Isaiah 36:13
in Isaiah 36Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
KJV
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
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This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe history related here, and in the three following chapters, is, almost in the same words contained 2 Kings 18, 19, 20. It is inserted here, to explain and confirm some of the foregoing predictions.
This site's exposition
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language
on Isaiah 36:13-17
Rabshakeh does exactly what he was asked not to, standing and crying with a loud voice in the Jews' language so the whole wall can hear the great king's words directly. His appeal is simple and material, let not Hezekiah deceive you, make an agreement with me by a present, and I will bring you to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, offering exile dressed as prosperity in place of a siege. Delitzsch reads the offer as deliberately generous sounding, an inducement rather than a threat at this point in the speech, because Rabshakeh knows fear alone will not move a people who still trust their king and their God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 11 and following) And Eliakim, Sobna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, 'Speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in Judahite in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.' But Rabshakeh said to them, 'Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?'
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then Rabsaces stood, and cried out with a loud voice in the Jews' language. Here his address to the people is set out. And first, his foolish words are set out, in which he frightens them with threats: he shall not be able to deliver …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then Rabshakeh stood - Indicating the posture of a man who intends to speak to them at a distance. And cried with a loud voice - So that those on the wall could bear. The words of the king ... - (See the note at Isa 36:4)
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Did..to your master (הַאֶל) This is the interrogative form. It is therefore vowelized with a ‘hataf pattah’ (not so in our editions). Did my master send me to you two alone?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙ | vaiyaamod | and he stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7262 → | 32 times |
| שָׁקֵ֔ה | shakeh | commander | H7262 → | 32 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| בְקוֹל־ | vekol- | with a voice | H6963 → | 506 times |
| גָּד֖וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| יְהוּדִ֑ית | yehudit | [in] Judean | H3066 → | |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁמְע֗וּ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֛י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַגָּד֖וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּֽׁוּר׃ | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙and he stood
vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7262 →32 times
שָׁקֵ֔הcommander
shakehH7262 →32 times
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he called out
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
בְקוֹל־with a voice
vekol-H6963 →506 times
גָּד֖וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
יְהוּדִ֑ית[in] Judean
yehuditH3066 →
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שִׁמְע֗וּhear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דִּבְרֵ֛י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הַגָּד֖וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּֽׁוּר׃Assyria
ʾashurH804 →151 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
Daniel 4:37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in…
it leads to
- James 4:6–7
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Psalms 33:4–5
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all His work is trustworthy.
- 1 Peter 5:5–6
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 1 Samuel 2:3
Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- James 4:6–7
Through
2 Chronicles 32:18Then the Assyrians called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them in order to capture the city.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:10
Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
- 2 Kings 18:26–28
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the…
- Nehemiah 6:9
For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.
- 1 Samuel 17:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.