This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you.
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus says the king, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you.
- KJV Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
- NKJV Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you;
- NASB This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you;
- NLT This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you.
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
He urges the people not to let Hezekiah deceive them, claiming the king cannot save them.
Overview
The Rabshakeh attacks Hezekiah's credibility, telling the people their king cannot deliver them from Assyria. The aim is to separate the people from their leader and from faith. The taunt sets up the central question of the narrative: whether the Lord, working through Hezekiah, can save Jerusalem, which he indeed does.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 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.
- Rev 13:5–6The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
- Isa 37:10–13“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- Dan 6:20When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
- 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?”
- 2 Kgs 19:22Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
- 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?’
- 2 Chr 32:13–19Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have the gods of these nations ever been able to deliver their land from my hand?
- 2 Kgs 19:10–13“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- Dan 7:25He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 36:14 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.