Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Diplomacy » Instances of » Rab-shakeh, in trying to induce jerusalem to capitulate by bombastic harangue
So the king of Assyria sent the commander in chief, the chief eunuch, and the {chief advisor} from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a heavy army. They went up and came [to] Jerusalem, then they went up and came and stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool which is on the main road of the {washer's} field. Then they called to the king, so Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who [was] over the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them. Then the chief advisor said to them, "Please say to Hezekiah: 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What [is] this confidence that you trust? read more.
You think only a word of lips, '[I have] advice and power for the war.' Now, on whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me? Now, look! You {rely} on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which [when] a man leans on it, it goes into his hand and pierces it! So [is] Pharaoh the king of Egypt for all who are trusting on him! But if you say to me, 'On Yahweh our God we trust,' [is] it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, and he had said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'In the presence of this altar you shall bow down [only] in Jerusalem?' So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses {if you are able on your part to put riders on them.} How {can you repulse a single captain among the least of the servants of my master}? [Yet] you rely for yourself on Egypt for chariots and horsemen! Have I now come up against this place without Yahweh to destroy it? Yahweh has said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it!'" '" Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we [are] understanding, but you must not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall." The chief commander said to them, "Is it [solely] to your master and to you my master has sent me to speak these words? [Is] it not for the men who sit on the wall to eat their feces and to drink their urine with you?" Then the chief commander stood and called with a great voice in Judean, and he spoke and said, "Hear the word of the king, the great king of Assyria! Thus says the king, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah [make you] trust in Yahweh, saying, "Certainly Yahweh will rescue us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" ' Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria, 'Make with me a treaty of peace and come out to me that each [may] eat [from] his vine and each [from] his fig tree, and each [may] drink water [from] his cistern! Until I come and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees, olive oil, and honey, that [you may] live and not die! You must not listen to Hezekiah, for he has misled you [by] saying, "Yahweh will deliver us!" Did the gods of each of the nations ever rescue the land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? For did they rescue Samaria from my hand? Who among all of the gods of the countries have rescued their countries from my hand that Yahweh should rescue Jerusalem from my hand?'" The people were silent, and they did not answer him a word, for the command of that king was saying, "You shall not answer him." Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah [with] torn clothes, and they told him the words of the chief commander.
You think only a word of lips, '[I have] advice and power for the war.' Now, on whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me? Now, look! You {rely} on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which [when] a man leans on it, it goes into his hand and pierces it! So [is] Pharaoh the king of Egypt for all who are trusting on him! But if you say to me, 'On Yahweh our God we trust,' [is] it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, and he had said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'In the presence of this altar you shall bow down [only] in Jerusalem?' So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses {if you are able on your part to put riders on them.} How {can you repulse a single captain among the least of the servants of my master}? [Yet] you rely for yourself on Egypt for chariots and horsemen! Have I now come up against this place without Yahweh to destroy it? Yahweh has said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it!'" '" Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we [are] understanding, but you must not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall." The chief commander said to them, "Is it [solely] to your master and to you my master has sent me to speak these words? [Is] it not for the men who sit on the wall to eat their feces and to drink their urine with you?" Then the chief commander stood and called with a great voice in Judean, and he spoke and said, "Hear the word of the king, the great king of Assyria! Thus says the king, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah [make you] trust in Yahweh, saying, "Certainly Yahweh will rescue us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" ' Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria, 'Make with me a treaty of peace and come out to me that each [may] eat [from] his vine and each [from] his fig tree, and each [may] drink water [from] his cistern! Until I come and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees, olive oil, and honey, that [you may] live and not die! You must not listen to Hezekiah, for he has misled you [by] saying, "Yahweh will deliver us!" Did the gods of each of the nations ever rescue the land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? For did they rescue Samaria from my hand? Who among all of the gods of the countries have rescued their countries from my hand that Yahweh should rescue Jerusalem from my hand?'" The people were silent, and they did not answer him a word, for the command of that king was saying, "You shall not answer him." Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah [with] torn clothes, and they told him the words of the chief commander.
