Isaiah 36:4-10

Expanded Bible

⁴ The ·field commander [chief advisor; or Rabshakeh] said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this:

“‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says: ·What can you trust in now [On what do you base your confidence; Where does this confidence come from]? ⁵ You say you have ·battle plans [strategy; counsel] and ·power [strength] for war, but your words ·mean nothing [are empty]. Whom are you ·trusting [relying/counting on] for help so that you ·turn [rebel] against me? ⁶ Look, you are depending on Egypt to help you, but Egypt is like a ·splintered [broken] ·walking stick [reed]. If you lean on it for help, it will stab your hand and ·hurt [pierce] you. So it will be with the king of Egypt for all those who depend on him. ⁷ You might say, “We are depending on the Lord our God,” but ·Hezekiah destroyed [^Ldid not Hezekiah destroy…?] the Lord’s altars and ·the places of worship [^Lhigh places; 2 Kin. 18:4; 2 Chr. 30:14; 31:1]. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship only at this one altar [^Cat the temple in Jerusalem; the Assyrian official wrongly assumes that the other altars and high places were dedicated to the Lord and that restricting worship to Jerusalem would offend him; Deut. 12].”

⁸ “‘Now make an ·agreement [pledge; deal] with my ·master [lord], the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough men to ride them [^Ca taunt that Judah’s army is too small even if Assyria were to supply it]. ⁹ You cannot ·defeat [repel] one of my ·master’s [lord’s] least important officers, so why do you depend on Egypt to give you chariots and ·horsemen [charioteers]? ¹⁰ ·I have not [^LDo you think I have…?] come to attack and destroy this country without ·an order from the Lord [^Lthe Lord]. The Lord himself told me to come ·to [against] this country and destroy it [^Cechoing Isaiah’s prophecy that this is judgment from the Lord].’”