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Isaiah 36

2 Saneherib sendeth Rabshakéh to beseige Jerusalém. 15 His blasphemies against God.
1.Now ain the bfourtenth year of King Hezekiáh, Saneheríb King of Asshúr came up against all the strong cities of Judáh, and took them.
2.And the King of Asshúr sent Rabshakéh from Lachísh toward Jerusalém unto King Hezekiáh, with a great host, and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the path of the fuller’s field.
3.Then came forth unto him Eliakím the son of Hilkiáh the csteward of the house, and Shebná dthe chancellar, and Joah the son of Asáph the recorder.
4.And eRabshakéh said unto them, Tell you Hezekiáh, I pray you, Thus saith the great King, the King of Asshúr, What confidence is this, wherein thou trustest?
5.I say, fSurely I have eloquence, but counsel and strength are for the war: on whom then doest thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
6.Lo, thou trustest in this broken staff of reed on Egypt, whereupon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and perce it: so is gPharoah King of Egypt, unto all that trust in him.
7.But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God, Is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiáh took down, and said to Judáh and to Jerusalém, Ye shall worship before this altar?
8.Now therefore give hostages to my lord the King of Asshúr, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
9.For how canst thou ^despise any captain of the hleast of my lord’s servants: and put thy trust on Egypt for charets and for horsemen?
10.And am I now come up without the Lord to this land to destroy it? The Lord said unto me, iGo up against this land & destroy it.
11.¶ Then said Eliakím, and Shebná and Joáh unto Rabshakéh, kSpeak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Aramite’s language, (for we understand it) and talk not with us in the Jewe’s tongue, in the audience of the people that are on the wall.
12.Then said Rabshakéh, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee to speak these words, and not to the men that sit on the wall? that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own ^piss with you?
13.So Rabshakéh stood, and cryed with a loud voyce in the Jewe’s language, and said, Hear the words of the great King, of the King of Asshúr.
14.Thus saith the King, Let not Hezekiáh deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15.Neither let Hezekiáh make you to trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be given over into the hand of the King of Asshúr.
16.Hearken not to Hezekiáh: for thus saith the King of Asshúr, Make lappointment with me, and come out to me, that every man may eat of his own vine, and every man of his own figtre, and drink every man the water of his own well,
17.Til I come and bring you to a land like your own land, even a land of wheat and wine, a land of bread and vineyards,
18.Lest Hezekiáh deceive 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 Asshúr?
19.Where is the god of mHamáth, and of Arpád? Where is the god of Sepharuáim? or how have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
20.Who is he among all the gods of these lands, that hath delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalém out of mine hand?
21.Then they nkept silence, and answered him not a word: for the King’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
22.Then came Eliakím the son of Hilkiáh the steward of the house, and Shebná the chanceller, and Joáh the son of Asaph the recorder, unto Hezekiáh with rent clothes, and told him the words of Rabshakéh.

Notes

1-a.
This history is rehearsed, because it is as a seal and confirmation of the doctrine afore, both for the threatenings and promises to wit, that God would suffer his Church to be afflicted, but as length would send deliverance.
1-b.
When he had abolished superstition, and idolatry, and restored religion, yet God would exercise his Church to try their faith and patience.
3-c.
For he was now restored to his office, as Isaiah had prophecied, Ch. 22.20.
3-d.
This declares that there were few godly to be found in the King’s house, when he was driven to send this wicked man in such a weighty matter.
4-e.
Saneherib’s chief captain,
5-f.
He speaks this in the person of Hezekiah, falsely charging him that he put his trust in his wit and eloquence, where as his only confidence was in the Lord.
6-g.
Satan laboured to pull the godly King from one vain confidence to another, to wit, from trust in the Egyptians, whose power was weak and would deceive them: to yield himself to the Assyrians and so not to hope for any help of God.
9-^.
Or, turn back.
9-h.
He reproaches to Hezekiah his small power, which is not able to resist one of Saneherib’s least captains.
10-i.
Thus the wicked to deceive us, will pretend the Name of the Lord but we must try the spirits, whether they be of God or no.
11-k.
They were afraid, lest by his words he should have stirred the people against the King, & also pretended to grow to some appointment with him.
12-^.
Ebr., the water of their feet.
16-l.
The Ebrewe word signifies blessing whereby this wicked captain would have persuaded the people, that their condition should be better under Saneherib then under Hezekiah.
19-m.
That is, of Antiochia in Syria, of the which these two other cities also were: whereby we see how every town had his peculiar idol and how the wicked make God an idol, because they do not understand that God makes them his scourge and punishes cities for sin.
21-n.
Not that they did not show by evident signs that they did detest his blasphemy for they had now rent their clothes, but they knew it was in vain to use long reasoning with this infidel, whose rage they should have so much more provoked.