2 Kings 18:23

2 Kings 18:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘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!
• 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!

Context of 2 Kings 18:23

21Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. 22But if ye say unto me, We trust in Yhwh our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 24How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25Am I now come up without Yhwh against this place to destroy it? Yhwh said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

2 Kings 18:23 word by word

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

• Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledgesעָרַב‛ârab · to pledgeH6148
• to my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• and I will deliverנָתַןnâthan · 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 2 Kings 18:23

• 1 Samuel 17:42And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
• 1 Kings 20:10And Ben–hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
• Nehemiah 4:2And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
• Psalms 123:3Have mercy upon us, O Yhwh, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
• Isaiah 10:13For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
• Isaiah 36:8Now 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.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 18:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23I will deliver thee two thousand horses - Another insult: Were I to give thee two thousand Assyrian horses, thou couldst not find riders for them. How then canst thou think that thou shalt be able to stand against even the smallest division of my troops?Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The phrase translated “give pledges,” or “hostages” (margin) may perhaps be best understood as meaning “make an agreement.” If you will “bind yourself to find the riders” (i. e., trained horsemen), we will “bind ourselves to furnish the horses.” The suggestion implied that in all Judaea there were not 2000 men accustomed to serve as cavalry.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-37Verses 17-37 Rabshakeh tries to convince the Jews, that it was to no purpose for them to stand it out. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? It were well if sinners would submit to the force of this argument, in seeking peace with God. It is, therefore, our wisdom to yield to him, because it is in vain to contend with him: what confidence is that which those trust in who stand out against him? A great deal of art there is in this speech of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24The officer then mocked Jerusalem, saying it did not have enough soldiers or strength to resist even the weakest group of Assyrian troops.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2519. Rab-shakeh said--The insolent tone he assumed appears surprising. But this boasting [2Ki 18:19-25], both as to matter and manner, his highly colored picture of his master's powers and resources, and the impossibility of Hezekiah making any effective resistance, heightened by all the arguments and figures which an Oriental imagination could suggest, has been paralleled in all, except the blasphemy, by other messages of defiance sent on similar…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 18:23

• Assyria
• Diplomacy
• Horse
• Hypocrisy
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jerusalem
• Rab-Shakeh (Rabshakeh)
• Sarcasm
• Sennacherib
• War

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Agreement
• Carry
• Put
• Rabmag
• Rabshakeh
• Scribes
• Sennacherib
• Army
• Bible, the

Commentaries on 2 Kings 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• 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