2 Kings 18:30

Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(30) Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord.—Hezekiah cannot save you himself (2Kings 18:29); Jehovah will not do so (2Kings 18:25). The “Jewish colouring” of the verse is not apparent to the present writer. If Rab-shakeh could speak Hebrew, he would almost certainly know the name of the god of the Jews; and it was perfectly natural for him to assume that Hezekiah and his prophets would encourage the people to trust in the God who had His sanctuary on Zion, and was bound to defend His own dwelling-place. The words are not so exact a reproduction of Isaiah’s language (Isaiah 37:35) as to preclude this view.

Delivered.—Rather, given, yielded up.

Benson Commentary

2 Kings 18:30-31. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord — This was high presumption indeed, to endeavour to persuade them not to place their confidence in God, as if his master were stronger than God. Make an agreement with me by a present — To redeem yourselves from all the calamities of a close siege, and from that death and destruction which will certainly follow on them: or, according to the marginal reading, make with me a blessing, that is, a blessed peace, whereby you may be delivered out of your distressed and miserable condition, and may receive from me the blessings of protection and provision, which your king cannot afford you. Then eat ye every man of his own vine — Upon these terms I will give you no disturbance; but quietly suffer each of you to enjoy his own possessions.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:17-37 Rabshakeh tries to convince the Jews, that it was to no purpose for them to stand it out. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? It were well if sinners would submit to the force of this argument, in seeking peace with God. It is, therefore, our wisdom to yield to him, because it is in vain to contend with him: what confidence is that which those trust in who stand out against him? A great deal of art there is in this speech of Rabshakeh; but a great deal of pride, malice, falsehood, and blasphemy. Hezekiah's nobles held their peace. There is a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak; and there are those to whom to offer any thing religious or rational, is to cast pearls before swine. Their silence made Rabshakeh yet more proud and secure. It is often best to leave such persons to rail and blaspheme; a decided expression of abhorrence is the best testimony against them. The matter must be left to the Lord, who has all hearts in his hands, committing ourselves unto him in humble submission, believing hope, and fervent prayer.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There were two grounds, and two only, on which Hezekiah could rest his refusal to surrender,

(1) ability to resist by his own natural military strength and that of his allies; and

(2) expectation based upon the language of Isaiah Isa 30:31; Isaiah 31:4-9, of supernatural assistance from Yahweh.

The Rab-shakeh argues that both grounds of confidence are equally fallacious.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27. that they may eat, &c.—This was designed to show the dreadful extremities to which, in the threatened siege, the people of Jerusalem would be reduced.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem,.... Notwithstanding he took the above large sum of money of him, so false and deceitful was he: these were three generals of his army, whom he sent to besiege Jerusalem, while he continued the siege of Lachish; only Rabshakeh is mentioned in Isaiah 36:2 he being perhaps chief general, and the principal speaker; whose speech, to the end of this chapter, intended to intimidate Hezekiah, and dishearten his people, with some circumstances which attended it, are recorded word for word in Isaiah 36:1 throughout; See Gill on Isaiah 36:1 and notes on that chapter.

Geneva Study Bible

Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

30. this city shall not be delivered] R.V. given. The Hebrew word is not the same as that rendered ‘deliver’ in this verse and the previous one. It is desirable that the difference should be made plain to the English reader.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 30. - Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord. Rabshakeh seems to be aware that this is the argument which Hezekiah is, in point of fact, mainly urging. If at one time he had trusted in Egypt, that trust was now quite or well-nigh gone. The tone of his exhortations was that recorded in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 32:6-8), "He set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the King of Assyria, nor for all the multi-rude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him [see 2 Kings 6:16]; with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah King of Judah." Saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the King of Assyria. Hezekiah's was, in part, a general conviction that God would not forsake his people, who had recently turned to him, if not with absolute sincerity, yet at any rate with public confession of sin, and public acknowledgment of his mercies, and public profession of an intention to serve him; in part, probably, a special reliance on some definite prophecies of Isaiah, that the city should not be taken (see Isaiah 31:4-6; Isaiah 34:20-22). 2 Kings 18:30

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

ויּעמוד: not, he stood up, raised himself (Ges.), or came forward (Then.), but he stationed himself, assumed an attitude calculated for effect, and spoke to the people with a loud voice in the Jewish language, telling them to listen to the king of Assyria and not to be led astray by Hezekiah, i.e., to be persuaded to defend the city any longer, since neither Hezekiah nor Jehovah could defend them from the might of Sennacherib. אל־ישּׁיא: let not Hezekiah deceive you, sc. by pretending to be able to defend or save Jerusalem. In מיּדו, "out of his (the Assyrian's) hand," the speaker ceases to speak in the name of his king. On the construction of the passive תּנּתן with את־העיר, see Ewald, 277, d., although in the instance before us he proposes to expunge the את after Isaiah 36:15.