New American Standard Bible 2020
Isaiah 36:12
12But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung 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
10And have I now come up without the Lord’s approval 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 Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Judean so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?” 13Then Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save 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
- But Rabshakehרַבְשָׁקֵהrabshâqêh · RabshakehH7262
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Has my masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- and to you to speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- theseאֵ֫לֶּה'êlleh · theseH428
- wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- not to the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- who sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- on the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
- to eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- their own dungחֶרֶאchere' chărîy · dungH2716
- and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- their own urineשַׁ֫יִןshayin · urineH7890
Cross-references for Isaiah 36:12
- Isaiah 9:20They devour what is on the right hand but are still hungry, And they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
- Leviticus 26:29Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons, and you will eat the flesh of your daughters.
- Deuteronomy 28:53Then you will eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the hardship by which your enemy will oppress you.
- 2 Kings 6:25So there was a severe famine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
- 2 Kings 18:27But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”
- Jeremiah 19:9And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the siege and in the hardship with which their enemies and those who seek their life will torment them.”’
- Daniel 4:9‘Belteshazzar, chief of the soothsayer priests, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.
- Ezekiel 4:16Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries