Isaiah 36:5
in Isaiah 36You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I say, thy counsel and strength for the war are but vain words: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?
KJV
I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
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This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I say, sayest thou - In 2Ki 18:20, this is ‘thou sayest;’ and thus many manuscripts read it here, and Lowth and Noyes have adopted that reading. So the Syriac reads it. But the sense is not affected whichever reading is adopted. It is designed to show to Hezekiah that his reliance, either on his own resources or on Egypt, was vain. But they are but vain words - Margin, as Hebrew, ‘A word of lips;’ that is, mere words; vain and empty boasting.
This site's exposition
And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah
on Isaiah 36:4-6
Rabshakeh's speech opens by naming his master with a title meant to dwarf Hezekiah's, thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, and his first weapon is a single repeated question, what confidence is this wherein thou trustest. He dismisses Egypt as an ally before Hezekiah can lean on it, calling Pharaoh a broken reed that pierces the hand of the man who leans on it, an image Gill and Clarke both read as a proverb Rabshakeh knew would sting because it was already common currency for Egypt's unreliability. The speech is built to strip away every prop under Hezekiah's confidence one at a time, Egypt struck down first.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 36—Verse 1 and following) And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the washer's field. And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. And Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?' By what plan and courage do you prepare to rebel? On whom do you have confidence, because you have turned away from me? Look, you trust in this broken reed staff, in Egypt: if a man leans on it, it will enter into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, 'We trust in the LORD our God,' is it not he whose heights and altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar'? And now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, and you will not be able to provide riders for them. And how will you withstand the face of one judge from my lord's servants? And if you rely on Egypt: and on chariots, and on horsemen: and now, did I ascend to this land without the Lord, to destroy it? The Lord said to me: Go up on this land and destroy it. The history is clear and does not require interpretation: and this same thing is reported more fully in the volumes of Kings and Chronicles. In the third year of Hosea the son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Rabsaces said to them. Here the discussion of the messengers is set out. And concerning this, he sets out two things: first, the preamble of Rabsaces to the Jewish messengers; second, to the others, where it says, then Rabsaces stood (Isa 36:13). Concerning the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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.
I say, (sayest thou,) but they are but vain words,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
THAT question may not be without importance in matters of ordinary life. We have all to trust our fellows, more or less, and I suppose we have all had to smart in some degree, as the result of it. We may trust the mass of men in trifles without any serious consequences. But when it comes to large sums—when the whole of a man's fortune, for instance— is staked upon the character and reputation of someone else, then it is not altogether an unimportant question, "On whom do you trust?"
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THAT question may not be without importance in matters of ordinary life. We have all to trust our fellows, more or less, and I suppose we have all had to smart in some degree, as the result of it. We may trust the mass of men in trifles without any serious consequences. But when it comes to large sums—when the whole of a man's fortune, for instance— is staked upon the character and reputation of someone else, then it is not altogether an unimportant question, "On whom do you trust?" Oh, many have rested on some choice friend and found him play the Judas! How often have our dearest counselors turned away from us as Ahithophel did from David? How frequently have we confidently rested upon the integrity, friendship and fidelity of some person whom we thought we knew and could trust, only to find that, "Cursed is he that trusts in man and makes flesh his arm." Be cautious, my Brothers and Sisters—perhaps you need not that I should say this to you—but use discretion in all your transactions in life, as to how far you will trust the sons of men. Or else this may be whispered in your ear and may send you to your bed with a heavy heart, "Now in whom do you trust?" But, surely, if this is important in temporal matters, it is overwhelmingly so in regard to spiritual things. If I become bankrupt in trade, I may yet set up in business and retrieve my fortune. But in soul-matters if I once make bankruptcy in the commerce of life, there is no hope of my receiving a fresh certificate and attempting to retrieve my losses. Here, if a general is defeated in some great battle, he may yet possibly retreat in such good order and again get together his troops so as to win another battle and turn the current of the campaign. But once beaten in the great life-struggle—once feel that sin has utterly got the mastery over you—and there is no hope here and you will die so.
I say “Thou hast said” - Fourteen MSS. (three ancient) of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s have it in the second person, אמרת amarta; and so the other copy, 2Ki 18:20. But they are but vain words - דבר שפתים debar sephathayim, a word of the lips. Thou dost talk about counsels, but thou hast none; about strength, but there is none with thee.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ | ʾamarti | I say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| דְּבַר־ | devar- | a word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| שְׂפָתַ֔יִם | sefatayim | lips | H8193 → | 176 times |
| עֵצָ֥ה | ʾetzah | [are] a plan | H6098 → | 89 times |
| וּגְבוּרָ֖ה | ugevurah | and strength | H1369 → | 61 times |
| לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | lamilchamah | for <the> war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| עַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| בָטַ֔חְתָּ | vatachta | do you rely | H982 → | 120 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מָרַ֖דְתָּ | maradta | you have rebelled | H4775 → | |
| בִּֽי׃ | bi | against me |
אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙I say
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
אַךְ־only
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
דְּבַר־a word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
שְׂפָתַ֔יִםlips
sefatayimH8193 →176 times
עֵצָ֥ה[are] a plan
ʾetzahH6098 →89 times
וּגְבוּרָ֖הand strength
ugevurahH1369 →61 times
לַמִּלְחָמָ֑הfor <the> war
lamilchamahH4421 →320 times
עַתָּה֙now
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִ֣יwhom?
miH4310 →423 times
בָטַ֔חְתָּdo you rely
vatachtaH982 →120 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
מָרַ֖דְתָּyou have rebelled
maradtaH4775 →
בִּֽי׃against me
bi
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
Ezekiel 17:15But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 36:13
Through
2 Kings 24:1During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
it leads to
- Daniel 1:1
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
- Jeremiah 25:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king…
- Daniel 1:1
Through
2 Kings 18:7And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 16:7
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are…
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Genesis 39:2–3
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- Psalms 60:12
With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
- Psalms 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- 2 Kings 16:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 646: “In Whom Are You Trusting?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.