Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah; Rabshakeh's Threat
Isaiah 37:1-13
Isa.37.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כשמע: CONJ
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- חזקיהו: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ויקרע: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ויתכס: VERB,hithpael,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בשק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:1 (verbal): Direct parallel account of Hezekiah hearing the message, tearing his clothes, putting on sackcloth and going into the house of the LORD (essentially the same narrative as Isa. 37:1).
- 2 Kings 19:14-19 (structural): Continues the same scene: after tearing his clothes Hezekiah spreads the Assyrian letter before the LORD and offers a prayer — the temple response that follows the action in Isa. 37:1.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3-4 (thematic): King Jehoshaphat's response to a military threat: he proclaims a fast, assembles the people and stands before the house of the LORD to seek divine help — a parallel model of royal lament/plea in the temple.
- Job 1:20 (thematic): Job's immediate ritual response to calamity — tearing his robe, shaving his head and worshiping — parallels the ancient Near Eastern practice of tearing garments and putting on sackcloth as grief and turning to God.
- Jonah 3:5 (thematic): The Ninevites' communal putting on sackcloth and fasting in response to a crisis/error mirrors the motif of sackcloth and penitential seeking of the LORD seen when Hezekiah goes into the temple.
Alternative generated candidates
- When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
- When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
Isa.37.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אליקים: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- על: PREP
- הבית: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- שבנא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הסופר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- זקני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- מתכסים: VERB,hitp,impf,3,m,pl
- בשקים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אל: NEG
- ישעיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמוץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנביא: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:2 (quotation): Direct parallel/near-quotation of the same action — Hezekiah sends Eliakim, Shebna and the priests' elders, clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet.
- Isaiah 36:3 (structural): Same narrative cycle (Assyrian crisis) and the same officials (Eliakim, Shebna, etc.) appear; continues the scene in Isaiah's account of the event.
- 2 Kings 18:18 (verbal): Lists Eliakim and Shebna among Hezekiah's officials in the wider Assyrian confrontation; connects the personnel and administrative context of the episode.
- 2 Chronicles 32:20-21 (thematic): Recounts the divine response to Hezekiah’s crisis through the prophet Isaiah and the deliverance from Assyria — thematically tied to the envoys sent to Isaiah in sackcloth seeking prophetic help.
Alternative generated candidates
- He sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all clothed with sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet.
- He sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet.
Isa.37.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חזקיהו: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותוכחה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונאצה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- באו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עד: PREP
- משבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- ללדה: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Isaiah 26:17-18 (verbal): Uses the same childbirth imagery—women in labor who 'bring forth wind' and lack strength—paralleling the helpless birthing metaphor for national distress.
- Isaiah 13:8 (verbal): Speaks of people 'in anguish like a woman in labor,' echoing the labor-pain simile used to describe overwhelming calamity.
- Jeremiah 30:7 (thematic): Declares a 'day of distress' for Jacob; thematically parallels the 'day of trouble' language describing an unprecedented national crisis.
- Matthew 24:8 (thematic): Jesus summarizes tribulation signs as 'the beginning of birth pains,' drawing on the prophetic birth‑pain motif to describe periods of distress and judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: This is a day of distress, rebuke, and contempt; children have come to the point of birth, yet there is no strength to give birth.”
- They said to him, 'Thus says Hezekiah: This is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; like a woman at the point of birth—the children have come forth, yet there is no strength to give birth.'
Isa.37.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אולי: ADV
- ישמע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- את: PRT,acc
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- רב: ADJ,m,sg
- שקה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שלחו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- אדניו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+POSS,3,m,sg
- לחרף: INFN,qal,inf
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
- והוכיח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בדברים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- ונשאת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- תפלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בעד: PREP
- השארית: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הנמצאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:4 (verbal): Direct parallel/near-quotation in the Deuteronomistic history: same plea that the LORD may hear the words of the Assyrian envoys who revile the living God and that God will rebuke them and preserve the remnant.
- 2 Kings 19:14-19 (thematic): Hezekiah's response to the Assyrian letter—bringing it to the LORD and praying for deliverance—develops the same concern that God hear and vindicate himself on behalf of the remnant.
- 2 Chronicles 32:20-22 (thematic): Chronicles recounts the same episode and emphasizes God's intervention against Sennacherib after his blasphemous treatment of the living God, echoing the motive for prayer in Isa 37:4.
- Isaiah 37:21-35 (structural): Immediate prophetic response in Isaiah: God’s rebuke and promise to defend Jerusalem and punish the Assyrian blasphemy—fulfillment of the hope expressed in v.4 that God would 'hear' and act for the remnant.
Alternative generated candidates
- Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to revile the living God; and he will reprove him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Then may the prayer of the remnant that is left be lifted up.
- 'Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to revile the living God, and will reprove him for the words that the LORD your God has heard; then lift up prayer for the remnant that remains.'
Isa.37.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עבדי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- חזקיהו: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- אל: NEG
- ישעיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:2 (verbal): Direct narrative parallel: the account in Kings records Hezekiah’s servants/messengers going to Isaiah in the same Sennacherib crisis (same episode and similar wording).
