Isaiah 36:15
in Isaiah 36Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
KJV
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
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This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Make you trust in the Lord - Rabshakeh knew that Hezekiah was professedly devoted to Yahweh, and that he would endeavor to induce the people to trust in him. The Jews had now no other refuge but God, and as long as they put their confidence there, even Rabshakeh knew that it was hazardous to attempt to take and destroy their city. It was his policy, therefore, first to endeavor to undermine their reliance on God, before he could have any hope of success.
This site's exposition
stood and called out loudly in Hebrew
on Isaiah 36:13-17
Rabshakeh does the very thing he was asked to avoid and calls out in Hebrew so the whole wall can hear. His appeal is material, Make peace with me and come out to me. The offer ends in exile dressed as prosperity, a land of grain and new wine.
This site's exposition
persuade you to trust in the LORD
Hezekiah's assurance echoes Isaiah 31:5, where the LORD of Hosts promises to protect Jerusalem like birds hovering overhead. Barnes observes that the Rabshakeh knew such trust made the city hard to take. He sets out to break it first.
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 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.
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
This city shall not be delivered - ולא velo, And this city. Ten of Kennicott’s MSS., and nine of De Rossi’s, with one (ancient) of my own, add the conjunction.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Make peace with me (בְרָכָה, lit., a blessing.) Come out to me for peace and greet me and bring me a gift of peace.
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יַבְטַ֨ח | yavtach | he make trust | H982 → | 120 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֤ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַצֵּ֥ל | hatzel | certainly <to deliver> | H5337 → | 212 times |
| יַצִּילֵ֖נוּ | yatzilenu | he will deliver us | H5337 → | 212 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִנָּתֵן֙ | tinaten | it will be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| הָעִ֣יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| בְּיַ֖ד | beyad | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּֽׁוּר׃ | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
יַבְטַ֨חhe make trust
yavtachH982 →120 times
אֶתְכֶ֤ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙Hezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הַצֵּ֥לcertainly <to deliver>
hatzelH5337 →212 times
יַצִּילֵ֖נוּhe will deliver us
yatzilenuH5337 →212 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִנָּתֵן֙it will be given
tinatenH5414 →2011 times
הָעִ֣ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
בְּיַ֖דin [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 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
Matthew 27:43He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
it leads to
- Psalms 22:8
“He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”
- Psalms 22:8
Through
Psalms 4:2How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:22
“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
- Hosea 4:7
The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.
- Psalms 3:3
But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
- Psalms 106:20
They exchanged their Glory for the image of a grass-eating ox.
- Psalms 5:6
You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
- Proverbs 1:22
Through
Isaiah 36:7But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:4–5
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites…
- Psalms 42:10–11
Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- 2 Kings 18:4–5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
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); 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.