Isaiah 36:21
in Isaiah 36But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
KJV
But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
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This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 21) But they were silent and did not answer him a word. For the king had commanded, 'Do not answer him.' And all the people remained silent and did not answer him anything. For they had received a command from the king not to answer him. Truly, Ezechias is just, doing everything faithfully and with wisdom. Therefore, he had ordered them not to answer the Assyrian blasphemer, so as not to provoke him to greater blasphemies.
This site's exposition
But the people remained silent
on Isaiah 36:21-22
The scene closes in silence, the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, Do not answer him. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah come to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, the customary sign of grief and alarm. The chapter ends with the blasphemy before the king.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he sets out the silence of the people who heard him: he that deceives his friend, is mean of heart: but the wise man will hold his peace (Prov 11:12); answer not a fool according to his folly (Prov 26:4); for the king had …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The 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.
7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the L ORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v7
But they held their peace, and answered him not a word,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
But they held their peace “But the people held their peace” - The word העם haam, the people, is supplied from the other copy, and is authorized by a MS. which inserts it after אתו otho.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But they held their peace - Hezekiah had commanded them not to answer. They were simply to hear what Rabshakeh had to propose, and to report to him, that he might decide on what course to pursue. It was a case also in which it was every way proper that they should be silent. There was so much insolence, self-confidence, blasphemy, the proposals were so degrading, and the claims were so arrogant, that it was not proper that they should enter into conference, or listen a moment to the terms proposed.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּ | vaiyacharishu | and they kept silent | H2790 → | 74 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָנ֥וּ | ʾanu | they answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּבָ֑ר | davar | anything | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִצְוַ֨ת | mitzvat | [was] [the] commandment of | H4687 → | 181 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הִ֛יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֵאמֹ֖ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲנֻֽהוּ׃ | taanuhu | you must answer him | H6030 → | 331 times |
וַֽיַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּand they kept silent
vaiyacharishuH2790 →74 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָנ֥וּthey answered
ʾanuH6030 →331 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
דָּבָ֑רanything
davarH1697 →1440 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִצְוַ֨ת[was] [the] commandment of
mitzvatH4687 →181 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הִ֛יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לֵאמֹ֖ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲנֻֽהוּ׃you must answer him
taanuhuH6030 →331 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
Matthew 7:6Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
it leads to
- Proverbs 9:7–8
He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.
- Proverbs 23:9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- Matthew 10:14–15
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
- Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
- Matthew 15:26
But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
- Proverbs 9:7–8
Through
Psalms 39:1I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- Psalms 141:3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
- James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
- Proverbs 21:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
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); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.