Worthy.Bible » YLT » Isaiah » Chapter 36 » Verse 18

Isaiah 36:18 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

18 lest Hezekiah doth persuade you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us. `Have the gods of the nations delivered each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur?

Cross Reference

Habakkuk 2:19-20 YLT

Wo `to' him who is saying to wood, `Awake,' `Stir up,' to a dumb stone, It a teacher! lo, it is overlaid -- gold and silver, And there is no spirit in its midst. And Jehovah `is' in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!

Jeremiah 10:10-12 YLT

And Jehovah `is' a God of truth, He `is' a living God, and a king age-during, From His wrath shake doth the earth, And nations endure not His indignation. Thus do ye say to them, The gods Who the heavens and earth have not made, They do perish from the earth, And from under these heavens. The maker of the earth by His power, The establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who, by His understanding, stretched forth the heavens,

Jeremiah 10:3-5 YLT

For the statutes of the peoples are vanity, For a tree from a forest hath one cut, Work of the hands of an artificer, with an axe, With silver and with gold they beautify it, With nails and with hammers they fix it, And it doth not stumble. As a palm they `are' stiff, and they speak not, They are surely borne, for they step not, Be not afraid of them, for they do no evil, Yea, also to do good is not in them.

Isaiah 37:17-18 YLT

Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes and see; and hear Thou all the words of Sennacherib that he hath sent to reproach the living God. `Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste all the lands and their land,

Isaiah 37:12-13 YLT

Did the gods of the nations deliver them whom my fathers destroyed -- Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who `are' in Telassar? Where `is' the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'

2 Kings 18:33-35 YLT

`Have the gods of the nations delivered at all each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur? Where `are' the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who `are they' among all the gods of the lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'

Psalms 135:15-18 YLT

The idols of the nations `are' silver and gold, Work of the hands of man. A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not, Ears they have, and they give not ear, Nose -- there is no breath in their mouth! Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them.

Psalms 135:5-6 YLT

For I have known that great `is' Jehovah, Yea, our Lord `is' above all gods. All that Jehovah pleased He hath done, In the heavens and in earth, In the seas and all deep places,

Psalms 115:2-8 YLT

Why do the nations say, `Where, pray, `is' their God. And our God `is' in the heavens, All that He hath pleased He hath done. Their idols `are' silver and gold, work of man's hands, A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not, Ears they have, and they hear not, A nose they have, and they smell not, Their hands, but they handle not, Their feet, and they walk not; Nor do they mutter through their throat, Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them.

Psalms 92:5-7 YLT

How great have been Thy works, O Jehovah, Very deep have been Thy thoughts. A brutish man doth not know, And a fool understandeth not this; -- When the wicked flourish as a herb, And blossom do all workers of iniquity -- For their being destroyed for ever and ever!

2 Chronicles 32:13-17 YLT

`Do ye not know what I have done -- I and my fathers -- to all peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands at all able to deliver their land out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these nations whom my fathers have devoted to destruction `is' he who hath been able to deliver his people out of my hand, that your God is able to deliver you out of my hand? `And, now, let not Hezekiah lift you up, nor persuade you thus, nor give credence to him, for no god of any nation and kingdom is able to deliver his people from my hand, and from the hand of my fathers: also, surely your God doth not deliver you from my hand!' And again have his servants spoken against Jehovah God, and against Hezekiah His servant, and letters he hath written to give reproach to Jehovah, God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, `As the gods of the nations of the lands that have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah doth not deliver His people from my hand.'

2 Kings 19:17-18 YLT

`Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste the nations, and their land, and have put their gods into fire, for they `are' no gods, but work of the hands of man, wood and stone, and destroy them.

2 Kings 19:12-13 YLT

did the gods of the nations deliver them whom my fathers destroyed -- Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who `are' in Thelassar? Where `is' the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'

Commentary on Isaiah 36 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 36

Isa 36:1-22. Sennacherib's Invasion; Blasphemous Solicitations; Hezekiah Is Told of Them.

