdom and strength to handle tough problems? Is our first instinct to give up and surrender? Do we run to other people for advice and help? Or do we first drop to our knees and ask God to come to our aid? In the face of a situation that looked hopeless, Hezekiah beseeched God to rescue his people. Shortly afterward, God miraculously rescued Judah as he had promised.

Even when we face daunting problems, we can have unshakeable confidence in God if we trust his character and his promises. Rather than being self-confident or depending on others to help us, we can draw on the strength that comes from belonging to him. What makes us confident? A Savior who has promised to never leave us.

“Look! God is my Savior. I am confident and unafraid, because the LORD is my strength and my song. He is my Savior.”  Isaiah 12:2 

Isaiah 36:6 “Behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

NLT  Will Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, you will find it to be a stick that breaks beneath your weight and pierces your hand. The Pharaoh of Egypt is completely unreliable!

• Isa 20:5,6 30:1-7 31:3 2Ki 17:4 18:21 Jer 37:5-8 Eze 29:6,7 
• Ps 118:9 146:3 Isa 2:22 30:2 31:1,3 36:6 Je 17:5 Ho 5:13

Behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

Isaiah had warned repeatedly that Egypt would be of no help. 

Isaiah 36:7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?

NLT "But perhaps you will say, 'We are trusting in the LORD our God!' But isn't he the one who was insulted by King Hezekiah? Didn't Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?

• We trust: 2Ki 18:5,22 1Ch 5:20 2Ch 16:7-9 32:7,8 Ps 22:4,5 42:5,10,11 
• is it not: De 12:2-6,13,14 2Ki 18:4 2Ch 30:14 31:1 32:12 1Co 2:15 

But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?

Rabshakeh viewed the high places from a pagan mindset and thought that since Hezekiah had removed them he was no longer trusting God, whose worship the commander thought should not be reduced to one altar in Jerusalem. 
 

Isaiah 36:8 “Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

NLT - "I'll tell you what! My master, the king of Assyria, will strike a bargain with you. If you can find two thousand horsemen in your entire army, he will give you two thousand horses for them to ride on!

• pledges: or, hostages, 2Ki 14:14 
• and I: Isa 10:13,14 1Sa 17:40-43 1Ki 20:10,18 2Ki 18:23 Ne 4:2-5 Ps 20:7,8 123:3,4 

Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

Isaiah 36:9  “How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

NLT - With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master's troops, even with the help of Egypt's chariots and horsemen?

• the least: Isa 10:8 2Ki 18:24 
• and put: Isa 36:6 30:16,17 De 17:16 Pr 21:31 Jer 2:36 

How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

Isaiah 36:10 “Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

NLT -   What's more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord's direction? The LORD himself told us, 'Go and destroy it!'"

• Isa 10:5-7 37:28 1Ki 13:18 2Ki 18:25 2Ch 35:21 Am 3:6 

Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it

Isaiah 36:11 Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

NLT - Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the king's representative, "Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don't speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear."

• Aramaic - 2Ki 18:26,27 Ezr 4:7 Da 2:4 

THOUGHT IS IF THEY DON'T
HEAR, THEY WON'T FEAR

Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak with us in Judean in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” Aramaic was the standard language of international diplomacy in this period and was rapidly emerging as the lingua franca of the Near East. However, before the Exile, the average Israelite did not understand or speak Aramaic, which remained largely confined to diplomatic, administrative, and elite circles.

Isaiah 36:12 But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”  

NLT - But Sennacherib's representative replied, "My master wants everyone in Jerusalem to hear this, not just you. He wants them to know that if you do not surrender, this city will be put under siege. The people will become so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine."

• that they may: Isa 9:20 Lev 26:29 De 28:53-57 2Ki 6:25-29 18:27 Jer 19:9 La 4:9,10 Eze 4:16 

ASSYRIAN KING WANTS ALL TO
HEAR COST OF NO SURRENDER

But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”  

 

Isaiah 36:13 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

NLT - Then he stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, "Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria!

