2 Kings 18:23
in 2 Kings 18Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
KJV
Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
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This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The phrase translated “give pledges,” or “hostages” (margin) may perhaps be best understood as meaning “make an agreement.” If you will “bind yourself to find the riders” (i. e., trained horsemen), we will “bind ourselves to furnish the horses.” The suggestion implied that in all Judaea there were not 2000 men accustomed to serve as cavalry.
This site's exposition
give pledges to my lord
on 2 Kings 18:23-24
Give pledges is a wager dressed as an offer, two thousand horses if Judah can find riders to set on them, a boast built to expose how small and poorly mounted Hezekiah's forces are rather than a serious proposal. Verse 24 presses the same point in different language, one captain of the least of my master's servants, ranking the whole army of Judah beneath a single junior Assyrian officer. Egypt is named again as the trust Rab-shakeh assumes stands behind the throne even after Hezekiah has already refused Egypt's chariots as a policy.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
As 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] …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Thus he thinks to run him down with confidence and banter, and will lay him any wager that one captain of the least of his master's servants is able to baffle him and all his forces.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will deliver thee two thousand horses - Another insult: Were I to give thee two thousand Assyrian horses, thou couldst not find riders for them. How then canst thou think that thou shalt be able to stand against even the smallest division of my troops?
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּה֙ | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| הִתְעָ֣רֶב | hitarev | make a wager | H6148 → | |
| נָ֔א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֖י | ʾadoni | master my | H113 → | 333 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֑וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה | veetenah | and let me give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | to you | ||
| אַלְפַּ֣יִם | ʾalpayim | two thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| סוּסִ֔ים | susim | horses | H5483 → | 140 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תּוּכַ֕ל | tukhal | you will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לָ֥תֶת | latet | to put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | <for> yourself | ||
| רֹכְבִ֥ים | rokhevim | riders | H7392 → | 78 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְעַתָּה֙and therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
הִתְעָ֣רֶבmake a wager
hitarevH6148 →
נָ֔אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יmaster my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֑וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
וְאֶתְּנָ֤הand let me give
veetenahH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֙to you
lekha
אַלְפַּ֣יִםtwo thousand
ʾalpayimH505 →505 times
סוּסִ֔יםhorses
susimH5483 →140 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
תּוּכַ֕לyou will be able
tukhalH3201 →194 times
לָ֥תֶתto put
latetH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֖<for> yourself
lekha
רֹכְבִ֥יםriders
rokhevimH7392 →78 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 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
1 Samuel 17:42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:12
So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.”
- Psalms 123:3–4
Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
- 1 Samuel 17:33
But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
- 1 Samuel 16:12
Through
1 Kings 20:10Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:2
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those…
- Exodus 11:8
And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s…
- Acts 23:12
When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- 1 Kings 19:2
Through
1 Kings 20:18“If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
it leads to
- 2 Kings 14:8–12
Then Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.
- 1 Samuel 17:44
“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
- 2 Kings 14:8–12
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.