EasyEnglish Bible 2018
2 Kings 18:24
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.
2 Kings 18:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- New International Version (NIV)How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- English Standard Version (ESV)How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- New King James Version (NKJV)How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
Context of 2 Kings 18:24
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.’ ” 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. You 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!” ’ 26Then Hilkiah's son Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the leader of the Assyrian army, ‘Please sir, speak to us in the Aramaic language. We can understand it. Do not speak to us in the Hebrew language because all the people who are on the wall of the city will understand it.’
Read all of 2 Kings 182 Kings 18:24 word by word
וְאֵ֣יךְ תָּשִׁ֗יב אֵ֠ת פְּנֵ֨י פַחַ֥ת אַחַ֛ד עַבְדֵ֥י אֲדֹנִ֖י הַקְּטַנִּ֑ים וַתִּבְטַ֤ח לְךָ֙ עַל־מִצְרַ֔יִם לְרֶ֖כֶב וּלְפָרָשִֽׁים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- How then wilt thou turn awayשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
- the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- of oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- captainפֶּחָהpechâh · governorH6346
- of the leastקָטָןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
- of my master’sאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- and put thy trustבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
- on Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- for chariotsרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariotH7393
- and for horsemenפָּרָשׁpârâsh · horsemanH6571
Cross-references for 2 Kings 18:24
- Isaiah 10:8He boasts, ‘All my army's officers are like kings!
- Daniel 2:37You are a great king who rules over other kings. The God of heaven has given you authority to rule. He has given you power, strength and honour.
- Daniel 4:22You, the king, are like that tree. You have become great and strong. Your power reaches up to the sky. Your authority reaches to the ends of the world.
- 2 Kings 18:21Listen 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.
- Deuteronomy 17:16A king must not get a lot of horses for himself. He must not send his people back to Egypt to buy more horses. The Lord has said to you, ‘Never return to Egypt for any reason!’
- Isaiah 31:1It will be very bad for those people who expect that Egypt will help them. They think that Egypt's many horses and chariots will keep them safe. They trust the power of Egypt's strong soldiers who ride on horses. But those people do not trust the Holy God of Israel. They do not ask the Lord to help them.
- Isaiah 36:6Yes, you think that Egypt is strong enough to help 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.
- Jeremiah 37:7‘The Lord, Israel's God, says: Go to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask for my help. Tell him, “Pharaoh's army marched out of Egypt to bring you help. But they will turn back and return to their own land, Egypt.
- Jeremiah 42:14Do not say, “We refuse to stay here. Instead, we will go to live in Egypt. There, we will not have trouble from wars. We will not hear the noise of trumpets as people fight battles. We will not be hungry because there is no food.”
- Ezekiel 17:15But the man from the king's family did turn against the king of Babylon. He sent his officers with a message to Egypt. He asked them to send a large army with horses to save Jerusalem. But that will not help him to be safe! He did not obey his agreement with the king of Babylon, so he will not escape!
- Psalms 20:7Some people hope that their chariots will keep them safe. Other people trust their horses to save them. But we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 18:24
- 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 18:24
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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