God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 36:12
12But the field commander asked, “Did my master send me to tell these things only to you and your master? Didn’t he send me to the men sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine with you?”
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?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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?"
- 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?”
Context of Isaiah 36:12
10“Have I come to destroy this country without the Lord on my side? The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this country, and destroy it.’ ” 11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the field commander, “Speak to us in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in the Judean language as long as there are people on the wall listening.” But the field commander asked, “Did my master send me to tell these things only to you and your master? Didn’t he send me to the men sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine with you?” 13Then the field commander stood and shouted loudly in the Judean language, “Listen to the great king, the king of Assyria. 14This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He can’t rescue 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 9:20On the right, one gobbles up food and is still hungry. On the left, another eats and is never full. Each person eats the flesh from his own arm.
- Leviticus 26:29You will eat the bodies of your sons and daughters.
- Deuteronomy 28:53Because of the hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade, you will eat the flesh of your own children, the sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you.
- 2 Kings 6:25The shortages caused by the blockade of Samaria became so severe that a donkey’s head sold for two pounds of silver and a half-pint of dove manure for two ounces of silver.
- 2 Kings 18:27But the field commander asked them, “Did my master send me to tell these things only to you and your master? Didn’t he send me to the men sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine with you?”
- Jeremiah 19:9I will make the people eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. They will eat each other’s flesh during blockades and hardships that their enemies impose on them when they want to kill them.”
- Daniel 4:9“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, I know the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No secret is too hard for you ⌞to uncover⌟. Tell me the meaning of the visions I had in my dream.
- Ezekiel 4:16He also said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the bread supply in Jerusalem. People will anxiously eat rationed bread and fearfully drink rationed water.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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