Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria launched a fierce attack on all the fortified cities of Judah, taking control of them.

The king of Assyria sent his trusted general, Rabshakeh, from Lachish to Jerusalem with a massive army. Standing by the aqueduct near the upper pool in the fuller's field highway, Rabshakeh called out to Eliakim, Hilkiah's son who oversaw the palace staff, Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son who served as recorder.

Rabshakeh sneered at them, saying, "Tell Hezekiah that the great king of Assyria has a message for him: 'What makes you think you can trust in your own strength? What fool's errand are you on by rebelling against me?'

"You're counting on Egypt, but it's like leaning on a broken reed – it will only pierce your hand and leave you helpless. That's what Pharaoh of Egypt is to anyone who trusts him.

"But if you claim to trust in the Lord your God, isn't He the one whose altars and temples Hezekiah tore down? He ordered Judah and Jerusalem to worship at this altar, after all. Give my master, the king of Assyria, some guarantees, and I'll provide 2,000 horses – if you can find riders for them.

"How will you manage to deflect even one captain from my master's army, let alone Egypt's chariots and horsemen? Have I come up against this land without the Lord's guidance, only to destroy it because he told me to do so?

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah asked Rabshakeh to speak in the language of Syria, which they understood, rather than the language of Judah that might be overheard by the people on the wall.

Rabshakeh retorted, "Was I sent here to talk only to you and your master? Or was I not also sent to address those who sit on the wall?

Then Rabshakeh stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hear this message from the great king of Assyria!

"The king says, 'Don't let Hezekiah deceive you; he won't be able to save you. Don't trust in the Lord, as Hezekiah is telling you – that he will surely deliver us. This city will never fall into my hands.'

"The king of Assyria says, 'Do not listen to Hezekiah's lies. Instead, surrender and make peace with me: eat from his vineyards and drink from his cisterns until I come and take you away to a land like your own, where crops ripen into wine, bread grows in abundance, and vineyards flourish.'

"Beware, lest Hezekiah convinces you that the Lord will save us. Has any of the gods of other nations saved their lands from my hand? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad, and those of Sepharvaim – did they not fail to rescue Samaria from me?

"Who among all these foreign gods has ever saved a land from my grasp? The Lord won't deliver Jerusalem out of my hands either.

The officials fell silent at the king's command, saying nothing in response. Then Eliakim, son of Hilkiah who managed the palace staff, along with Shebna the scribe and Joah, son of Asaph the recorder, rushed to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, reporting Rabshakeh's taunts.