- 2 Chronicles 32:20–21 (thematic): Chronicles retells the Sennacherib episode and the king–prophet interaction, emphasizing how Hezekiah’s seeking the LORD through Isaiah led to divine deliverance (same historical/theological scene).
- Isaiah 38:1 (structural): Another scene where Hezekiah and Isaiah interact directly; parallels the pattern of a Judean king consulting the prophet in a time of personal or national crisis (king–prophet consultation motif).
- 1 Samuel 9:15–10:1 (thematic): Though a different period, Saul’s approach to the prophet Samuel (and the prophet’s role in royal matters) reflects the broader biblical motif of royal envoys and kings consulting prophets for guidance and legitimization.
Alternative generated candidates
- So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
- So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
Isa.37.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- ישעיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כה: ADV
- תאמרון: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- אדניכם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- תירא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מפני: PREP
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- גדפו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- נערי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- אותי: PRON,1,sg,acc
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:6 (quotation): Direct parallel in the Deuteronomistic history; Isaiah's words to Hezekiah are repeated almost verbatim—'Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid…'.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 (thematic): Hezekiah's contemporaneous encouragement not to fear the Assyrian threat echoes Isaiah's exhortation and the theme that the Assyrian king is ultimately only human and not to be feared.
- Psalm 118:6 (thematic): Shares the conviction 'The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid'—the broader theological theme of trust in Yahweh in the face of human threats.
- Ezekiel 36:22-23 (verbal): Addresses God's concern for his reputation among the nations after they have defiled or blasphemed him—parallels Isaiah's motive for calming fear in view of the Assyrian insult to God's honor.
Alternative generated candidates
- Isaiah said to them, “Thus shall you tell your master: ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.’”
- He said to them, 'Thus shall you say to your lord: Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, by which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me.'
Isa.37.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- נותן: VERB,qal,ptc,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושמע: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- שמועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושב: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- ארצו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,ms
- והפלתיו: VERB,hiph,perf,1,m,sg+PRON,3,m,sg
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בארצו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss-3m
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:7 (quotation): Virtually identical prophetic wording: God declares he will put a spirit in the Assyrian, he will hear a rumor and return to his land, and be cut down by the sword (direct parallel/quotation).
- Isaiah 37:36 (structural): Immediate context: the angel of the LORD strikes down 185,000 in the Assyrian camp, prompting the withdrawal that fulfills the prophecy of return and defeat.
- 2 Kings 19:37 (thematic): Narrative fulfillment: Sennacherib returns to his land and is assassinated (struck down with the sword) by his sons in the house of his god, echoing the prophecy’s outcome.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21 (allusion): Parallel account: God delivers Judah by slaying the Assyrian forces; Sennacherib withdraws to his land and is later killed by his sons—an account that alludes to the same divine intervention and fate.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”
- 'Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear a rumor and turn back to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'
Isa.37.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וישב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- רב: ADJ,m,sg
- שקה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וימצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- נלחם: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- לבנה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- נסע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מלכיש: NOUN,prop,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:8 (quotation): Direct parallel/variant of the same report: Rabshakeh returns and Sennacherib is found warring against Libnah because Hezekiah had withdrawn from Lachish.
- Isaiah 36:1 (structural): Earlier verse in the same Isaiah narrative that frames Sennacherib’s campaign against the fortified cities of Judah (the broader military context for v.37:8).
- 2 Kings 18:13 (thematic): Describes Sennacherib’s campaign in Judah in Hezekiah’s fourteenth year — provides the wider historical/thematic background for the movement from Lachish to Libnah mentioned in Isa. 37:8.
Alternative generated candidates
- The Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had gone up against Lachish.
- The Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that Tirhakah king of Cush had set out to wage war.
Isa.37.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וישמע: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- תרהקה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כוש: NOUN,prop,sg,m
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- להלחם: VERB,hitp,inf
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- וישמע: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מלאכים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אל: NEG
- חזקיהו: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:9 (quotation): Direct parallel account of the same event; wording reports that Tirhakah king of Cush heard and sent ambassadors to Hezekiah (verbal and narrative agreement).
- 2 Chronicles 32:9 (quotation): Parallel retelling in Chronicles of the episode: Tirhakah of Cush hears of the campaign and dispatches messengers to Hezekiah—another near-verbatim narrative parallel.
- Isaiah 31:1 (thematic): Thematically related warning against relying on Egypt/Cush (horses, chariots, riders) instead of the LORD; both passages treat the involvement of Cush/Egypt as foreign military aid contrasted with trust in God.
Alternative generated candidates
- When he heard that Tirhakah king of Cush had set out to fight against him, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with a message.
- When he heard that Tirhakah king of Cush had come out to fight against him, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Isa.37.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- תאמרון: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- חזקיהו: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- אל: NEG
- ישאך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,suff:2,m,sg
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בוטח: PART,qal,act,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- לא: PART_NEG
- תנתן: VERB,niphal,impf,3,f,sg
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:10 (quotation): Direct parallel account of the Assyrian envoy’s taunt to Hezekiah; the wording and intent closely match Isaiah 37:10 in the parallel narrative.
