Isaiah 36

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria advanced on al the fortified townsof Judah and captured them.	1 And it happened that, in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he seized 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.	2 And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabshakeh from Lachish into Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a great force, and he stood near the aqueduct of the upper pool, at the road to the fuller’s field.
3 The master of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna the secretary and the herald Joah son ofAsaph went out to him.	3 And those who went to him were Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, son of Asaph, the historian.
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?	4 And Rabshakeh said to them: “Tell Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of the Assyrians: What is this faith in which you believe?
5 Do you think empty words are as good as strategy and military strength? Who are you relying on, todare to rebel against me?	5 And by what counsel or strength would you prepare to rebel? In whom do you have faith, so much so that you would withdraw from 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.	6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, in that broken staff of a reed. But if a man were to lean against it, it would enter his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who trust in 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?	7 But if you answer me by saying: ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ Is it not his high places and altars that Hezekiah has taken away? And he has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar.’
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.	8 And now, hand yourselves over to my lord, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, and you will not be able to find riders for them on your own.
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.	9 So how will you withstand the face of the ruler of even one place, of even the least of my lord’s subordinates? But if you trust in Egypt, in four-horse chariots and in 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."	10 do I intend to go up against this land to destroy it without the Lord? But the Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”
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.'	11 And Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh: “Speak to your servants in the Syrian language. For we understand it. Do not speak to us in the Jewish language, in the hearing of the people, who are upon the wall.”
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.'	12 And Rabshakeh said to them: “Has my lord sent me to your lord and to you in order to speak all these words, and not even more so to the men who are sitting on the wall, so that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
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.	13 Then Rabshakeh stood up, and he cried out with a loud voice in the Jewish language, and he said: “Listen to the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians.
14 The king says this, "Do not let Hezekiah delude you! He wil be powerless to save you.	14 Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. For he will not be able to rescue 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.	15 And do not let Hezekiah cause you to trust in the Lord, saying: ‘The Lord will rescue and free us. This city will not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.’
16 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says this: Make peace with me,	16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For the king of the Assyrians says this: Act with me to your own benefit, and come out to me. And let each one eat from his own vine, and each one from his own fig tree. And let each one drink water from his own well,
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.	17 until I arrive and take you away to a land which is like your own: a land of grain and of wine, a land of bread and of 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?	18 But you should not let Hezekiah disturb you, saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have any of the gods of each of the nations delivered their land from the hand of the king of the Assyrians?
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?	19 Where is the god of Hamath and of Arpad? Where is the god of Sepharvaim? Have they freed Samaria from my hand?
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?" '	20 Who is there, among all the gods of these lands, who has rescued his land from my hand, so that the Lord would rescue Jerusalem from my hand?”
21 They, however, kept quiet and said nothing in reply, since the king had given the order, 'You are not toanswer him.'	21 And they remained silent and did not answer a word to him. For the king had commanded them, saying, “You shall not respond to 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.	22 And Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and Joah, son of Asaph, the historian, entered to Hezekiah with their garments rent, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.