Isaiah 36:9

Isaiah 36:9 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 then 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 Isaiah 36:9

7Maybe 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.’ ” 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. 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. 10You 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!” ’ 11Then 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.’

Isaiah 36:9 word by word

וְאֵ֣יךְ תָּשִׁ֗יב אֵ֠ת פְּנֵ֨י פַחַ֥ת אַחַ֛ד עַבְדֵ֥י אֲדֹנִ֖י הַקְטַנִּ֑ים 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 Isaiah 36:9

• Isaiah 10:8He boasts, ‘All my army's officers are like kings!
• 2 Kings 18:24You 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.
• 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.
• Isaiah 30:16Instead, you say, ‘No! We will run away on horses and we will escape.’ Yes, you will run away! You say, ‘Our horses will run very fast!’ But your enemies who chase you will also be very fast!
• 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!’
• Proverbs 21:31You can prepare your horses to fight in a battle, but only the Lord can help you to win.

Commentaries on Isaiah 36:9

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9How then wilt thou turn away the face - The most unimportant captain in the army of Assyria commands more horsemen than this, and how can you expect to oppose even him, much more how can you be able to resist all the mighty army of the Assyrians? One captain of the least - The word captain‘ here (פחת pachat construct state from פחה pechâh ) denotes a prefect or governor of a province less than a satrap, an officer who was under the satrap, and subject to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-22The Assyrian chief of staff tried to use intimidation to negotiate a peaceful settlement. In his first speech (Isaiah 36:4–10), he correctly argued that Egypt could not rescue them but incorrectly accused Hezekiah of misplaced trust in the Lord. Interestingly, the Assyrian did not view the contest as between the gods of Assyria and the Lord, but rather between Sennacherib (the great king) and the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. captain--a governor under a satrap; even he commands more horsemen than this.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Destroy
• Governor
• Hezekiah
• Isaiah
• Sennacherib
• Bible, the
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament

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