This and the thirty-seventh through thirty-ninth chapters form the historical appendix closing the first division of Isaiah's prophecies, and were added to make the parts of these referring to Assyria more intelligible. So Jer 52:1-34; compare 2Ki 25:1-30. The section occurs almost word for word (2Ki 18:13, 17-20; 19:1-37); 2Ki 18:14-16, however, is additional matter. Hezekiah's "writing" also is in Isaiah, not in Kings (Isa 38:9-20). We know from 2Ch 32:32 that Isaiah wrote the acts of Hezekiah. It is, therefore, probable, that his record here (Isa 36:1-39:8) was incorporated into the Book of Kings by its compiler. Sennacherib lived, according to Assyrian inscriptions, more than twenty years after his invasion; but as Isaiah survived Hezekiah (2Ch 32:32), who lived upwards of fifteen years after the invasion (Isa 38:5), the record of Sennacherib's death (Isa 37:38) is no objection to this section having come from Isaiah; 2Ch 32:1-33 is probably an abstract drawn from Isaiah's account, as the chronicler himself implies (2Ch 32:32). Pul was probably the last of the old dynasty, and Sargon, a powerful satrap, who contrived to possess himself of supreme power and found a new dynasty (see on Isa 20:1). No attempt was made by Judah to throw off the Assyrian yoke during his vigorous reign. The accession of his son Sennacherib was thought by Hezekiah the opportune time to refuse the long-paid tribute; Egypt and Ethiopia, to secure an ally against Assyria on their Asiatic frontier, promised help; Isaiah, while opposed to submission to Assyria, advised reliance on Jehovah, and not on Egypt, but his advice was disregarded, and so Sennacherib invaded Judea, 712 B.C. He was the builder of the largest of the excavated palaces, that of Koyunjik. Hincks has deciphered his name in the inscriptions. In the third year of his reign, these state that he overran Syria, took Sidon and other Phœnician cities, and then passed to southwest Palestine, where he defeated the Egyptians and Ethiopians (compare 2Ki 18:21; 19:9). His subsequent retreat, after his host was destroyed by God, is of course suppressed in the inscriptions. But other particulars inscribed agree strikingly with the Bible; the capture of the "defensed cities of Judah," the devastation of the country and deportation of its inhabitants; the increased tribute imposed on Hezekiah—thirty talents of gold—this exact number being given in both; the silver is set down in the inscriptions at eight hundred talents, in the Bible three hundred; the latter may have been the actual amount carried off, the larger sum may include the silver from the temple doors, pillars, &c. (2Ki 18:16).

1. fourteenth—the third of Sennacherib's reign. His ultimate object was Egypt, Hezekiah's ally. Hence he, with the great body of his army (2Ch 32:9), advanced towards the Egyptian frontier, in southwest Palestine, and did not approach Jerusalem.

2. Rab-shakeh—In 2Ki 18:17, Tartan and Rab-saris are joined with him. Rab-shakeh was probably the chief leader; Rab is a title of authority, "chief-cup-bearer."

Lachish—a frontier town southwest of Jerusalem, in Judah; represented as a great fortified city in a hilly and fruitful country in the Koyunjik bas-reliefs, now in the British Museum; also, its name is found on a slab over a figure of Sennacherib on his throne.

upper pool—the side on which the Assyrians would approach Jerusalem coming from the southwest (see on Isa 7:3).

3. Eliakim—successor to Shebna, who had been "over the household," that is, chief minister of the king; in Isa 22:15-20, this was foretold.

scribe—secretary, recorder—literally, "one who reminds"; a remembrancer to keep the king informed on important facts, and to act as historiographer. In 2Ki 18:18, the additional fact is given that the Assyrian envoys "called to the king," in consequence of which Eliakim, &c., "came out to them."

4. great king—the usual title of the Persian and Assyrian kings, as they had many subordinate princes or kings under them over provinces (Isa 10:8).

5. counsel—Egypt was famed for its wisdom.

6. It was a similar alliance with So (that is, Sabacho, or else Sevechus), the Ethiopian king of Egypt, which provoked the Assyrian to invade and destroy Israel, the northern kingdom, under Hoshea.

