Bible Strands
Isaiah 36:4
The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Rabshakeh addresses Hezekiah’s three officials (Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah) after they have approached him, ordering them to deliver his demand directly to King Hezekiah.
The words — The Hebrew רַב שָׁקֵה (rav shaqeh) literally denotes “chief commander,” establishing the speaker’s military authority, while אִמְרוּ נָא (imru na) issues the direct command “please say” to the messengers.
The thread — This dialogue mirrors 2 Kings 18:19, which records the identical Assyrian challenge, and stands in direct contrast to 2 Kings 18:5, which documents Hezekiah’s actual reliance on the LORD rather than military alliances.
Why it lands — The text forces a direct assessment of where political and military confidence originates, requiring the reader to identify whether reliance rests on human strategy or on the God Hezekiah claims to trust.
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
And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 18:19 The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
- 2 Kings 18:5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.
- 2 Kings 19:10 “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.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- 2 Chronicles 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations that my fathers devoted to destruction has been able to deliver his people from my hand? How then can your God deliver you from my hand?
- Psalms 42:3 My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 42:10 Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 71:10 For my enemies speak against me, and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Isaiah 10:8 “Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.