• cried: 1Sa 17:8-11 2Ki 18:28-32 2Ch 32:18 Ps 17:10-13 73:8,9 82:6,7 
• Hear: Isa 36:4 8:7 10:8-13 Eze 31:3-10 Da 4:37 

Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

Isaiah 36:14 “Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you;

NLT - This is what the king says: Don't let King Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you.

• Isa 37:10-13 2Ki 19:10-13,22 2Ch 32:11,13-19 Da 3:15-17 6:20 Da 7:25 2Th 2:4 Rev 13:5,6 

Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you

Isaiah 36:15 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us, this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

NLT - Don't let him fool you into trusting in the LORD by saying, 'The LORD will rescue us! This city will never be handed over to the Assyrian king.'

• Isa 36:7 37:23,24 Ps 4:2 22:7,8 71:9-11 Mt 27:43 

nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us, this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Isaiah 36:16 ‘Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern,

NLT - "Don't listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me--open the gates and come out. Then I will allow each of you to continue eating from your own garden and drinking from your own well.

• Make your peace with me Heb. Make with me a blessing, Ge 32:20 33:11 1Sa 25:27 2Sa 8:6 2Ki 5:15 18:31 2Co 9:5 *marg:
• come out: 1Sa 11:3 2Ki 24:12-16 
• eat ye: 1Ki 4:20,25 Mic 4:4 Zec 3:10 

Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern

The Jews were offered a better land, but at the awful price of giving up their liberty. 

Isaiah 36:17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

NLT - Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one--a country with bountiful harvests of grain and wine, bread and vineyards--a land of plenty.

• I come: 2Ki 17:6-23 18:9-12 24:11 Pr 12:10 
• a land of corn: Ex 3:8 De 8:7-9 11:12 Job 20:17 The other copy in 2 Ki 18:32, adds here, "a land of oil olive, and of honey; that ye may live, and not die:  and hearken not unto Hezekiah when he seduceth you."

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Isaiah 36:18 ‘Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

NLT - "Don't let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, 'The LORD will rescue us!' Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria?

• lest: Isa 36:7,10,15 37:10 Ps 12:4 92:5-7 
• Hath: Isa 37:12,13,17,18 2Ki 18:33-35 19:12,13,17,18 2Ch 32:13-17 Ps 115:2-8 135:5,6,15-18 Jer 10:3-5,10-12 Da 3:15 Hab 2:19,20 

Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

Isaiah 36:19 ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

NLT - What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did they rescue Samaria from my power?

• Hamath: Nu 34:8 2Sa 8:9 
• Arphad: The variation of Arphad and Arpad exists only in the translation; the original being uniformly ['Arpad <Strong's H774>.] Isa 10:9 Jer 49:23, Arpad
• and have: Isa 10:10,11 2Ki 17:5-7 18:10-12 

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

Isaiah 36:20 ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’”  

NLT What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? Name just one! So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem?"

• that the Lord: Isa 37:18,19,23-29 45:16,17 Ex 5:2 2Ki 19:22-37 2Ch 32:15,19 Job 15:25,26 40:9-12 Ps 50:21 73:9 Da 3:15 

Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?

Isaiah 36:21 But they were silent and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”

NLT - But the people were silent and did not answer because Hezekiah had told them not to speak.

• 2Ki 18:26,37 Ps 38:13-15 39:1 Pr 9:7 26:4 Am 5:13 Mt 7:6 

Related Passages: 

2 Kings 18:36  But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.”

But they were silent and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” Though undoubtedly shaken with fear, the people remained completely silent, offering no reply at all. Their silence was not the result of confusion or cowardice, but of deliberate obedience for they were acting in accordance with King Hezekiah’s command. In the face of Rabshakeh’s taunts and psychological warfare, the people exercised restraint and trust, refusing to engage in a war of words that could only undermine morale and faith. This quiet obedience reflects a deeper confidence in God’s deliverance and in the leadership Hezekiah had provided—an acknowledgment that the battle would not be won by arguments or bravado, but by waiting upon the Lord (cf. 2 Kings 18:36; Isaiah 36:21).

Isaiah 36:22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

NLT - Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian representative had said.

• Eliakim: Isa 36:3,11 
• with their: Isa 33:7 37:1,2 2Ki 5:7 Ezr 9:3 Mt 26:65

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rabshakeh.