Isaiah 36:18

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Hezekiah is misleading you when he says,“The LORD will rescue us.” Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

פֶּן־יַסִּ֨ית אֶתְכֶ֤ם חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְהוָ֖ה יַצִּילֵ֑נוּ הַהִצִּ֜ילוּ אֱלֹהֵ֤י הַגּוֹיִם֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אַרְצ֔וֹ מִיַּ֖ד מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר

Transliteration

Lest pen-yassîṯ ʾeṯḵem ḥizqîyāhû saying, lēʾmōr YHWH yaṣṣîlēnû. Have hahiṣṣîlû ʾĕlōhê hag-gôyim each ʾîš ʾeṯ-ʾarṣô from the hand of miyyaḏ melek ʾaššûr?

Grammar Details

• *pen*: conjunction - lest/that not
• *yassîṯ*: hiphil imperfect 3rd masculine singular - he incites/misleads
• *ʾeṯḵem*: direct object marker + 2nd masculine plural suffix - you
• *ḥizqîyāhû*: proper noun - Hezekiah
• *lēʾmōr*: preposition + qal infinitive construct - saying
• *YHWH*: divine name - YHWH
• *yaṣṣîlēnû*: hiphil imperfect 3rd masculine singular + 1st person plural suffix - will deliver us
• *hahiṣṣîlû*: interrogative prefix + hiphil perfect 3rd common plural - have they delivered
• *ʾĕlōhê*: construct plural of אֱלֹהִים - gods of
• *hag-gôyim*: definite article + noun masculine plural - the nations
• *ʾîš*: noun masculine singular - each/man
• *ʾeṯ-ʾarṣô*: direct object marker + noun feminine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix - his land
• *miyyaḏ*: preposition + construct noun - from hand of
• *melek ʾaššûr*: construct noun + proper noun - king of Assyria

Word Meanings

• *yassîṯ*: incites/entices/misleads
• *yaṣṣîlēnû*: will deliver us/rescue us/save us
• *hiṣṣîlû*: delivered/rescued/saved
• *ʾĕlōhê*: gods of/deities of
• *gôyim*: nations/peoples/gentiles
• *yaḏ*: hand/power/control

Referenced Verses

• Isa 36:15 : 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the LORD by saying,“The LORD will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”
• Isa 37:10 : 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this:‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says,“Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”
• Isa 37:12-13 : 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyed– the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar– rescued by their gods? 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
• Isa 37:17-18 : 17 Pay attention, LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, LORD, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 18 It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands.
• Jer 10:3-5 : 3 For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over. 5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you.”
• Jer 10:10-12 : 10 The LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury. 11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:‘These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.’ 12 The LORD is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom established the world. And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
• Dan 3:15 : 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”
• Hab 2:19-20 : 19 Woe to the one who says to wood,‘Wake up!’– he who says to speechless stone,‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it. 20 But the LORD is in his majestic palace. The whole earth is speechless in his presence!”
• 2 Kgs 18:33-35 : 33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”
• 2 Kgs 19:12-13 : 12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed– the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar– rescued by their gods? 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
• 2 Kgs 19:17-18 : 17 It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 18 They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.
• 2 Chr 32:13-17 : 13 Are you not aware of what I and my predecessors have done to all the nations of the surrounding lands? Have the gods of the surrounding lands actually been able to rescue their lands from my power? 14 Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God would be able to rescue you from my power? 15 Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how can your gods rescue you from my power?’” 16 Sennacherib’s servants further insulted the LORD God and his servant Hezekiah. 17 He wrote letters mocking the LORD God of Israel and insulting him with these words:“The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power. Neither can Hezekiah’s god rescue his people from my power.”
• Ps 12:4 : 4 They say,“We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?”
• Ps 92:5-7 : 5 How great are your works, O LORD! Your plans are very intricate! 6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this; the fool does not understand this. 7 When the wicked sprout up like grass, and all the evildoers glisten, it is so that they may be annihilated.
• Ps 115:2-8 : 2 Why should the nations say,“Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in heaven! He does whatever he pleases! 4 Their idols are made of silver and gold– they are man-made. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, 6 ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell, 7 hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. 8 Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
• Ps 135:5-6 : 5 Yes, I know the LORD is great, and our Lord is superior to all gods. 6 He does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths.
• Ps 135:15-18 : 15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, 17 and ears, but cannot hear. Indeed, they cannot breathe. 18 Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
• Isa 36:7 : 7 Perhaps you will tell me,‘We are trusting in the LORD our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem,‘You must worship at this altar.’
• Isa 36:10 : 10 Furthermore it was by the command of the LORD that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The LORD told me,‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’”