^36:1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,¹ King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ^36:2The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser² from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem,³ along with a large army. The chief adviser⁴ stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.⁵^36:3Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.

^36:4The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?⁶^36:5Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.⁷ In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? ^36:6Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! ^36:7Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ ^36:8Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. ^36:9Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.⁸^36:10Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’ ” ’ ”⁹

^36:11Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,¹⁰ for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect¹¹ in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” ^36:12But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you.¹² His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!”¹³

^36:13The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,¹⁴ “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. ^36:14This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! ^36:15Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ^36:16Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me.¹⁵ Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, ^36:17until I come and take you to a land just like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. ^36:18Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?¹⁶^36:19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?¹⁷ Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria¹⁸ from my power?¹⁹^36:20Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’ ”²⁰^36:21They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

^36:22Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief²¹ and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. ^37:1When King Hezekiah heard this,¹ he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. ^37:2Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,² clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: ^37:3“This is what Hezekiah says:³ ‘This is a day of distress, insults,⁴ and humiliation,⁵ as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.⁶^37:4Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.⁷ When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.⁸ So pray for this remnant that remains.’ ”⁹

^37:5When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, ^37:6Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard—these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.¹⁰^37:7Look, I will take control of his mind;¹¹ he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down¹² with a sword in his own land.” ’ ”

^37:8When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.¹³^37:9The king¹⁴ heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia¹⁵ was marching out to fight him.¹⁶ He again sent¹⁷ messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: ^37:10“Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ^37:11Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.¹⁸ Do you really think you will be rescued?¹⁹^37:12Were the nations whom my predecessors²⁰ destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?²¹^37:13Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair,²² Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’ ”

^37:14Hezekiah took the letter²³ from the messengers and read it.²⁴ Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. ^37:15Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: ^37:16“O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim!²⁵ You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky²⁶ and the earth. ^37:17Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God!²⁷^37:18It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations²⁸ and their lands. ^37:19They have burned the gods of the nations,²⁹ for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.³⁰^37:20Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”³¹

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Footnotes

1 The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in .
2 For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
3 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
4 Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so , , , , ).
6 Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
7 Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
8 Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8–9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
9 In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
10 Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
11 Or “in Hebrew” (, , ); , “in Judean.”
12 Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
13 Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men …?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.” The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
14 The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
15 Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
16 Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
17 The rhetorical questions in v. 19a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
18 For location see ; ; ; ; .
19 Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
20 Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
21 Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning.
1 The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in .
2 Heb “elders of the priests” (so , , ); “the older priests”; , , “the senior priests.”
3 In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. ).
4 Or “rebuke” (, , , ), or “correction.”
5 Or “contempt”; , , “disgrace.”
6 Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
7 Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
8 Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
9 Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
10 Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
11 Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
12 Heb “cause him to fall” (so , , ), that is, “kill him.”
13 Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
14 Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 Heb “Cush” (so ); , “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
16 Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’ ”
17 The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
18 Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
19 Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
20 Heb “fathers” (so , , ); “forefathers”; “ancestors.”
21 Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
22 Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
23 The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [], 1:).
24 In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”).
25 Cherubim (singular “cherub”) refers to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
26 Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
27 Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
28 The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
29 Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
30 Heb “so they destroyed them” ( similar).
31 The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”