English Standard Version
2 Kings 18:23
23Come 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.
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!
- 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!
- New Living Translation (NLT)“I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!
Context of 2 Kings 18:23
21Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22But if you say to me, "We trust in the Lord our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem"? 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. 24How 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? 25Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, "Go up against this land 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 17:42And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
- 1 Kings 20:10Ben-hadad sent to him and said, "The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me."
- Nehemiah 4:2And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?"
- Psalms 123:3Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
- Isaiah 10:13For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of peoples, and plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.
- Isaiah 36:8Come 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.
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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Commentaries