Isaiah 36:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?

NIV: The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: " ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?

NASB: And Rabshakeh said to them, 'Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: 'What is this confidence that you have?

CSB: The royal spokesman said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on?

NLT: Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?

KJV: 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?

NKJV: Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust?

The spokesman for Assyria's King Sennacherib immediately establishes the tone of this diplomatic meeting. This is not negotiation. It is confrontation and an ultimatum. The Rabshakeh offers no insincere kindness nor opportunity for counterproposals. Assyria sees no reason to yield about anything. They have already defeated all other fortified cities in Judah. An enormous army is only a few hours away. Hezekiah must either surrender or be destroyed.

The Rabshakeh tells the officials of Judah to pass along a question from his master. He doesn't bother to call Hezekiah a king, avoiding even a hint that Hezekiah and Sennacherib are peers. The question is this: should you be trusting in your God to save you? The rest of the nation is already defeated. The Egyptians Judah allied with (2 Kings 18:19–21; Isaiah 30:1–3) have been destroyed. In Assyria's eyes, the God of Judah is no different than the gods of all the other nations they have beaten.

Isaiah 36:4–10 is the Assyrian king's message to Jerusalem, delivered by a royal commander or "Rabshakeh." The spokesman mocks Israel for trying to ally with Egypt, who is now defeated. He sneers at the idea of Israel's God having power. He even dares to give Israel 2,000 war horses if they have men to ride them, which they do not. The Assyrian even claims that it was Israel's God who sent him there in the first place.

Sennacherib and the Assyrian army conquer all of Judah except for Jerusalem. There, a remnant of the people waits inside the walls. Sennacherib sends a messenger to meet with Hezekiah's officials. The messenger taunts Hezekiah, mocking their attempts at alliances as well as their faith in God. This commander, also called "the Rabshakeh" calls out in the local Hebrew language so everyone will understand. He offers life and prosperity to those who surrender now. In his opinion, none of the gods of any of the nations the Assyrians have defeated were able to stop them. So why will the Lord God of Israel be any different?

Isaiah 36 shifts from poetic prophecies to the historical account of an Assyrian army's threats against Judah. Sennacherib's army conquers everything in Judah other except for Jerusalem. An Assyrian messenger taunts the people and tells them that no gods have stopped Assyria yet, so they shouldn't trust in Judah's God, either. Diplomats return to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this news. Hezekiah will seek help from Isaiah, pray to God, and receive a spectacular miraculous rescue (Isaiah 37).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).