2 Kings 19:4

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt the living God, and will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, lift up a prayer for the remnant that survives."

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אוּלַ֡י יִשְׁמַע֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ אֵ֣ת ׀ כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י רַב־שָׁקֵ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֩ שְׁלָח֨וֹ מֶֽלֶךְ־אַשּׁ֤וּר ׀ אֲדֹנָיו֙ לְחָרֵף֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים חַ֔י וְהוֹכִ֙יחַ֙ בַּדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁמַ֖ע יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ וְנָשָׂ֣אתָ תְפִלָּ֔ה בְּעַ֥ד הַשְּׁאֵרִ֖ית הַנִּמְצָאָֽה׃

Transliteration

Perhaps yišmaʿ YHWH ʾĕlōhêḵā ʾēt all-words-of raḇ-šāqēh whom šəlāḥô meleḵ-ʾAššûr master-his to-ḥārēp ʾĕlōhîm ḥay, and hôḵîaḥ in-the-words which šāmaʿ YHWH ʾĕlōhêḵā; and nāśāʾtā təpillāh for the-šəʾērît the-nimṣāʾāh.

Grammar Details

• *yišmaʿ*: qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - may hear/will hear
• *YHWH*: proper noun - divine name
• *ʾĕlōhêḵā*: noun, masculine singular construct + 2nd masculine singular suffix - your God
• *ʾēt*: direct object marker
• *raḇ-šāqēh*: proper noun/title - Rabshakeh/chief cupbearer
• *šəlāḥô*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix - sent him
• *meleḵ*: noun, masculine singular construct - king of
• *ʾAššûr*: proper noun - Assyria
• *ḥārēp*: piel infinitive construct + prefixed ל - to reproach/revile
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: noun, masculine plural - God
• *ḥay*: adjective, masculine singular - living
• *hôḵîaḥ*: hiphil infinitive absolute - reproving/rebuking
• *šāmaʿ*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he heard
• *nāśāʾtā*: qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you will lift up
• *təpillāh*: noun, feminine singular - prayer
• *šəʾērît*: noun, feminine singular + definite article - the remnant
• *nimṣāʾāh*: niphal participle, feminine singular + definite article - the found/remaining

Word Meanings

• *yišmaʿ*: will hear/may hear/might hear
• *raḇ-šāqēh*: chief cupbearer/high official/Rabshakeh (title)
• *ḥārēp*: to reproach/to revile/to blaspheme/to mock
• *hôḵîaḥ*: to rebuke/to reprove/to correct/to show to be right
• *nāśāʾtā*: lift up/raise/carry/bear
• *təpillāh*: prayer/intercession/supplication
• *šəʾērît*: remnant/remainder/survivors
• *nimṣāʾāh*: found/remaining/existing/surviving

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  It may be the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to reproach the living God; and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard: therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that are left.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Yf happly the LORDE thy God wil heare all the wordes of ye chefe butler, whom his lorde the kynge of Assiria hath sent, to blasphemie ye lyuynge God, & to defye him with soch wordes as the LORDE thy God hath herde, therfore lifte thou vp thy prayer for the remnaunt, which are yet lefte behynde.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  If so be the Lorde thy God hath heard all the wordes of Rabshakeh, whome the King of Asshur his master hath sent to raile on the liuing God, and to reproch him with wordes which the Lorde thy God hath heard, then lift thou vp thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Peraduenture the Lorde thy God will heare al the wordes of Rabsakeh, who the king of Assyria his maister hath sent to rayle on the lyuing God, & to rebuke him with wordes which the Lorde thy God hath hearde: And lift thou vp thy prayer for the remnaunt that are left.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that are left.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  It may be Yahweh your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `It may be Jehovah thy God doth hear all the words of the chief of the butlers with which the king of Asshur his lord hath sent him to reproach the living God, and hath decided concerning the words that Jehovah thy God hath heard, and thou hast lifted up prayer for the remnant that is found.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  It may be Jehovah thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  It may be that the Lord your God will give ear to the words of the Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, sent to say evil things against the living God, and will make his words come to nothing: so then make your prayer for the rest of the people.

• World English Bible (2000)

  It may be Yahweh your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'"

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  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. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.’”

Referenced Verses

• 2 Sam 16:12 : 12 Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and repay me with good for the curses I am receiving today.
• Josh 14:12 : 12 So now give me this hill country the LORD promised me on that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakim are there and their cities are large and fortified. Perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD said.
• 1 Sam 14:6 : 6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, 'Come, let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.'
• 1 Sam 17:45 : 45 David replied to the Philistine, 'You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.'
• Gen 22:14 : 14 And Abraham named that place 'The LORD Will Provide,' as it is said to this day, 'On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.'
• Deut 32:36 : 36 For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one is left—neither slave nor free.
• 2 Kgs 17:5-6 : 5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor River, and in the cities of Media.
• 2 Kgs 18:13 : 13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
• 2 Kgs 18:17-35 : 17 The king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rab-shakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem with a large army. They came to Jerusalem, stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to the Launderer's Field, and delivered their message. 18 They called for the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to meet them. 19 Then the Rab-shakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is this confidence you have?' 20 You say—but they are only empty words—'I have counsel and strength for war.' Now, in whom do you trust that you have rebelled against me? 21 Look, you are trusting in 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 trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ isn’t He the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 Now then, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you have riders to put on them! 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, relying on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the LORD’s approval? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’" 26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rab-shakeh, "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." 27 But the Rab-shakeh replied, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you only? Has he not sent me to the people sitting on the wall—who will have to eat their excrement and drink their urine with you?" 28 Then the Rab-shakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew, saying, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us: This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from your own vine and your own fig tree, and drink water from your own well, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, so that you may live and not die. Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?'
• 2 Kgs 19:22 : 22 Whom have you mocked and insulted? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in arrogance? It is against the Holy One of Israel!
• 2 Chr 28:5-6 : 5 Therefore, the LORD his God allowed him to fall into the hands of the king of Aram. They defeated him, took a great number of captives, and brought them to Damascus. He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who inflicted a heavy defeat on him. 6 Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 warriors in Judah in one day because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
• 2 Chr 32:20 : 20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven.
• Ps 50:15 : 15 Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.
• Ps 50:21 : 21 These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought I was like you. But I will rebuke you and lay the case before your eyes.
• Ps 74:18 : 18 Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has insulted You, and a foolish people has despised Your name.
• Isa 1:9 : 9 Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have been like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
• Isa 8:7-8 : 7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty and abundant waters of the River—the king of Assyria and all his splendor. It will overflow all its channels and spill over all its banks. 8 It will sweep into Judah, flooding and passing through; it will reach up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the entire breadth of your land, O Immanuel.
• Isa 10:6 : 6 I send him against a godless nation; I dispatch him against a people at My wrath, to seize plunder, to take spoil, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
• Jer 33:3 : 3 Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
• Ezek 36:37 : 37 This is what the Lord GOD says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: I will increase their people like a flock.
• Rom 9:27 : 27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: 'Though the number of the children of Israel be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.'
• Jas 5:16-17 : 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.