Isaiah 36

¹ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria advanced on al the fortified townsof Judah and captured them.

² From Lachish the king of Assyria sent the cupbearer-in-chief with a large force to King Hezekiah inJerusalem. The cupbearer-in-chief took up position near the conduit of the upper pool on the road to the Ful er'sField.

³ The master of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna the secretary and the herald Joah son ofAsaph went out to him.

⁴ The cupbearer-in-chief said to them, 'Say to Hezekiah, "The great king, the king of Assyria, says this:What makes you so confident?

⁵ Do you think empty words are as good as strategy and military strength? Who are you relying on, todare to rebel against me?

⁶ There you are, relying on that broken reed, Egypt, which pricks and pierces the hand of the person wholeans on it. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to al who rely on him.

⁷ You may say to me: We rely on Yahweh our God. But haven't his high places and altars beensuppressed by Hezekiah, who told Judah and Jerusalem: This is the altar before which you must worship?

⁸ Very wel , then, make a wager with my lord the king of Assyria: I wil give you two thousand horses ifyou can find horsemen to ride them.

⁹ How could you repulse a single one of the least of my master's soldiers? And yet you have relied onEgypt for chariots and horsemen.

¹⁰ And lastly, have I marched on this country to lay it waste without warrant from Yahweh? Yahwehhimself said to me: March on this country and lay it waste."

¹¹ Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the cupbearer-in-chief, 'Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,for we understand it; do not speak to us in the Judaean language within earshot of the people on the ramparts.'

¹² But the cupbearer-in-chief said, 'Do you think my lord sent me here to say these things to your masteror to you? On the contrary, it was to the people sitting on the ramparts who, like you, are doomed to eat theirown dung and drink their own urine.'

¹³ The cupbearer-in-chief then drew himself up and shouted loudly in the Judaean language, 'Listen tothe words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

¹⁴ The king says this, "Do not let Hezekiah delude you! He wil be powerless to save you.

¹⁵ Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on Yahweh by saying: Yahweh is sure to save us; this citywil not fal into the king of Assyria's clutches.

¹⁶ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says this: Make peace with me,

¹⁷ surrender to me, and every one of you wil be free to eat the fruit of his own vine and of his own figtree and to drink the water of his own storage-wel until I come and take you away to a country like your own, aland of corn and good wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸ Do not let Hezekiah delude you by saying: Yahweh will save us. Has any god of any nation been ableto save his country from the king of Assyria's clutches?

¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Where are thenational gods of Samaria? Did they save Samaria from my clutches?

²⁰ Of al the national gods, which ones have saved their countries from my clutches, that Yahweh shouldbe able to save Jerusalem from my clutches?" '

²¹ They, however, kept quiet and said nothing in reply, since the king had given the order, 'You are not toanswer him.'

²² The master of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna the secretary and the herald Joah son ofAsaph, with their clothes torn, went to Hezekiah and reported what the cupbearer-in-chief had said.