Isaiah 36:8
in Isaiah 36Now, 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 give pledges, I pray thee, 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.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Now, therefore, give pledges - Margin, ‘Hostages.’ The Hebrew verb (ערב ‛ârab) means properly to mix or mingle; then, to exchange commodities by barter or traffic; then, to become surety for anyone, to exchange with him, to stand in his place; then, to pledge, to pledge one’s life, or to give security of any kind.
This site's exposition
We trust in the LORD our God
on Isaiah 36:7-10
Rabshakeh turns the king's own reform against him: is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed? Then he claims the LORD sent him with the words, Go up against this land and destroy it, a claim the narrative exposes only later.
This site's exposition
make a bargain with my master
The verb behind make a bargain means to exchange or stand surety, and older versions rendered it give pledges or give hostages, as Barnes notes. The offer of two thousand horses mocks Judah's lack of trained riders. The gift is an insult dressed as a wager.
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.
Now therefore give pledges to my master the king of Assyria,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּה֙ | veatah | and now | 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 |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֑וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה | veetenah | so 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 <the> yourself | ||
| רֹכְבִ֥ים | rokhevim | riders | H7392 → | 78 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְעַתָּה֙and now
veatahH6258 →433 times
הִתְעָ֣רֶבmake a wager
hitarevH6148 →
נָ֔אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יmaster my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king of
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֑וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
וְאֶתְּנָ֤הso 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
לְךָ֖for <the> 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
5 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
2 Kings 18:23Now, 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!
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:42
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
- 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.”
- 1 Kings 20:10
Then 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.”
- Isaiah 10:13–14
For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a…
- Nehemiah 4:2–5
before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can…
- 1 Samuel 17:42
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 Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.