How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
Parallel translations
- WEB How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- KJV How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- BSB For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- NASB How then can you drive back even one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- NLT With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers?
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 argues Judah cannot resist even a minor Assyrian officer, so trusting Egypt is hopeless.
Overview
The Rabshakeh claims Judah could not turn back the least of Assyria's captains, and ridicules reliance on Egyptian chariots and horsemen. The argument again pushes Judah toward despair by stressing human odds. The narrative will answer it by showing that the Lord, not Egypt or armies, decides the outcome.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 10:8For he says, “Aren’t all of my princes kings?
- Isa 30:2–5who set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my advice; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!
- Isa 30:16–17but you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”; therefore you will flee; and, “We will ride on the swift”; therefore those who pursue you will be swift.
- Isa 20:5They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
- Jer 2:36Why do you go about so much to change your ways? You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria.
- Isa 31:3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
- Prov 21:31The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but victory is with Yahweh.
- Deut 17:16Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Yahweh has said to you, “You shall not go back that way again.”
- 2 Kgs 18:24How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- Isa 36:6Behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt, which if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
- Isa 30:7For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still.
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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 36:9 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.