| Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. | 1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. |
| 2Then the king of Assyria sent his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer's Field. | 2Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander, along with a very large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the field commander stopped at the aqueduct at the Upper Pool on the road to Laundryman's Field, |
| 3Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to him. | 3Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph's son Joah, the recorder, went out to him. |
| 4The royal spokesman said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on? | 4The field commander told them: "Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah, 'This is what the mighty king, the king of Assyria, has to say: What is this "guarantee" that makes you yourself rely on it? |
| 5You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me? | 5Do you really think that guarantees alone can withstand strategy and military strength? On whom are you now depending, that you're rebelling against me? |
| 6Look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. | 6Take note: you're relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the palm of anyone who leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to everybody who depends on him! |
| 7Suppose you say to me, 'We rely on the LORD our God.' Isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You are to worship at this altar'? | 7But if you all say to me, "We are depending on the LORD our God"—isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, while he kept on telling Judah and Jerusalem, 'You are to worship in front of this altar in Jerusalem'? |
| 8"Now make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I'll give you two thousand horses if you're able to supply riders for them! | 8Come now, all of you, make a bet with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you can furnish riders for them! |
| 9How then can you drive back a single officer among the least of my master's servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? | 9How, then, can you repulse even one officer from the least of my master's officials, when you are depending for yourselves on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? |
| 10Have I attacked this land to destroy it without the LORD's approval? The LORD said to me, 'Attack this land and destroy it.'" | 10One other thing: have I really marched against this country to destroy it apart from the LORD's direction? The LORD himself ordered me, 'March against this country to destroy it.'" |
| 11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the royal spokesman, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew within earshot of the people who are on the wall." | 11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to him, "Please speak with your servants—with us —in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew where the people sitting on the wall can hear." |
| 12But the royal spokesman replied, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?" | 12But the field commander asked, "Was it only to all of you and to your master that my master sent me to speak these things? Wasn't it also to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?" |
| 13Then the royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! | 13Then the commander stood up and shouted out loud in Hebrew: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! |
| 14This is what the king says: "Don't let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot rescue you. | 14This is what the king of Assyria says: 'Don't let Hezekiah deceive you—for he cannot save you! |
| 15Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the LORD, saying, 'The LORD will certainly rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.'" | 15Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the LORD when he says, "The LORD will really deliver us!" and "This city will never be handed over to the king of Assyria!" |
| 16Don't listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern | 16Don't listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: 'Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and everyone will drink water from 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. | 17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—to a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.' |
| 18Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, 'The LORD will rescue us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? | 18Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, "The LORD will save us." Has any god of any nation ever delivered his country from the king of Assyria? |
| 19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my power? | 19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me? |
| 20Who among all the gods of these lands ever rescued his land from my power? So will the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?" | 20Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered their land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from me?'" |
| 21But they kept silent; they didn't say anything, for the king's command was, "Don't answer him." | 21But the people remained silent and didn't respond to him with so much as a single word, because the king had commanded, "Don't answer him." |
| 22Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him the words of the royal spokesman. | 22Then Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph's son Joah, the recorder, approached Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and let him know what the field commander had said. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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