Isaiah 36:11

Isaiah 36:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then 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."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

Context of Isaiah 36:11

9With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers? 10What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the Lord’s direction? The Lord himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’” Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear.” 12But 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.” 13Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria!

Isaiah 36:11 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֶלְיָקִים֩ וְשֶׁבְנָ֨א וְיוֹאָ֜ח אֶל־רַב־שָׁקֵ֗ה דַּבֶּר־נָ֤א אֶל־עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲרָמִ֔ית כִּ֥י שֹׁמְעִ֖ים אֲנָ֑חְנוּ וְאַל־תְּדַבֵּ֤ר אֵלֵ֙ינוּ֙ יְהוּדִ֔ית בְּאָזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־הַחוֹמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Eliakimאֶלְיָקִים'elyâqîym · EliakimH471
• and Shebnaשֶׁבְנָאshebnâ' shebnâh · ShebnaH7644
• and Joahיוֹאָחyô'âch · JoahH3098
• unto Rabshakehרַבְשָׁקֵהrabshâqêh · RabshakehH7262
• Speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• I pray thee, unto thy servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• in the Syrian languageאֲרָמִית'ărâmîyth · AramaicH762
• for we understandשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: understandH8085
• not to us in the Jews’ languageיְהוּדִיתyehûdîyth · JewishH3066
• in the earsאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · ear: hearingH241
• of the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• on the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346

Cross-references for Isaiah 36:11

• 2 Kings 18:26Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew, for the people on the wall will hear.”
• Ezra 4:7Even later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, the enemies of Judah, led by Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel, sent a letter to Artaxerxes in the Aramaic language, and it was translated for the king.
• Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

Commentaries on Isaiah 36:11

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language - Hebrew, ארמית 'ărâmı̂yt - Aramean.‘ Aram, or Aramea, properly meaning a high region, or the highlands, was of wider extent than Syria Proper, and comprehended not only Syria, but Mesopotamia. It usually denotes however, Syria Proper, of which the capital was Damascus. The language of all this country was probably the same - the Syrian or Aramean, a language of the same family as the Hebrew…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11Aramaic was the common language of the Assyrian Empire. The elite understood it, but the common people of Judah did not.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. Syrian--rather, "Aramean": the language spoken north and east of Palestine, and understood by the Assyrians as belonging to the same family of languages as their own: nearly akin to Hebrew also, though not intelligible to the multitude (compare 2Ki 5:5-7). "Aram" means a "high land," and includes parts of Assyria as well as Syria. Jews' language--The men of Judah since the disruption of Israel, claimed the Hebrew as their own peculiarly, as if they…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 36:11

• Ambassadors
• Diplomacy
• Eliakim
• Joah
• Shebna (Shebnah)

In the dictionaries

• Eliakim
• Syrian; Language
• Destroy
• Hebrew language
• Hezekiah
• Isaiah
• Sennacherib
• Shebna
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Bible, the

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