Isaiah 36

Hezekiah and the Assyrian Crisis

¹Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all of the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

²The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. He stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool in the fuller’s field highway.

³Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph the recorder came out to him.

⁴Rabshakeh said to them, “Now tell Hezekiah, ‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says, “What confidence is this in which you trust?

⁵I say that your counsel and strength for the war are only vain words. Now in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?

⁶Behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt, which if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

⁷But if you tell me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ isn’t that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?”

⁸Now therefore, please make a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.

⁹How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

¹⁰Have I come up now without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land, and destroy it.”’”

¹¹Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak to us in the Jews’ language in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

¹²But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

¹³Then Rabshakeh stood, and called out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

¹⁴The king says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you.

¹⁵Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city won’t be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’

¹⁶Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and each of you eat from his vine, and each one from his fig tree, and each one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;

¹⁷until 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.

¹⁸Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?

¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

²⁰Who are they among all the gods of these countries that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

²¹But they remained silent, and said nothing in reply, for the king’s commandment was, “Don’t answer him.”

²²Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

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Next Isaiah 37

Sennacherib of Assyria invades Judah and captures its fortified cities, then sends his field commander Rabshakeh to demand Jerusalem's surrender. Rabshakeh employs psychological warfare, mocking Hezekiah's trust in Egypt and the LORD, claiming that no god has successfully resisted Assyrian conquest. Speaking directly to the people on the walls in Hebrew, he promises prosperity under Assyrian rule while warning against trusting in divine deliverance, setting up the crisis that will test Judah's faith.

Context

This chapter begins the historical narrative of Assyrian crisis that parallels 2 Kings 18-19, following Isaiah's earlier prophecies about trusting foreign alliances.

Key Themes

Outline

1-3
Assyrian Invasion and Diplomatic Mission Sennacherib conquers Judah's cities and sends Rabshakeh to negotiate Jerusalem's surrender
4-7
Challenge to Hezekiah's Alliances Rabshakeh questions Judah's trust in Egypt and mocks their religious reforms
8-10
Demonstration of Assyrian Power The field commander emphasizes Assyria's military superiority and claims divine authorization
11-12
Request for Private Negotiations Judah's officials ask for Aramaic discussion, but Rabshakeh insists on public Hebrew address
13-20
Direct Appeal to the People Rabshakeh bypasses leadership to offer the citizens terms while undermining trust in divine deliverance

Hezekiah and the Assyrian Crisis

36:1–37:38

narrative narration urgent

King Hezekiah faces the Assyrian threat under Sennacherib, with diplomatic confrontation and appeals to trust in God rather than foreign alliances.

person_contrast

Hezekiah's transformation from a king typically associated with judgment and authority into a figure seeking divine protection reveals Isaiah's theological shift toward trusting God's sovereignty over political power.

Insight Character Study

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Isaiah 36:1 5 references

Lexicals 5

2 Kings 18:13 Lexical

Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Jud…

7 shared words

2 Chronicles 32:1 Lexical

After these things and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, entered into Judah, encamped against the for…

Isaiah 36

Hezekiah and the Assyrian Crisis

Hezekiah and the Assyrian Crisis

Insights

Cross-References

Isaiah 36:1 5 references

Isaiah 36:2 5 references

Isaiah 36:3 5 references

Isaiah 36:4 5 references

Isaiah 36:5 1 reference

Isaiah 36:6 1 reference

Isaiah 36:7 4 references

Isaiah 36:8 3 references

Isaiah 36:9 3 references

Isaiah 36:10 1 reference

Isaiah 36:11 5 references

Isaiah 36:12 1 reference

Isaiah 36:13 2 references

Isaiah 36:14 2 references

Isaiah 36:15 5 references

Isaiah 36:16 2 references

Isaiah 36:17 2 references

Isaiah 36:18 4 references

Isaiah 36:19 5 references

Isaiah 36:21 1 reference

Isaiah 36:22 5 references

Interlinear

Historical Context