¹⁷ Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,^[a] the Rabsaris,^[b] and the Rabshakeh^[c] from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great army against Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they went up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the Fuller’s Field. ¹⁸ Then they called to the king, and Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.

¹⁹ Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Speak to Hezekiah:

“Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What is the basis of your confidence? ²⁰ You speak empty words concerning counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? ²¹ Now, look! You trust in the staff of this bruised reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will enter his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. ²² But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He, whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?

²³ “Now, make a wager with my lord king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses if you are able to set riders on them. ²⁴ How can you turn away one official of the least of my master’s servants and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Have I come up apart from the will of the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.”

²⁶ Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah in earshot of the people who are on the wall.”

²⁷ But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are about to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

²⁸ Then the Rabshakeh stood and called with a loud voice in the language of Judah, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he is not able to deliver you from my hand. ³⁰ Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

³¹ “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Submit to me; come out to me, so that every man may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, ³² until I come and take you to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil and honey, that you may live and not die.’

“Do not listen to Hezekiah when he leads you astray saying, The Lord will deliver us. ³³ Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

The Death of Sennacherib

³⁵ On that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When others woke up early in the morning, these were all dead bodies. ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and stayed in Nineveh.

³⁷ As he was worshipping in the house of Nisrok his god, Adrammelek and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

² The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh^[a] from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field. ³ Then Eliakim came to him, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.

⁴ The Rabshakeh said to them:

“Say now to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What confidence is this that you have? ⁵ I say, Your counsel and strength for war are only empty words. Now on whom do you rely that you rebel against me? ⁶ You rely on the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. ⁷ But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?

⁸ “Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. ⁹ How then will you turn away one captain of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ¹⁰ Have I now come up without the approval of the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.”

¹¹ Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. And do not speak to us in Hebrew in the ears of the people who are on the wall.”

¹² But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

¹³ Then the Rabshakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. ¹⁴ Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you; ¹⁵ nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us. This city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

¹⁶ “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat every one of his vine and every one of his fig tree, and drink every one the waters of his own cistern, ¹⁷ until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸ “ ‘Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? ²⁰ Who are they among all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ”

³⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When others woke up early in the morning, these were all dead bodies. ³⁷ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived in Nineveh.

³⁸ It came to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisrok, his god, that Adrammelek and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.