The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 36
Chapter XXXVI · Vol. III, pp. 1188–1189
1 Sennacherib invadeth Judah. 4 Rabshakeh, sent by Sennacherib, by blasphemous persuasions soliciteth the people to revolt. 22 His words are told to Hezekiah.
1 Now ita came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria bcame up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
A.M. cir. 3292. B.C. cir. 712.
a 2 Ki.18.13, &c. 2 Ch.32.1, &c.
b ch.1.6-9,24-28; 2.6-17; iii.; 4.4; 5.13-30; 6.11,12; 7.18-25; 8.7,8,21,22; ix. x. xvii. xxii. xxiv. xxviii. xxix.; 30.13,14; 27.9-11; 32.13,14; 33.8,9,14; 64.6,10.
2 And cthe king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from dLachish to Jerusalem, unto king Hezekiah, with a great army: and he stood by the econduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field.
3 Then came forth unto him gEliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and hShebna the scribe,1 and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.
4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, iThus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What jconfidence is this wherein thou trustest?
i Jude 16. ch.10.7-14; 37.11-13,23-25; 30.33. 2 Ki.15.19,29; 16.9; 17.6. Eze.xxxi. Ho.8.10. Ac.12.22,23.
j 2 Ki.18.5,19. Ps.42.3,10; 71.11; 78.19. Mi.7.10. Ne.2.19. 2 Ch.32.7,8.
5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words,)2 I have counsel and strength for 3war: now, on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest kagainst me?
2 Heb. a word of lips.
3 Or, but counsel and strength are for the war, Pr.21.30,31. Job 5.12,13; 20.5.
k Ezr.4.15,19. Ac.5.29. 2 Ki.18.20.
6 Lo, thou trustest in the lstaff of this broken reed, on 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 in him.
l Eze.29.6,7. 2 Ki.18.21. ch.30.1-7; 20.5,6; 31.3.
7 But if thou say to me, nWe trust in the LORD our God: is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah ohath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
n 2 Ki.18.5,22. Ps.31.14; 42.5,11; 40.3; 22.8. 2 Ch.32.7,8.
8 Now, therefore, give pledges,4 I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and pI will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.5
4 Or, hostages, 2 Ki.14.14.
p 1 Sa.17.42. Ne.4.2. Ps.20.7,8. ch.2.7; 31.1; ver.9. Ho.14.3.
5 This is said in derision. It is a taunt, and a cutting one. The Jews thought they would be able to defend themselves, and by the aid of Egypt to drive off the Assyrians. Now they are told by the enemy at their very gate, that if two thousand horses were furnished to them, they could not place two thousand warriors upon them. The main strength of the Assyrian army was in its cavalry; they therefore looked with contempt upon the Jews, who could not furnish even a small troop.—P.
9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of qone captain of the least of my master's servants, and rput thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
10 And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? sthe LORD said unto me,6 Go up against this land, and destroy it.
s ver.19,20; ch.10.5-7,9,10; 37.6,7,28,30-35; 10.6; 8.7,8. Am.3.6. 1 Ki.13.18. 2 Co.11.14.
6 Rabshakeh had, most probably, heard of some of God's warnings to the land, and as his manner was (ver. 7) to state his subject and reason upon it, inaccurately or sophistically, he here converts a warning to Judah into a warrant to Syria.—C.
11 Then said Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the tSyrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the uJews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
12 But Rabshakeh said, vHath 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, that xthey may eat their own dung and drink their own piss7 with you?8
v Ps.31.18.
x Ex.15.9. 1 Ki.20.10. Ps.73.8, with ch.3.1; 9.20. De.28.53-57. 2 Ki.6.25-29. Je.19.9. La.4.9,10. Eze.4.16. Le.26.29.
7 Water of their feet.
8 Rabshakeh here exemplifies an important fact—that indelicacy and infidelity are often united, if not always inseparable.—C.
13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and ycried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the zgreat king,9 the king of Assyria:
y Ps.17.10-13. 2 Ki.18.28. 1 Sa.17.8,42-44. Ps.10.3; 73.8,9. Re.13.5,6.
z Ps.82.6,7. Da.4.37. See ver.4. 2 Ch.32.6-16.
9 The great king!! Alas! alas! such are the great swelling words of vanity that men delight to utter! No doubt there are 'great kings;' but who are they? Kings great in humility before God, and justice and mercy before men, Mi.6.8; characters that Sennacherib valued not; for he was proud, selfish, and cruel.—C.
14 Thus saith the king, aLet not Hezekiah deceive you; bfor he shall not be able to deliver you.
b ver.15. Da.3.15,17; 6.20,27; 7.25. Re.13.5,6. Ps.73.8,9; 27.1-3. Jn.19.10,11. Ro.8.31. 1 Jn.4.4. 2 Ch.32.7,8.
15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
16 Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present,1 and come out to me: and eat ye cevery one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
1 Or, seek my favour by a present, 2 Sa.8.3,6. 2 Ch.17.11; 26.8. 1 Sa.11.3. 2 Ki.24.12-16. Heb. make with me a blessing, Ge.33.11. 1 Sa.25.27. 2 Ki.5.15; 18.15,16,31.
