THE
BOOK OF ISAIAH
Isaiah Chapter 36
1
¶ Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king
Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of
2
Then the king of
3
Then Eliakim, Hilkiah’s
son, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the
scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph,
the record keeper, went out to him.
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And the field marshal said to them, Tell Hezekiah, The great king, the king of
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Do you suppose that mere words spoken by the lips can take the place of
strategy and military might? who are you relying on,
that you dare rebel against me?
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Look, you know
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But if you say to me, We are trusting in the LORD our
God: isn’t he, the one whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has
removed, saying to
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Come now, make a bet with my master, the king of
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How will you turn back the attack of just one of the least of my master’s minor
officers, while you trust in
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Furthermore, Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the LORD’S
approval? the LORD said to me, Go up against this
land, and destroy it.
11
¶ Then Eliakim and Shebna
and Joah said to the field marshal, Please speak to your servants in the Syrian language; for we
understand it: and do not speak to us in the Hebrew language, as long as
the people on the wall are listening.
12
But the field marshal said, Did my master send me to tell these things only to
your master and you? has he not sent
me to the men who sit on the wall, who might have to eat their own dung,
and drink their own urine with you?
13
Then the field marshal stood, and cried with a loud voice in the language of
the Jews, and said, Hear the words of the great king,
the king of
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Thus says the king, Do not let Hezekiah deceive you: for he will not be able to
save you.
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And do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD
will surely save us: this city will not be delivered into the hand of the king
of
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Do not listen to Hezekiah: for the king of
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Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and
wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
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Do not let Hezekiah sway you, by saying, The LORD will deliver us. Have
any of the gods of the nations delivered their land out of the hand of the king
of
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Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods
of Sepharvaim? Did they save
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Was there any among all the gods of these lands, who could save their country
from my hand, that the LORD should now save
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But they remained silent, and did not say a word in reply: because the king’s
order was, Do not answer him.
22
Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah,
who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the
scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph,
the record keeper, returned to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and
told him what the field marshal had said.