Isaiah 36:9 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?
Isaiah 36:9 nkjv
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?
Isaiah 36:9 niv
How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
Isaiah 36:9 esv
How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Isaiah 36:9 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?
Isaiah 36 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 36:10 | And now also I come up without the LORD: the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. | Direct historical parallel |
| 2 Kings 18:25 | Return ye now every man to his house: for this thing is of me. | Parallel account of Rabshakeh's speech |
| Isaiah 37:6 | Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with the which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. | God's direct response through Isaiah |
| Jeremiah 2:28 | But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. | Echoes the critique of relying on idols |
| Psalm 78:56 | Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his statutes; | Nations failing their gods |
| Psalm 115:4 | Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. | Critique of idols' powerlessness |
| Isaiah 10:13 | For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am cunning: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants thereof as a brave man. | Assyrian boastfulness |
| Isaiah 44:9 | They that make a graven image are all of them vanity: and their delectable things shall not profit them; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. | Powerlessness of idols |
| Isaiah 45:16 | They shall be ashamed, and even confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. | Shame of idol makers |
| Daniel 3:29 | Therefore it is ordained by me, That at the hearing of the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king of the great men hath set up: | Idolatry and worship of images |
| 1 Corinthians 10:20 | But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. | Idols representing demonic forces |
| Isaiah 19:1-3 | The burden of Egypt. And the LORD will ride upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt within it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. | God's power over other gods/nations |
| Psalm 46:1 | God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. | Contrast to Assyrian's perceived strength |
| Isaiah 37:10 | Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with the which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. | The LORD's assured deliverance |
| Psalm 135:15-18 | The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of the hands of men. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. | Identity with idols |
| 1 Kings 20:23 | And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. | Human reasoning about God's location |
| 2 Kings 18:31-32 | Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an ambassage with me, and come ye out to me, and eat ye every one of his grapes, and ye shall eat every one of his figs, and drink ye every one of his waters: Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. | Invitation to surrender with false promises |
| Jeremiah 7:4 | Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. | False security in religious symbols |
| Isaiah 37:29 | Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. | God's direct action against Sennacherib |
| Psalm 2:1-4 | Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. | God's sovereign laughter over human defiance |
Isaiah 36 verses
Isaiah 36 9 Meaning
This verse, spoken by Rabshakeh, highlights the Assyrian king's utter disbelief in Jehovah as a deliverer. It asserts that the gods of other conquered nations failed to rescue their people from the Assyrian army, implying that Jehovah will similarly be powerless to save Judah and Jerusalem from Sennacherib's might.
Isaiah 36 9 Context
This verse occurs during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had conquered many surrounding nations. His chief commander, Rabshakeh, is sent to Jerusalem to demand its surrender. Rabshakeh’s speech, recorded in both Isaiah 36 and 2 Kings 18, is a powerful propaganda effort designed to demoralize the people and their king, Hezekiah. He uses mockery and an appeal to pragmatic, experience-based reasoning (the failure of other nations' gods) to undermine their faith in Jehovah. This occurs when Judah is facing a existential threat, and the temptation to despair and doubt God is extremely high. The chapter is part of a larger narrative where Hezekiah's faith is tested and ultimately upheld through divine intervention.
Isaiah 36 9 Word analysis
Nay, but (Hebrew: ki im): "But rather," "indeed," "however." Emphasizes the contrasting statement that follows. It introduces Rabshakeh's assertion that Jehovah did not send the Assyrians, but that he came of his own accord.
the LORD (Hebrew: YHWH): The personal covenant name of God. Rabshakeh's deliberate use here, juxtaposed with his mocking claims, is intended to insult God's power and faithfulness.
said (Hebrew: amar): Spoke, commanded. Rabshakeh claims divine instruction for his actions.
unto me (Hebrew: li): To me. Directly attributes the commission to God.
Go up (Hebrew: 'alah): Ascend, go up. Often used for military campaigns moving towards mountainous regions like Jerusalem.
against this land (Hebrew: 'al-ha'arets hazoth): Upon this land. Singular land, referring to the specific territory of Judah.
and destroy it (Hebrew: uleshachata otah): And to destroy it. Denotes complete annihilation.
word-group analysis: "Nay, but the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it." This is a defiant misrepresentation of divine will, aimed at asserting Assyrian military superiority as divinely ordained, thereby stripping away Judah's hope in God.
Isaiah 36 9 Bonus section
Rabshakeh’s words here are an example of theological manipulation. He is taking what might appear as God's judgment through the Assyrian army (as predicted by prophets in other contexts) and twisting it into an admission by God that He sent Assyria specifically to destroy Judah. This is a blasphemous inversion. The historical context of other nations' gods failing them was a common phenomenon in the ancient Near East. Nations often believed their gods were tied to their territory, and if their god was overcome or their territory conquered, it implied their god's weakness or absence. Rabshakeh capitalizes on this polytheistic mindset to discredit the singular power of Jehovah, who is not geographically bound. His arrogance is symptomatic of a leader who trusts in his king and his army more than in the Lord.
Isaiah 36 9 Commentary
Rabshakeh's strategy is to instill hopelessness by leveraging past Assyrian victories. He points to the inability of the gods of other nations—Haran, Rabbath-ammon, Samaria, and Damascus—to protect them from Assyria. This is a direct challenge to Judah's belief that Jehovah is uniquely powerful and committed to them. The verse functions as a rhetorical tactic to strip away any psychological or theological basis for resistance, forcing the people to confront the overwhelming military power of Assyria without recourse to their God. The implied message is: "If your God is truly powerful, why haven't other gods demonstrated his power to save their people? He is just like the rest, and incapable of intervening for you." This represents a sophisticated form of psychological warfare, rooted in an early, flawed understanding of divine interaction, where military success was seen as direct proof of divine favor or disfavor.