Amplified Bible
Isaiah 36:5
5I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now in whom do you trust and on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?
Isaiah 36:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
- New International Version (NIV)You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?
- New King James Version (NKJV)I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?
Context of Isaiah 36:5
3Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recording historian, came out to [meet] him. 4Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says, “What is [the reason for] this confidence that you have? I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now in whom do you trust and on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? 6Listen carefully, you rely on the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7But if you say to me, ‘We trust in and rely on the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?
Read all of Isaiah 36Isaiah 36:5 word by word
אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ אַךְ־דְּבַר־שְׂפָתַ֔יִם עֵצָ֥ה וּגְבוּרָ֖ה לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה עַתָּה֙ עַל־מִ֣י בָטַ֔חְתָּ כִּ֥י מָרַ֖דְתָּ בִּֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- vainשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: wordsH8193
- wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
- and strengthגְּבוּרָהgebûrâh · mightH1369
- for warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- now on whom dost thou trustבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
- that thou rebellestמָרַדmârad · to rebelH4775
Cross-references for Isaiah 36:5
- Proverbs 21:30There is no [human] wisdom or understanding Or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.
- Proverbs 24:5A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge strengthens his power;
- 2 Kings 18:7And the Lord was with Hezekiah; he was successful wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.
- 2 Kings 24:1In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.
- Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked us and regarded us with contempt and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
- Jeremiah 52:3For all this came about in Jerusalem and Judah because of the anger of the Lord, and [in the end] He cast them from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
- Ezekiel 17:15But Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant [with Babylon] and [still] escape?
Commentaries on Isaiah 36:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5I say "Thou hast said" - Fourteen MSS. (three ancient) of Kennicott's and De Rossi's have it in the second person, אמרת amarta ; and so the other copy, 2 Kings 18:20. But they are but vain words - שפתים דבר debar sephathayim, a word of the lips. Thou dost talk about counsels, but thou hast none; about strength, but there is none with thee.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5I say, sayest thou - In 2 Kings 18:20, this is thou sayest;‘ and thus many manuscripts read it here, and Lowth and Noyes have adopted that reading. So the Syriac reads it. But the sense is not affected whichever reading is adopted. It is designed to show to Hezekiah that his reliance, either on his own resources or on Egypt, was vain. But they are but vain words - Margin, as Hebrew, A word of lips;‘ that is, mere words; vain and empty boasting. On whom…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5In whom are you now trusting: Judah had asked Egypt to help them (see Isaiah 30:1–5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. counsel--Egypt was famed for its wisdom.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 36
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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