Isaiah 31:1

Egypt Will Disappoint

31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, ¹ 

those who rely on war horses,

and trust in Egypt’s many chariots ² 

and in their many, many horsemen. ³ 

But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel ⁴ 

and do not seek help from the Lord.

Isaiah 36:2

36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser ⁵  from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, ⁶  along with a large army. The chief adviser ⁷  stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ⁸ 

Isaiah 36:4

36:4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? ⁹ 

Isaiah 36:11-12

36:11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, ¹⁰  for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect ¹¹  in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 36:12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ¹²  His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!” ¹³ 

Isaiah 36:22

36:22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief ¹⁴  and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

Isaiah 37:4

37:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. ¹⁵  When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. ¹⁶  So pray for this remnant that remains.’” ¹⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who go down to Egypt for help.”

² tn Heb “and trust in chariots for they are many.”

³ tn Heb “and in horsemen for they are very strong [or “numerous”].”

⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

⁵ sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

⁹ tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”

¹³ sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.

¹⁴ tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

¹⁸ tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”

²¹ tn Heb “with their clothes torn”; the words “in grief” have been supplied in the translation to indicate that this was done as a sign of grief and mourning.

²⁵ tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”

²⁶ tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”

²⁷ tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”