- Isaiah 36:4–20 (structural): The same episode (Rabshakeh’s speech before Jerusalem) appears earlier in Isaiah 36; the passage contains the broader context and many of the same lines and provocations.
- Psalm 20:7 (thematic): Contrasts competing bases of confidence — some trust in chariots/horses, others in the LORD — thematically opposing the Assyrian claim that trusting YHWH will not save Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 17:7–8 (thematic): Presents the theological counterpoint to the enemy’s taunt by celebrating the security of one who trusts in the LORD, thematically related to the issue of reliance on God in the face of national threat.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to Hezekiah king of Judah, “Thus shall you say to your lord: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’”
- 'Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given up into the hand of the king of Assyria.”'
Isa.37.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מלכי: NOUN,pl,m,cons
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- לכל: PREP
- הארצות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- להחרימם: VERB,hifil,inf,3,m,pl
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- תנצל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:11 (quotation): Direct parallel/near-quotation: the same taunt about what the kings of Assyria did to other lands appears almost verbatim in the parallel account in 2 Kings.
- Isaiah 36:18-20 (verbal): Part of the same Rabshakeh speech earlier in Isaiah: lists conquered peoples and gods, thematically and verbally linked to the claim in 37:11 about Assyrian devastation.
- 2 Chronicles 32:17-19 (structural): Chronicles' retelling of Sennacherib's threats and Rabshakeh's taunts lines up with Isaiah/2 Kings, giving a parallel narrative context that echoes the claim about Assyrian destruction.
- Nahum 3:7 (thematic): Thematic parallel concerning Assyria's domination of other lands and the helplessness of conquered peoples/gods—used elsewhere by prophetic literature to reflect on Assyria's power and its eventual judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Have you not heard what the kings of Assyria did to all the lands—utterly destroying them? And will you be delivered?”
- 'Have you not heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands—by utterly cutting them off? And will you be delivered?'
Isa.37.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ההצילו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- השחיתו: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,pl
- אבותי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+1cs
- את: PRT,acc
- גוזן: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prop
- ואת: CONJ
- חרן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורצף: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,prop
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- עדן: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prop
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בתלשר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,prop
Parallels
- Isaiah 36:19 (verbal): Same taunt of the Assyrian envoy listing Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and Telassar—near-verbatim parallel within Isaiah’s account (earlier part of the same narrative).
- 2 Kings 19:12 (verbal): Parallel report of the same Assyrian challenge to Jerusalem; repeats the list of conquered places and the rhetorical question about the gods of those nations.
- 2 Kings 18:11-12 (structural): Background/structural parallel listing the regions and peoples taken into exile by Assyria (including Gozan, Haran, Rezeph), providing the historical basis for the taunt.
- 2 Chronicles 32:12 (verbal): Chronicles’ retelling of the Rabshakeh’s provocation repeats the catalogue of conquered cities and the challenge about the impotence of foreign gods.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (thematic): Theological parallel: stresses the impotence of idols and foreign gods—fits Isaiah’s polemical question about whether the gods of conquered nations could deliver them.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Where are the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the men of Eden who were in Telassar—have they delivered them?
- 'Did the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the men of Eden in Telassar—deliver them?'
Isa.37.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- איה: ADV,interr
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ומלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארפד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לעיר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ספרוים: NOUN,prop,m,pl,abs
- הנע: PART
- ועוה: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 19:13 (quotation): Nearly identical wording in the parallel account of Sennacherib/Rabshakeh’s taunt listing the kings of Hamath, Arpad and Sepharvaim who failed to save their peoples.
- 2 Kings 18:34 (verbal): Earlier/parallel passage in the Deuteronomistic history recounting the same Assyrian boast with the same roster of kings — a close verbal parallel to Isaiah 37:13.
- 2 Chronicles 32:12-13 (quotation): Chronicles’ retelling of the Assyrian challenge repeats the list of foreign kings as part of the mocking speech against Hezekiah, paralleling Isaiah 37:13.
- Isaiah 36:17-20 (thematic): Within Isaiah’s own narrative the Assyrian envoy taunts Jerusalem by citing the failure of other nations and their rulers/gods to deliver themselves — the broader thematic context for the list in 37:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
- 'Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'
When King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
He sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet.
They said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This is a day of distress, rebuke, and contempt; it is like the hour of a woman in labor who has come to the point of delivery but lacks the strength to give birth.
Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to revile the living God; and he will give a rebuke concerning the words that the LORD your God has heard. Pray, then, for the remnant that is left. So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
Isaiah said to them, Thus shall you say to your master: Thus says the LORD, Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, by which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me.
Behold, I will put a spirit upon him; he will hear a report, return to his own land, and I will strike him down by the sword in his own country.
The Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had gone up against Lachish.
When Tirhakah king of Cush heard that he had come out to make war against you, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying Thus shall you say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Have you not heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction? And will you be delivered?
Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?
Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?