2 Kings 18:28-35 Meaning: Don't Listen to the Lies
28Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
29The king says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand.
30Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
31Don’t listen to Hezekiah.’ For the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone of you eat from his own vine, and everyone from his own fig tree, and everyone drink water from his own cistern;
32until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and of honey, that you may live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he persuades you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.”
33Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
34Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
35Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
28Then Rab–shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
29Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
30Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
31Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
32Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us.
33Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
34Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
35Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?
28Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear ye the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
29Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
30neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
31Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
32until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-trees and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us.
33Hath any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
34Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
35Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
28And the chief of the butlers standeth and calleth with a great voice in Jewish, and speaketh and saith, `Hear ye a word of the great king, the king of Asshur:
29thus said the king, Let not Hezekiah lift you up, for he is not able to deliver you out of his hand;
30and let not Hezekiah make you trust unto Jehovah, saying, Jehovah doth certainly deliver us, and this city is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur.
31`Do not hearken unto Hezekiah, for thus said the king of Asshur, Make with me a blessing, and come out unto me, and eat ye each of his vine, and each of his fig-tree, and drink ye each the waters of his own well,
32till my coming in, and I have taken you unto a land like your own land, a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive, and honey, and live, and die not; and do not hearken unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, Jehovah doth deliver us.
33`Have the gods of the nations delivered at all each his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur?
34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah, that they have delivered Samaria out of my hand?
35Who are they among all the gods of the lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that Jehovah doth deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'
28And Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish [language], and spoke and said, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!
29Thus says the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of the [king's] hand.
30Neither let Hezekiah make you rely upon Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will certainly deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
31Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: Make 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;
32until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-trees and of honey, that ye may live and not die; and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us.
33Have any of thegods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
34Where are thegods of Hamath and of Arpad? Where are thegods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
35Which are they among all thegods of the countries, who have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
Meaning in one sentence
Rabshakeh's speech in Hebrew reveals Assyria's strategy: undermine trust in God and king. See why the people stayed silent and what that means for us.
Context
The Assyrian army has surrounded Jerusalem. King Hezekiah has refused to surrender, trusting in the Lord. So the Assyrian field commander, Rabshakeh, takes a calculated step. He ignores the diplomatic language of Aramaic and shouts to the common people in Hebrew. His aim is not to negotiate with the king but to turn the people against him and against God. He attacks Hezekiah's leadership, dismisses the promise of God's deliverance, and holds out a tempting offer: surrender now, enjoy peace for a while, then be taken to a good land. The people on the wall listen. But they stay silent, acting on the king's command not to reply.
Key Words
Three Hebrew words carry the weight of this confrontation. First, deceive (nasha, verse 29). Rabshakeh claims Hezekiah is deceiving the people. But the word describes leading someone astray, and that is exactly what Rabshakeh himself is doing. He wraps lies in a friendly voice.
Second, trust (batach, verse 30). Hezekiah calls the people to trust in Yahweh. Rabshakeh mocks that trust, as if it were foolish. But batach is the same word used throughout Scripture for the confidence that belongs to God alone. The commander wants to uproot that word from their hearts.
Third, blessing (berakah, verse 31). Rabshakeh says, “Make a blessing with me.” The word usually means a gift or a treaty of peace. He offers a false blessing, a short-term truce that ends in exile. Real blessing comes only from the God he scorns.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have read this scene as a vivid picture of spiritual warfare. Adam Clarke called Rabshakeh’s speech “impudent blasphemy,” noting that Hezekiah rightly referred the matter to the Lord rather than answering the lies. Barnes points out that the Assyrian rested his case on two things: Hezekiah’s military weakness and his religious trust. The Cambridge Bible observes that Rabshakeh, despite claiming to have a command from the Lord in verse 25, here treats Yahweh as just one more defeated god. This contradiction has long been noted: the enemy’s arguments against faith are often inconsistent. Historic Christian teaching sees in this passage a test of whether God’s people will hold to His promise when every human argument says it cannot stand.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is to take Rabshakeh’s argument as reasonable: no nation had ever resisted Assyria, so why should Jerusalem expect to be different? In fact, that is exactly the lie. He treats Yahweh as one more tribal god, limited by past outcomes. The whole point of Israel’s faith was that the Lord is not like the gods of the nations. He is the Creator who rules over Assyria itself. The argument that “it has never happened before” is not a proof; it is a test of whether you trust in the God who does new things.
Living This Out
This week, you may hear voices, your own thoughts, other people, circumstances, telling you that God won’t come through. The enemy uses past failures to argue that God cannot do anything new. He may even sound reasonable, offering you a tolerable alternative. But the Lord is not like the gods of the nations. He is the God who delivered Israel from Egypt, who raised Christ from the dead, and who promises to be with you. When the lies come, you don’t have to argue. Like the people on the wall, you can stay silent and hold onto what you know is true. Trust in the One who has never lost a battle.
Main takeaway: No amount of past defeats cancels God’s power to deliver those who trust in Him.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
The enemy shouted at God’s people, trying to make them afraid. They didn’t shout back. They trusted their king and trusted God. You can trust God too when you are scared.
For ages 9, 12
When the Assyrian commander shouted in Hebrew right at the people, he was trying to get them to doubt. He said their king was lying and God couldn’t help. But the people stayed quiet because King Hezekiah told them not to answer. Sometimes the best way to face a lie is not to argue with it but to hold onto what you know is true. God had not failed them before, and He would not fail them now. You can do the same when someone says God won’t come through for you.
Questions People Ask
Why did Rabshakeh speak in Hebrew instead of Aramaic?
Aramaic was the language of diplomacy and negotiation. By speaking Hebrew, Rabshakeh bypassed the king’s officials and spoke directly to the common people on the wall. His goal was to frighten them and turn them against Hezekiah. It was a psychological tactic, not a diplomatic one.
What did Rabshakeh mean by “make your peace with me” (literally “make a blessing”)?
The Hebrew word berakah normally means “blessing,” but it can also mean a gift or a peace treaty. Rabshakeh was offering a deal: surrender now and you can stay in your homes for a while before being deported to a land like your own. It sounded generous, but it was a trap that led to exile.
Why didn’t the people answer Rabshakeh?
King Hezekiah had commanded them not to answer (verse 36). This was a wise strategy: engaging with the lies would only give them power. Silence denied Rabshakeh the response he wanted and kept the people from being drawn into doubt.
Is it fair to compare God to the gods of other nations, as Rabshakeh did?
No. Rabshakeh assumed that Yahweh was like the local deities of Hamath, Arpad, and Samaria, limited, territorial gods who could be defeated. But the Bible consistently teaches that the Lord is the Creator of all nations, sovereign over Assyria itself. Past defeats of other nations did not limit His power.
What happened after this speech?
The officials reported Rabshakeh’s words to King Hezekiah, who tore his clothes and went to the temple to pray. He also sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah asking for guidance. God answered through Isaiah, promising to defend Jerusalem and strike down the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19).
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study