Isaiah 36:8

Isaiah 36:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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 Isaiah 36:8

6Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 7But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”? “ ‘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! 9How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’ ”

Isaiah 36:8 word by word

וְעַתָּה֙ הִתְעָ֣רֶב נָ֔א אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֖י הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֑וּר וְאֶתְּנָ֤ה לְךָ֙ אַלְפַּ֣יִם סוּסִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֕ל לָ֥תֶת לְךָ֖ רֹכְבִ֥ים עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now therefore give pledgesעָרַב‛ârab · to pledgeH6148
• I pray thee, to my masterאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• and I will giveנָתַןnâthan · 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 Isaiah 36:8

• 2 Kings 14:14He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace. He also took hostages and returned to Samaria.
• Isaiah 10:13For he says: “ ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.
• 1 Samuel 17:40Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
• 1 Kings 20:10Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.”
• 2 Kings 18:23“ ‘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!
• Nehemiah 4:2and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”
• Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
• Psalms 123:3Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt.

Commentaries on Isaiah 36:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Now, therefore, give pledges - Margin, Hostages.‘ The Hebrew verb (ערב ‛ârab ) means properly to mix or mingle; then, to exchange commodities by barter or traffic; then, to become surety for anyone, to exchange with him, to stand in his place; then, to pledge, to pledge one‘s life, or to give security of any kind. Here it is used in a spirit of taunting or derision, and is equivalent to what would be said among us, I will bet you, or I will lay a wager…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8At this time, cavalry mounted on horses was the newest military technology. The Assyrian chief of staff was mocking the Judeans because he knew that Judah had no trained men who knew how to ride.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. give pledges--a taunting challenge. Only give the guarantee that you can supply as many as two thousand riders, and I will give thee two thousand horses. But seeing that you have not even this small number (see on Is 2:7), how can you stand against the hosts of Assyrian cavalry? The Jews tried to supply their weakness in this "arm" from Egypt (Is 31:1).Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Destroy
• Hezekiah
• Isaiah
• Sennacherib
• Bible, the
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament
• Hezekiah (2)

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