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 came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder. 4And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 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? 6Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 7But if thou say to me, We trust in Yhwh our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye 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
• vainשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: wordsH8193
• wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• counselעֵצָה‛êtsâh · counselH6098
• and strengthגְּבוּרָהgebûrâh · mightH1369
• for warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• now on whom dost thou trustבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
• that thou rebellestמָרַדmârad · to rebelH4775

Cross-references for Isaiah 36:5

• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yhwh.
• Proverbs 24:5A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
• 2 Kings 18:7And Yhwh was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
• 2 Kings 24:1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
• Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
• Jeremiah 52:3For through the anger of Yhwh it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 17:15But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

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