English Standard Version
Isaiah 36:12
12But the Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?"
Isaiah 36:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
- New International Version (NIV)But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”
Context of Isaiah 36:12
10Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, "Go up against this land and destroy it."'" 11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall." But the Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?" 13Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you.
Read all of Isaiah 36Isaiah 36:12 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר רַב־שָׁקֵ֗ה הַאֶ֨ל אֲדֹנֶ֤יךָ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲדֹנִ֔י לְדַבֵּ֖ר אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה הֲלֹ֣א עַל־הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ עַל־הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה לֶאֱכֹ֣ל אֶת־צוֹאָתָ֗ם וְלִשְׁתּ֛וֹת אֶת־מֵימֵ֥י רַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם עִמָּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But Rabshakehרַבְשָׁקֵהrabshâqêh · RabshakehH7262
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Hath my masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- and to thee to speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- these wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- to the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- that sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- upon the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
- that they may eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- their own dungצֹאָהtsô'âh tsô'âh · filthH6675
- their own dungחֶרֶאchere' chărîy · dungH2716
- and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- their own pissשַׁ֫יִןshayin · urineH7890
- their own pissרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- their own pissמַיmayim · waterH4325
Cross-references for Isaiah 36:12
- Isaiah 9:20They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm,
- Leviticus 26:29You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.
- Deuteronomy 28:53And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.
- 2 Kings 6:25And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver.
- 2 Kings 18:27But the Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?"
- Jeremiah 19:9And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.'
- Daniel 4:9"O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.
- Ezekiel 4:16Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.
Commentaries on Isaiah 36:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12That they may eat their own dung "Destined to eat their own dung" - לאכל leechol, that they may eat, as our translation literally renders it. But the Syriac reads מאכל meechol, that they may not eat, perhaps rightly, and afterward ומשתות umishshethoth, or ושתות ushethoth, to the same purpose. Seventeen of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., ten of De Rossi's and two of my own, read מימי meymey, the water; mine have שניהם מימי meymey sheneyhem, and write in the margin…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee? - To Hezekiah, and to you alone. A part of my purpose is to address the people, to induce them to leave Hezekiah, and to offer no resistance to the Assyrian. To the men that sit on the wall - The meaning of this is, that the inhabitants of the city, if they do not surrender, will be subjected to the severest evils of famine. If they did not surrender, it was the purpose of the Assyrian to lay siege 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. 1212. Is it to thy master and thee that I am sent? Nay, it is to the men on the wall, to let them know (so far am I from wishing them not to hear, as you would wish), that unless they surrender, they shall be reduced to the direst extremities of famine in the siege (2Ch 32:11, explains the word here), namely, to eat their own excrements: or, connecting, "that they may eat," &c., with "sit upon the wall"; who, as they hold the wall, are knowingly exposing…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 36:12
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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