Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Blasphemy » Instances of » Rabshakeh, in the siege of jerusalem
Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?’
Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' " Don't listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and surrender to me; then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. read more.
[Beware] that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, 'The Lord will deliver us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these lands [ever] delivered his land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem?"
[Beware] that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, 'The Lord will deliver us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these lands [ever] delivered his land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem?"
"Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: 'Don't let your God, whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem won't be handed over to the king of Assyria. Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries; they destroyed them completely. Will you be rescued? Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them-Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? read more.
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?'" Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord's house and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are God-You alone-of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands and have thrown their gods into the fire; for they were not gods but made by human hands-wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, Lord our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord-You alone." Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent [a message] to Hezekiah: "The Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him: The young woman, Daughter Zion, despises you and scorns you: Daughter Jerusalem shakes [her] head behind your back. Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised [your] voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! You have mocked the Lord through your servants. You have said: With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its remotest heights, its densest forest. I dug [wells] and drank water. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet. Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble. Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind. But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me. Because your raging against Me and your arrogance has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came. " 'This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.' " 'Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or build up an assault ramp against it.
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?'" Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord's house and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are God-You alone-of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands and have thrown their gods into the fire; for they were not gods but made by human hands-wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. Now, Lord our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord-You alone." Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent [a message] to Hezekiah: "The Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him: The young woman, Daughter Zion, despises you and scorns you: Daughter Jerusalem shakes [her] head behind your back. Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised [your] voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! You have mocked the Lord through your servants. You have said: With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its remotest heights, its densest forest. I dug [wells] and drank water. I dried up all the streams of Egypt with the soles of my feet. Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble. Their inhabitants have become powerless, dismayed, and ashamed. They are plants of the field, tender grass, grass on the rooftops, blasted by the east wind. But I know your sitting down, your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me. Because your raging against Me and your arrogance has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will make you go back the way you came. " 'This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.' " 'Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or build up an assault ramp against it.
Diplomacy » Instances of » Rab-shakeh, in trying to induce jerusalem to capitulate by bombastic harangue
Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the highway to the Fuller's Field. Then they called for the king, but Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them. Then the Rabshakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: 'What are you relying on? read more.
You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me? Look, you now trust in Egypt, the stalk of this splintered reed, which if a man leans on it will go into his palm and pierce it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn't He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?' "So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I'll give you 2,000 horses if you're able to supply riders for them! How then can you drive back a single officer among the least of my master's servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord's [approval]? The Lord said to me, 'Attack this land and destroy it.' " Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand [it] . Don't speak with us in Hebrew within earshot of the people on the wall." But the Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn't [he] also [sent me] to the men who sit on the wall, [destined] with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?" The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew. Then he spoke: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hezekiah deceive you; he can't deliver you from my hand. Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' "Don't listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: 'Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and every one may drink water from his own cistern 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, a land of olive trees and honey-so that you may live and not die. But don't listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So how is the Lord to deliver Jerusalem?' " But the people kept silent; they answered him not a word, for the king's command was, "Don't answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me? Look, you now trust in Egypt, the stalk of this splintered reed, which if a man leans on it will go into his palm and pierce it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn't He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?' "So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I'll give you 2,000 horses if you're able to supply riders for them! How then can you drive back a single officer among the least of my master's servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord's [approval]? The Lord said to me, 'Attack this land and destroy it.' " Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand [it] . Don't speak with us in Hebrew within earshot of the people on the wall." But the Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn't [he] also [sent me] to the men who sit on the wall, [destined] with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?" The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew. Then he spoke: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hezekiah deceive you; he can't deliver you from my hand. Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' "Don't listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: 'Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and every one may drink water from his own cistern 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, a land of olive trees and honey-so that you may live and not die. But don't listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So how is the Lord to deliver Jerusalem?' " But the people kept silent; they answered him not a word, for the king's command was, "Don't answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
When King Hezekiah heard [their report], he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord's temple. Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They said to him, "This is what Hezekiah says: 'Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver [them]. read more.
Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke [him for] the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.' " So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, "Tell your master this, 'The Lord says: Don't be afraid because of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria's attendants have blasphemed Me with. I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land where I will cause him to fall by the sword.' " When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he returned and found him fighting against Libnah. The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: "Look, he has set out to fight against you." So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: 'Don't let your God, whom you trust, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they destroyed them completely. Will you be rescued? Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them-[nations such as] Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?' "
Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke [him for] the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.' " So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, "Tell your master this, 'The Lord says: Don't be afraid because of the words you have heard, that the king of Assyria's attendants have blasphemed Me with. I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land where I will cause him to fall by the sword.' " When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he returned and found him fighting against Libnah. The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: "Look, he has set out to fight against you." So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: 'Don't let your God, whom you trust, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they destroyed them completely. Will you be rescued? Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them-[nations such as] Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?' "
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand [it]; don't speak to us in Hebrew within earshot of the people who are on the wall." But the Rabshakeh replied, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who sit on the wall, [who are destined] with you to eat their excrement and drink their urine?" Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! read more.
The king says: "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you. Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' " Don't listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and surrender to me; then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. [Beware] that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, 'The Lord will deliver us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these lands [ever] delivered his land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem?" But they were silent and did not answer him at all, for the king's command was, "Don't answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the record keeper, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
The king says: "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you. Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust the Lord, saying, 'The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' " Don't listen to Hezekiah. For the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and surrender to me; then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. [Beware] that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, 'The Lord will deliver us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these lands [ever] delivered his land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem?" But they were silent and did not answer him at all, for the king's command was, "Don't answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the record keeper, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.