Bible Strands
2 Kings 18:29
This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Assyrian Rabshakeh addresses the citizens of Jerusalem and their officials, delivering the king of Assyria’s psychological warfare just before the city’s siege. He speaks publicly in Hebrew to counter Hezekiah’s attempts to sustain morale and faith.
The words — The Hebrew כֹּ֚ה (koh) literally means “thus” or “this is,” framing the Rabshakeh’s speech as an official royal proclamation. The verb יַשִּׁ֥יא (ya.Shi') carries the sense of “to cause to fail” or “deceive,” directly targeting Hezekiah’s credibility as a leader.
The thread — This warning against trusting Hezekiah appears in 2 Chronicles 32:15 and 32:11, where the same psychological tactic is recorded. The pattern of arrogant threat also surfaces in Psalms 73:8, which notes how oppressors mock and threaten with malice.
Why it lands — The verse demands a clear assessment of who holds actual power and whether human or divine promises will endure under siege. It forces the reader to distinguish between coercive threats and reliable deliverance without offering comfort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 32:15 So 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 Chronicles 32:11 Is 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?’
- Psalms 73:8 They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
- Daniel 3:15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. 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?”
- Daniel 6:16 So 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!”
- John 19:10 So 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?”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 He 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 Thessalonians 2:8 And 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.