Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Rabshakeh isn't just mocking Hezekiah's faith in God; he's twisting it by framing it as a dangerous deception. He tries to sow doubt by suggesting that trusting God, rather than negotiating with Assyria, is the real trap Hezekiah is laying for his people.
Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Rabshakeh, a high official of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, is addressing the people of Jerusalem while the Assyrian army surrounds the city. He's trying to convince them to surrender by undermining their faith in King Hezekiah and, more importantly, in their God, Jehovah. He mocks their trust in God and offers them a tempting, albeit false, promise of a better life if they defect to the Assyrian camp.
Why would an invading general try to convince people to stop trusting their God? Rabshakeh's words reveal a deep understanding of spiritual warfare.
Rabshakeh, the Assyrian commander, directly confronts the people of Judah, not just with threats of military conquest, but with a psychological assault. His primary goal is to shatter their confidence in the LORD.
Rabshakeh offers his own enticing promises. How do they stack up against the assurance Hezekiah offers from God?
Rabshakeh doesn't just try to dismantle trust; he also offers an alternative—his own 'guarantees.' This is a classic tactic: replace divine assurance with empty, human promises.
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Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
A title often applied to the covenant God of Israel, YHWH, who revealed His personal name to Moses. It signifies the self-existent, faithful, and redeeming God of the covenant.
batach · Hebrew Verb
To have firm reliance, confidence, or hope in someone or something. In a biblical context, it is the primary posture of the heart toward God, signifying total dependence on His character and promises.
Rabshakeh's words reveal the Assyrian strategy of psychological warfare: not only to threaten with military might but also to attack the people's faith in their God, attempting to sever their ultimate source of hope.
c. 705 BC
Death of Sargon II
Sargon II, the Assyrian king who expanded the empire, died in battle. His son, Sennacherib, succeeded him and faced some internal revolts and external challenges in the early years of his reign.
c. 701 BC— this verse
Sennacherib's Campaign in the Levant
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, launched a major military campaign into the Levant. His goal was to quell rebellions and reassert Assyrian dominance over the region's vassal states.
c. 701 BC
Siege of Jerusalem Begins
Sennacherib's forces advanced and captured many fortified cities in Judah. The Assyrian army then laid siege to Jerusalem, the capital, with a formidable force led by the official Rabshakeh.
c. 701 BC
Rabshakeh's Blasphemous Speech
Rabshakeh, an Assyrian commander, delivered a taunting and blasphemous speech to the people of Jerusalem, attempting to undermine their faith in Yahweh and encourage surrender.
c. 701 BC
Divine Intervention and Assyrian Withdrawal
An angel of the LORD struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers overnight. Sennacherib, facing a devastating plague and significant losses, was forced to withdraw his army from Jerusalem and return to Nineveh.
c. 681 BC
Death of Sennacherib
Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons in Nineveh. His successor, Esarhaddon, continued the Assyrian Empire's rule.
This passage directly contrasts Rabshakeh's words, showing God's promise to defend Jerusalem and deliver it from the Assyrian king.
2 Kings 18:31-32This passage shows Rabshakeh's similar tactic of trying to get people to surrender by making them distrust Hezekiah and, by extension, God.
Jeremiah 17:5This proverb highlights the foolishness of trusting in human power or even in other nations (like Egypt, which Rabshakeh also mentioned), rather than in the LORD.
Psalm 20:7This psalm expresses a confident trust in God's deliverance, directly countering Rabshakeh's attempt to instill doubt about the Lord's ability to save.
cambridgeIsaiah 36:15: "Neither 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."
15 . The Lord will surely deliver us ] Cf. ch. Isaiah 37:35 .
barnesIsaiah 36:15: "Neither 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."
Make you trust in the Lord - Rabshakeh knew that Hezekiah was professedly devoted to Yahweh, and that he would endeavor to induce the people to trust in him. The Jews had now no other refuge but God, and as long as they put their confidence there, even Rabshakeh knew that it was hazardous to attempt to take and destroy t…
Rabshakeh isn't just mocking Hezekiah's faith in God; he's twisting it by framing it as a dangerous deception. He tries to sow doubt by suggesting that trusting God, rather than negotiating with Assyria, is the real trap Hezekiah is laying for his people.
Rabshakeh, a high official of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, is addressing the people of Jerusalem while the Assyrian army surrounds the city. He's trying to convince them to surrender by undermining their faith in King Hezekiah and, more importantly, in their God, Jehovah. He mocks their trust in God and offers them a tempting, albeit false, promise of a better life if they defect to the Assyrian camp.
Rabshakeh, a high official of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, is addressing the people of Jerusalem while the Assyrian army surrounds the city. He's trying to convince them to surrender by undermining their faith in King Hezekiah and, more importantly, in their God, Jehovah. He mocks their trust in God and offers them a tempting, albeit false, promise of a better life if they defect to the Assyrian camp.
"Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”" — Rabshakeh isn't just mocking Hezekiah's faith in God; he's twisting it by framing it as a dangerous deception. He tries to sow doubt by suggesting that trusting God, rather than negotiating with Assy…
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Last reviewed October 2026