7. The Assyrian mistakes Hezekiah's religious reforms whereby he took away the high places (2Ki 18:4) as directed against Jehovah. Some of the high places may have been dedicated to Jehovah, but worshipped under the form of an image in violation of the second commandment: the "brazen serpent," also (broken in pieces by Hezekiah, and called Nehushtan, "a piece of brass," because it was worshipped by Israel) was originally set up by God's command. Hence the Assyrian's allegation has a specious color: you cannot look for help from Jehovah, for your king has "taken away His altars."

to Jerusalem—(De 12:5, 11; Joh 4:20).

8. give pledges—a taunting challenge. Only give the guarantee that you can supply as many as two thousand riders, and I will give thee two thousand horses. But seeing that you have not even this small number (see on Isa 2:7), how can you stand against the hosts of Assyrian cavalry? The Jews tried to supply their weakness in this "arm" from Egypt (Isa 31:1).

9. captain—a governor under a satrap; even he commands more horsemen than this.

10. A boastful inference from the past successes of Assyria, designed to influence the Jews to surrender; their own principles bound them to yield to Jehovah's will. He may have heard from partisans in Judah what Isaiah had foretold (Isa 10:5, 6).

11. Syrian—rather, "Aramean": the language spoken north and east of Palestine, and understood by the Assyrians as belonging to the same family of languages as their own: nearly akin to Hebrew also, though not intelligible to the multitude (compare 2Ki 5:5-7). "Aram" means a "high land," and includes parts of Assyria as well as Syria.

Jews' language—The men of Judah since the disruption of Israel, claimed the Hebrew as their own peculiarly, as if they were now the only true representatives of the whole Hebrew twelve tribes.

ears of … people on … wall—The interview is within hearing distance of the city. The people crowd on the wall, curious to hear the Assyrian message. The Jewish rulers fear that it will terrify the people and therefore beg Rab-shakeh to speak Aramean.

12. Is it to thy master and thee that I am sent? Nay, it is to the men on the wall, to let them know (so far am I from wishing them not to hear, as you would wish), that unless they surrender, they shall be reduced to the direst extremities of famine in the siege (2Ch 32:11, explains the word here), namely, to eat their own excrements: or, connecting, "that they may eat," &c., with "sit upon the wall"; who, as they hold the wall, are knowingly exposing themselves to the direst extremities [Maurer]. Isaiah, as a faithful historian, records the filthy and blasphemous language of the Assyrians to mark aright the true character of the attack on Jerusalem.

13. Rab-shakeh speaks louder and plainer than ever to the men on the wall.

15. The foes of God's people cannot succeed against them, unless they can shake their trust in Him (compare Isa 36:10).

16. agreement … by … present—rather, "make peace with me"; literally, "blessing" so called from the mutual congratulations attending the ratification of peace. So Chaldee. Or else, "Do homage to me" [Horsley].

come out—surrender to me; then you may remain in quiet possession of your lands till my return from Egypt, when I will lead you away to a land fruitful as your own. Rab-shakeh tries to soften, in the eyes of the Jews, the well-known Assyrian policy of weakening the vanquished by deporting them to other lands (Ge 47:21; 2Ki 17:6).

19. Hamath … Arphad—(See on Isa 10:9).

Sepharvaim—literally, "the two scribes"; now Sipphara, on the east of Euphrates, above Babylon. It was a just retribution (Pr 1:31; Jer 2:19). Israel worshipped the gods of Sepharvaim, and so colonists of Sepharvaim were planted in the land of Israel (thenceforth called Samaria) by the Assyrian conqueror (2Ki 17:24; compare 2Ki 18:34).

Samaria—Shalmaneser began the siege against Hoshea, because of his conspiring with So of Egypt (2Ki 17:4). Sargon finished it; and, in his palace at Khorsabad, he has mentioned the number of Israelites carried captive—27,280 [G. V. Smith].

20. (Compare Isa 10:11; 2Ch 32:19). Here he contradicts his own assertion (Isa 36:10), that he had "come up against the land with the Lord." Liars need good memories. He classes Jehovah with the idols of the other lands; nay, thinks Him inferior in proportion as Judah, under His tutelage, was less than the lands under the tutelage of the idols.

21. not a word—so as not to enter into a war of words with the blasphemer (Ex 14:14; Jude 9).

22. clothes rent—in grief and horror at the blasphemy (Mt 26:65).