^{1 Ref} And it came about in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the walled towns of Judah and took them.

^{2 Ref} And the king of Assyria sent the Rab-shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a strong force, and he took up his position by the stream of the higher pool, by the highway of the washerman's

^{3 Ref} And there came out to him Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.

^{4 Ref} And the Rab-shakeh said to them, Say now to Hezekiah, These are the words of the great king, the king of Assyria: In what are you placing your hope?

^{5 Ref} You say you have a design and strength for war, but these are only words: now to whom are you looking for support, that you have gone against my authority?

^{6 Ref} See, you are basing your hope on that broken rod of Egypt, which will go into a man's hand if he makes use of it for a support; for so is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who put their faith in him.

^{7 Ref} And if you say to me, Our hope is in the Lord our God; is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and Jerusalem that worship may only be given before this altar?

^{8 Ref} And now, take a chance with my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them.

^{9 Ref} How then may you put to shame the least of my master's servants? and you have put your hope in Egypt for war-carriages and horsemen:

^{10 Ref} And have I now come to send destruction on this land without the Lord's authority? It was the Lord himself who said to me, Go up against this land and make it waste.

^{11 Ref} Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rab-shakeh, Please make use of the Aramaean language in talking to your servants, for we are used to it, and do not make use of the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall.

^{12 Ref} But the Rab-shakeh said, Is it to your master or to you that my master has sent me to say these words? has he not sent me to the men seated on the wall? for they are the people who will be short of food with you when the town is shut in.

^{13 Ref} Then the Rab-shakeh got up and said with a loud voice in the Jews' language, Give ear to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria:

^{14 Ref} This is what the king says: Do not be tricked by Hezekiah, for there is no salvation for you in him.

^{15 Ref} And do not let Hezekiah make you put your faith in the Lord, saying, The Lord will certainly keep us safe, and this town will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.

^{16 Ref} Do not give ear to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says, Make peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone will be free to take the fruit of his vine and of his fig-tree, and the water of his spring;

^{17 Ref} Till I come and take you away to a land like yours, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vine-gardens.

^{18 Ref} Give no attention to Hezekiah when he says to you, The Lord will keep us safe. Has any one of the gods of the nations kept his land from falling into the hands of the king of Assyria?

^{19 Ref} Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? where are the gods of Samaria? and have they kept Samaria out of my hand?

^{20 Ref} Who among all the gods of these countries have kept their country from falling into my hand, to give cause for the thought that the Lord will keep Jerusalem from falling into my hand?

^{21 Ref} But they kept quiet and gave him no answer: for the king's order was, Give him no answer.

^{22 Ref} Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothing parted as a sign of grief, and gave him an account of what the Rab-shakeh had said.

^{1 Ref} And it cometh to pass, in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, come up hath Sennacherib king of Asshur against all the fenced cities of Judah, and seizeth them.

^{2 Ref} And the king of Asshur sendeth Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, unto the king Hezekiah, with a heavy force, and he standeth by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field,

^{3 Ref} and go forth unto him doth Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who `is' over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the remembrancer.

^{4 Ref} And Rabshakeh saith unto them, `Say ye, I pray you, unto Hezekiah, `Thus said the great king, the king of Asshur, What `is' this confidence in which thou hast confided?

^{5 Ref} I have said: Only, a word of the lips! counsel and might `are' for battle: now, on whom hast thou trusted, that thou hast rebelled against me?

^{6 Ref} `Lo, thou hast trusted on the staff of this broken reed -- on Egypt -- which a man leaneth on, and it hath gone into his hand, and pierced it -- so `is' Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting on him.

^{7 Ref} `And dost thou say unto me, Unto Jehovah our God we have trusted? is it not He, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath turned aside, and saith to Judah and to Jerusalem, Before this altar ye do bow yourselves?

^{8 Ref} `And now, negotiate, I pray thee, with my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to put for thee riders on them.

^{9 Ref} And how dost thou turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, and dost trust for thee on Egypt, for chariot and for horsemen?

^{10 Ref} And now, without Jehovah have I come up against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up unto this land, and thou hast destroyed it.'

^{11 Ref} And Eliakim saith -- and Shebna and Joah -- unto Rabshakeh, `Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants `in' Aramaean, for we are understanding; and do not speak unto us `in' Jewish, in the ears of the people who `are' on the wall.'

^{12 Ref} And Rabshakeh saith, `Unto thy lord, and unto thee, hath my lord sent me to speak these words? is it not for the men -- those sitting on the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water with you?'

^{13 Ref} And Rabshakeh standeth and calleth with a great voice `in' Jewish, and saith, `Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Asshur:

^{14 Ref} Thus said the king, Let not Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you;

^{15 Ref} 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 Ref} `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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} Where `are' the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where the gods of Sepharvaim, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand?

^{20 Ref} 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 Ref} And they keep silent, and have not answered him a word, for a command of the king is, saying, `Do not answer him.'

^{22 Ref} 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.

^{1 Ref} Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them.

^{2 Ref} 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 Ref} Then came forth unto him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.

^{4 Ref} 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 Ref} I say, `thy' counsel and strength for the war are but vain words: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?

^{6 Ref} Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon 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 on him.

^{7 Ref} But if thou say unto me, We trust in Jehovah our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?

^{8 Ref} Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges 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 Ref} How then canst 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 Ref} And am I now come up without Jehovah against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

^{11 Ref} 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 Ref} 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, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?

^{13 Ref} 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 Ref} Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you:

^{15 Ref} neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

^{16 Ref} Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, 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 Ref} 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.

^{18 Ref} Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

^{19 Ref} Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

^{20 Ref} Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

^{21 Ref} But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

^{22 Ref} 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.