2 Kings 18:19
in 2 Kings 18The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
KJV
And Rab–shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
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This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAs I have already said, Sennacherib is a type of the devil, and this hypothesis is perfectly confirmed by the words that in this passage the Rabshakeh boastfully speaks against God when he makes false promises to the people, trying to take away from [God] …
This site's exposition
What confidence is this wherein
on 2 Kings 18:19-21
Rab-shakeh opens with a single word aimed at the throne, confidence, the very ground Hezekiah's own trust in the Lord claims for itself, and the whole speech that follows is built to attack that word from every side. Egypt is named a bruised reed that pierces the hand of the man who leans on it, and the taunt fits a real weakness: Egypt's dynasty of this period could not reliably help the small states that counted on it against Assyria. The speech is remembered as the longest recorded taunt in the Old Testament, and it argues theology throughout rather than only threatening force.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
What an idol did he make of that prince whose creature he was! God is the great King, but Sennacherib was in his eye a little god, and he would possess them with the same veneration for him that he had, and thereby frighten them into a submission to him. But to those who by faith see the King of kings in his power and glory even the king of Assyria looks mean and little.
His great piety, which was the more wonderful because his father was very wicked and vile, one of the worst of the kings, yet he was one of the best, which may intimate to us that what good there is in any is not of nature, but of grace, free grace, sovereign grace, which, contrary to nature, grafts into the good olive that which was wild by nature ( Rom. xi.
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The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Rab-shakeh, the third in rank of the three Assyrian ambassadors, probably took the prominent part in the conference because he could speak Hebrew 2Ki 18:26, whereas the Tartan and the Rabsaris could not do so. The great king - This title of the monarchs of Assyria is found in use as early as 1120 B.C. Like the title, “king of kings,” the distinctive epithet “great” served to mark emphatically the vast difference between the numerous vassal monarchs and the suzerain of whom they held their crowns.
What confidence is this - מה הבטחן הזה ma habbittachon hazzeh. The words are excessively insulting: What little, foolish, or unavailing cause of confidence is it, to which thou trustest? I translate thus, because I consider the word בטחון bittachon as a diminutive, intended to express the utmost contempt for Hezekiah’s God.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֙ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7262 → | 32 times |
| שָׁקֵ֔ה | shakeh | commander | H7262 → | 32 times |
| אִמְרוּ־ | ʾimru- | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נָ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֞ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַגָּדוֹל֙ | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֔וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| מָ֧ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הַבִּטָּח֛וֹן | habitachon | [is] the trust | H986 → | |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּטָֽחְתָּ׃ | batacheta | you trust | H982 → | 120 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֙to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7262 →32 times
שָׁקֵ֔הcommander
shakehH7262 →32 times
אִמְרוּ־say
ʾimru-H559 →5305 times
נָ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֞רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הַגָּדוֹל֙<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֔וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
מָ֧הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
הַבִּטָּח֛וֹן[is] the trust
habitachonH986 →
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּטָֽחְתָּ׃you trust
batachetaH982 →120 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 19:10“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:5
Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.
- 2 Kings 18:29–30
This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.
- Isaiah 37:10–14
“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of…
- 2 Kings 18:5
Through
Isaiah 36:4The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:19–37
The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
- 2 Chronicles 32:14–16
Who among all the gods of these nations that my fathers devoted to destruction has been able to deliver his people from my hand? How then can your God deliver you from my hand?
- Ezekiel 31:3–18
Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
- Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Jude 1:16
These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
- 2 Kings 18:19–37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomHezekiahThe reforming king of Judah who trusted Jehovah against Sennacherib, spread the Assyrian letter before the LORD, was granted fifte…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 18:19; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.