EasyEnglish Bible 2018
2 Kings 18:23
23So you should make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you have enough riders to put on them.
2 Kings 18:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
- English Standard Version (ESV)Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them!
Context of 2 Kings 18:23
21Listen to me! You think that Egypt is strong enough to help you, do you? But you should not trust Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He is like a weak stick. If you use it to walk with, it will break! A broken piece of stick will make a hole through your hand and give you much pain! That is the trouble that the king of Egypt brings to everyone who trusts him to help them. 22But maybe you will say to me, ‘We are trusting the Lord our God to help us.’ But it was your king, Hezekiah, who removed the altars and the special places where you worship your God. He told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship God only at the altar here in Jerusalem.’ ” So you should make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you have enough riders to put on them. 24You cannot refuse what I offer to you! And I am only an unimportant officer who serves my master. You are hoping that Egypt will give you chariots and men to ride on horses. But you will never be strong enough to win a battle against us. 25You should also understand this: It was the Lord himself who commanded me to bring my army here and attack Jerusalem. He said to me, “Attack this country and destroy it!” ’
Read all of 2 Kings 182 Kings 18:23 word by word
וְעַתָּה֙ הִתְעָ֣רֶב נָ֔א אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֖י אֶת־מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֑וּר וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה לְךָ֙ אַלְפַּ֣יִם סוּסִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֕ל לָ֥תֶת לְךָ֖ רֹכְבִ֥ים עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledgesעָרַב‛ârab · to pledgeH6148
- to my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- and I will deliverנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- thee two thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- if thou be ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- on thy part to setנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- ridersרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
Cross-references for 2 Kings 18:23
- 1 Samuel 17:42As he came nearer, the Philistine looked carefully at David. He saw that David was no more than a healthy, handsome boy. That made him laugh at David.
- 1 Kings 20:10Then Ben-Hadad sent men with another message to Ahab. He said, ‘I promise that my soldiers will completely destroy Samaria! There will be nothing left! There will not even be enough dirt to fill the hands of each of my soldiers. I pray that the gods will punish me very much if that does not happen!’
- Nehemiah 4:2His officers and Samaria's army were with him. He said to them, ‘Those Jews have great ideas, but they are weak. How will they ever repair the wall? Will they give sacrifices to their God? Will that help them to repair the wall in one day? They will never build anything from this heap of stones that fire has destroyed!’
- Psalms 123:3Please be kind to us, Lord. Please forgive us. People have insulted us more and more!
- Isaiah 10:13The king of Assyria says this: ‘I have won these battles because of my own strength. I have been very wise and clever. I have marched into nations as if they had no borders. I have taken their valuable things for myself. Like a wild bull, I have removed kings from their thrones.
- Isaiah 36:8So you should make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses, if you have enough riders to put on them.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 18:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23I will deliver thee two thousand horses - Another insult: Were I to give thee two thousand Assyrian horses, thou couldst not find riders for them. How then canst thou think that thou shalt be able to stand against even the smallest division of my troops?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The phrase translated “give pledges,” or “hostages” (margin) may perhaps be best understood as meaning “make an agreement.” If you will “bind yourself to find the riders” (i. e., trained horsemen), we will “bind ourselves to furnish the horses.” The suggestion implied that in all Judaea there were not 2000 men accustomed to serve as cavalry.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-37Verses 17-37 Rabshakeh tries to convince the Jews, that it was to no purpose for them to stand it out. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? It were well if sinners would submit to the force of this argument, in seeking peace with God. It is, therefore, our wisdom to yield to him, because it is in vain to contend with him: what confidence is that which those trust in who stand out against him? A great deal of art there is in this speech of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24The officer then mocked Jerusalem, saying it did not have enough soldiers or strength to resist even the weakest group of Assyrian troops.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2519. Rab-shakeh said--The insolent tone he assumed appears surprising. But this boasting [2Ki 18:19-25], both as to matter and manner, his highly colored picture of his master's powers and resources, and the impossibility of Hezekiah making any effective resistance, heightened by all the arguments and figures which an Oriental imagination could suggest, has been paralleled in all, except the blasphemy, by other messages of defiance sent on similar…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 18:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- 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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