17 Until dI come and take you away to a land like your own land, ea land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18 Bewareg lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. hHath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
g Da.3.15. ver.7,10,14-16; ch.37.10. Ps.12.2,3; 55.21; 73.8,9. Re.13.5,6, with 2 Pe.2.9.
h 2 Ki.18.33-35; 19.10-13. ch.37.10-13; 10.10,11. Hab.1.15,16. Ps.115.3-8; 135.5,6,15-18. Je.10.2-16. ch.44.9-20. De.32.31.
19 Where are the gods of iHamath2 and Arphad?3 where are the gods of Sepharvaim?4 and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
i Je.49.23. 2 Ki.17.24,30,31; 18.10,34; 19.12,13. ch.10.7,10,11; 37.12,13.
2 A district north of Canaan, and extending from the Mediterranean to the kingdom of Damascus, Eze.47.17. The city was situated on the river Orontes. It still exists, and contains a population of 30,000, of whom 300 families are Christian.—C.
3 A city in the neighbourhood of Hamath; but little is accurately known either of its site or its history.—C.
4 The site of the city is uncertain, being placed by some geographers in Media, while others identify it with Siphora on the Euphrates.—C.
20 Who jare they among all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, kthat the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
j ch.37.18,19; 45.16,17.
k Ps.73.8,9; 50.21. Re.13.6. Mi.7.10. Ps.42.3,10; 71.11; 78.19, with 2 Ch.32.7,8.
21 But lthey held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
l Mat.7.6. Pr.9.7; 26.4. Am.5.13. Ps.38.13,14.
22 Then came nEliakim the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah owith their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
A.M. cir. 3292. B.C. cir. 712.
n ch.22.20-25; ver.3,11. 2 Ki.18.18,26,37. ver.3.
o Ge.37.29,34. 1 Sa.4.12. 2 Sa.1.11; 3.31; 13.31. 1 Ki.21.27. Job 2.12. Je.36.24. Ezr.9.3. Mat.26.65. 2 Ki.5.7. ch.37.1,2; 33.7.
Notes
Ver. 1. Most part of this narrative will be found in the contemporary portion of the book of 2 Ki. xviii. and 2 Ch. xxxii. It is here repeated to show how history and prophecy reflect mutual light upon each other. C.
Ver. 2. Lachish. A city of Judah about 30 miles south-west of Jerusalem. On account of its idolatry, it was threatened with divine judgments, Mi. 1. 13, which fell upon it first during the invasion of Sennacherib, and more fully during that of Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Ki. 18. 17; Je. 34. 7. It continued a city till at least the fourth century of the Christian era; but since the occupation of Palestine by the Arabs, even its ruins have almost totally disappeared. C.
Ver. 6. Broken reed. The marshes of the river Nile abounding in reeds, 'the reed' became an apt emblem of Egypt. But, as the 'broken reed' is represented as 'piercing' the hand that leans on it, 'broken' must refer, not to a fracture in the reed itself, but to a fracture from the stem on which it grew. There is therefore some covert allusion to a change of dynasty, that rendered dependence upon Egypt more precarious than usual. C.
Ver. 7. Is it not he, &c. This is one of those accusations that malicious ignorance so readily prefers upon partial evidence. Hezekiah had certainly pulled down altars. Ignorant malice, without examination, pronounces them 'altars of Jehovah;' truth would have described them 'altars of devils.'—Note, It was thus the Reformers were accused of rending the 'seamless garment of Christ.' Now, that they did rend 'the synagogue of Satan' is unquestionable; but that they, in part and in commencement, delivered the 'church of Christ,' is certain. C.
Ver. 17. It is evident that the Israelites were about this time seized with a spirit of emigration, either with a view to a safer country, or, as the world calls it, to 'better their condition,' see ch. 30. 2; 31. 1; and that Rabshakeh takes advantage of this prevailing disposition to persuade them by flattering promises to an ignominious submission to a heathen power.—Note, It is thus by prospect of deliverance from a present danger, or by promise of a future advantage, that sinners continue to tempt the people of God to reject truth and embrace error, to forsake Christ and follow the world. C.
Reflections.—How quickly Providence fulfils some awful predictions! And people may meet with great distress in the way of their duty, in order that their faith may be exercised, their graces brightened, and their glory increased. Let us then always look out and prepare for it, and not wonder if our most impious and treacherous enemies for a time prevail against us, and both with threats and derision tempt us to faint in, or desert, the good ways of the Lord. Let us never marvel if pride intoxicate sinners, and make them talk big of themselves, their works, and wealth; or if they should pretend power equal to God, or a commission from him. If we maintain our confidence in God, and continue in his service, we need not fear the want of his protection. It is base to make appeals to the people while the affair is but debated between princes; or to take occasion from soft speeches to banter the more outrageously; or to talk of bettering men's condition when their ruin is really intended. How horridly insolent is it to compare Jehovah to an idol! or to imagine ourselves a match for his power! And though it be not always prudent to answer the blasphemy of railers, yet we ought always to be deeply affected with it.