17 And the king of Asshur sendeth Tartan, and the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the butlers, from Lachish, unto king Hezekiah, with a heavy force, to Jerusalem, and they go up and come in to Jerusalem, and they go up, and come in and stand by the conduit of the upper pool that 'is' in the highway of the fuller's field. 18 And they call unto the king, and go out unto them doth Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who 'is' over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the remembrancer. 19 And the chief of the butlers saith unto them, 'Say, I pray you, unto Hezekiah, Thus said the great king, the king of Asshur, What 'is' this confidence in which thou hast confided? 20 Thou hast said: Only a word of the lips! counsel and might 'are' for battle; now, on whom hast thou trusted that thou hast rebelled against me? 21 'Now, lo, thou hast trusted for thee on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; which a man leaneth on, and it hath gone into his hand, and pierced it!—so 'is' Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting on him. 22 'And when ye say unto me, Unto Jehovah our God we have trusted, is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath turned aside, and saith to Judah and to Jerusalem, Before this altar do ye bow yourselves in Jerusalem? 23 'And, now, give a pledge for thee, I pray thee, to my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to give for thee riders on them. 24 And how dost thou turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, that thou dost trust for thee on Egypt for chariot, and for horsemen? 25 Now, without Jehovah have I come up against this place to destroy it? Jehovah said unto me, Go up against this land, and thou hast destroyed it.' 26 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah saith—and Shebna, and Joah—to the chief of the butlers, 'Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants 'in' Aramaean, for we are understanding, and do not speak with us 'in' Jewish, in the ears of the people who 'are' on the wall.' 27 And the chief of the butlers saith unto them, 'For thy lord, and unto thee, hath my lord sent me to speak these words? is it not for the men, those sitting on the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water, with you?' 28 And the chief of the butlers standeth and calleth with a great voice 'in' Jewish, and speaketh and saith, 'Hear ye a word of the great king, the king of Asshur: 29 thus said the king, Let not Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you out of his hand; 30 and let not Hezekiah make you trust unto Jehovah, saying, Jehovah doth certainly deliver us, and this city is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur. 31 'Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur, Make with me a blessing, and come out unto me, and eat ye each of his vine, and each of his fig-tree, and drink ye each the waters of his own well, 32 till my coming in, and I have taken you unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive, and honey, and live, and die not; and do not hearken unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us. 33 'Have the gods of the nations delivered at all each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur? 34 Where 'are' the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35 Who 'are they' among all the gods of the lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?' 36 And the people have kept silent, and have not answered him a word, for the command of the king is, saying, 'Do not answer him.' 37 And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who 'is' over the house, cometh in, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the remembrancer, unto Hezekiah, with rent garments, and they declare to him the words of the chief of the butlers.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 18:17-37
Commentary on 2 Kings 18:17-37
(Read 2 Kings 18:17-37)
Rabshakeh tries to convince the Jews, that it was to no purpose for them to stand it out. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? It were well if sinners would submit to the force of this argument, in seeking peace with God. It is, therefore, our wisdom to yield to him, because it is in vain to contend with him: what confidence is that which those trust in who stand out against him? A great deal of art there is in this speech of Rabshakeh; but a great deal of pride, malice, falsehood, and blasphemy. Hezekiah's nobles held their peace. There is a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak; and there are those to whom to offer any thing religious or rational, is to cast pearls before swine. Their silence made Rabshakeh yet more proud and secure. It is often best to leave such persons to rail and blaspheme; a decided expression of abhorrence is the best testimony against them. The matter must be left to the Lord, who has all hearts in his hands, committing ourselves unto him in humble submission, believing hope, and fervent prayer.