It happened that when King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went [to] the temple of Yahweh. He sent Eliakim who [was] over the palace, Shebna the secretary, the elders, and the priests, [all] clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'A day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace is this day, for the children {are about to be born}, but there is no strength to bear them. read more.
Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all of the words of [the] chief commander whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to insult [the] living God, and he will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remainder who are left.'" So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them, "Thus you must say to your master, 'Thus says Yahweh, "You must not be afraid because the face of the words which you have heard, [with] which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Look, I [am] putting in him a spirit. He will hear a rumor and return to his land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land." '" When [the] chief commander returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, "Look, he has set out to fight with you," so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus you shall say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, 'Let not your God whom you [are] trusting deceive you, by his saying, "Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and shall you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that my {predecessors} destroyed deliver them? [Not] Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, [nor] the children of Eden who [were] in Tel Assar. Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'"
Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all of the words of [the] chief commander whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to insult [the] living God, and he will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remainder who are left.'" So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them, "Thus you must say to your master, 'Thus says Yahweh, "You must not be afraid because the face of the words which you have heard, [with] which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Look, I [am] putting in him a spirit. He will hear a rumor and return to his land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land." '" When [the] chief commander returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, "Look, he has set out to fight with you," so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus you shall say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, 'Let not your God whom you [are] trusting deceive you, by his saying, "Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and shall you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that my {predecessors} destroyed deliver them? [Not] Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, [nor] the children of Eden who [were] in Tel Assar. Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'"
And Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we can understand [it], and you must not speak to us in Judean in the {hearing} of the people who [are] on the wall." But Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your masters and you? [Was it] not for the people who sit on the wall, to eat their dung and drink their urine with you?" Then Rabshakeh stood and called in a great voice in Judean and said, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. read more.
Thus says the king: '[Do] not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you! And [do] not let Hezekiah make you rely on Yahweh, saying, "Surely Yahweh will deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" You must not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: "Make a blessing with me, and come out to me, and each one will eat [from] his vine and [from] his fig tree and drink water from his cistern, until {I come} and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, lest Hezekiah mislead you, saying, 'Yahweh will save us!' Did the gods of the nations each save his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, [have] they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who [are there] among all the gods of these countries who have saved their land from my hand, that Yahweh should save Jerusalem from my hand?" '" But they were silent and did not answer him a word, for the command of the king was, "You must not answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [was] over the {palace}, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah [with] torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Thus says the king: '[Do] not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you! And [do] not let Hezekiah make you rely on Yahweh, saying, "Surely Yahweh will deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!" You must not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: "Make a blessing with me, and come out to me, and each one will eat [from] his vine and [from] his fig tree and drink water from his cistern, until {I come} and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, lest Hezekiah mislead you, saying, 'Yahweh will save us!' Did the gods of the nations each save his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, [have] they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who [are there] among all the gods of these countries who have saved their land from my hand, that Yahweh should save Jerusalem from my hand?" '" But they were silent and did not answer him a word, for the command of the king was, "You must not answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [was] over the {palace}, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah [with] torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Siege » Distress of the inhabitants during a
In the ninth month, the famine became severe in the city, and there was no food for the people of the land.
And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters, and each one will eat the flesh of his neighbor in [the] siege and in [the] distress which their enemies and those who seek their life inflict on them." '
Verse Concepts
It happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Aram assembled all of his army and marched up and laid siege against Samaria. There was a great famine in Samaria, and behold, a siege [was] against it, until the head of a donkey [went] for eighty shekels of silver, and one fourth of the measure of the dung of doves [went] for five shekels of silver. It happened that the king of Israel [was] crossing over on the wall, and a woman called out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!" read more.
He said, "No, let Yahweh help you. {How} can I save you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?" The king said to her, "{What is the problem}?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him.' But she had hidden her son."
He said, "No, let Yahweh help you. {How} can I save you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?" The king said to her, "{What is the problem}?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him.' But she had hidden her son."
They devoured on [the] right but [still] were hungry and devoured on [the] left but they were not satisfied. Each one devoured the flesh of his arm,
Verse Concepts
But Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your masters and you? [Was it] not for the people who sit on the wall, to eat their dung and drink their urine with you?"
Verse Concepts