This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus says the king, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand.
- KJV Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
- NKJV Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand;
- NASB This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you from my hand.
- NLT This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Rabshakeh warns the people not to let Hezekiah deceive them, claiming the king cannot deliver them. He attacks the credibility of Judah's leader.
Overview
The Assyrian seeks to drive a wedge between the people and their king by branding Hezekiah a deceiver. His goal is to isolate the people from the leadership that calls them to trust God. By denying Hezekiah's power to save, he subtly denies the God behind him. The narrative will vindicate Hezekiah's hope and expose the Assyrian's lie.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Chr 32:15So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!”
- 2 Chr 32:11Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, ‘The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria?’
- Dan 3:15–17Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”
- Dan 6:16So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”
- 2 Th 2:4He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- 2 Th 2:8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Ps 73:8–9They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
- John 19:10–11So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 18:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.