Isaiah 36:5

Isaiah 36:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
• New International Version (NIV)You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me?
• New King James Version (NKJV)I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?

Context of Isaiah 36:5

3Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. 4Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have? I say, ‘Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? 6Behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 7But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?

Isaiah 36:5 word by word

אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ אַךְ־דְּבַר־שְׂפָתַ֔יִם עֵצָ֥ה וּגְבוּרָ֖ה לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה עַתָּה֙ עַל־מִ֣י בָטַ֔חְתָּ כִּ֥י מָרַ֖דְתָּ בִּֽי׃Read the interlinear

• I sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Your counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• and strengthגְּבוּרָהgebûrâh · mightH1369
• for the warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• are onlyאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
• emptyשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: wordsH8193
• wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• Nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• on whomמִיmîy · who?H4310
• do you relyבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
• you have rebelledמָרַדmârad · to rebelH4775

Cross-references for Isaiah 36:5

• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against the Lord.
• Proverbs 24:5A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge increases power.
• 2 Kings 18:7And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
• 2 Kings 24:1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.
• Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
• Jeremiah 52:3For through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 17:15But he rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape?

Commentaries on Isaiah 36:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5I say "Thou hast said" - Fourteen MSS. (three ancient) of Kennicott's and De Rossi's have it in the second person, אמרת amarta ; and so the other copy, 2 Kings 18:20. But they are but vain words - שפתים דבר debar sephathayim, a word of the lips. Thou dost talk about counsels, but thou hast none; about strength, but there is none with thee.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5I say, sayest thou - In 2 Kings 18:20, this is thou sayest;‘ and thus many manuscripts read it here, and Lowth and Noyes have adopted that reading. So the Syriac reads it. But the sense is not affected whichever reading is adopted. It is designed to show to Hezekiah that his reliance, either on his own resources or on Egypt, was vain. But they are but vain words - Margin, as Hebrew, A word of lips;‘ that is, mere words; vain and empty boasting. On whom…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5In whom are you now trusting: Judah had asked Egypt to help them (see Isaiah 30:1–5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. counsel--Egypt was famed for its wisdom.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Destroy
• Hezekiah
• Isaiah
• Sennacherib
• Bible, the
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament
• Hezekiah (2)
• Shebna
• Text 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