Isaiah 36:16
ESV
Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern,
NIV
"Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern,
NASB
Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘ Surrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of the waters of his own cistern,
CSB
Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: "Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern
NLT
Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me — open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.
KJV
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
NKJV
Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;
What does Isaiah 36:16 mean?
Through a skillful spokesman, a Rabshaqeh, King Sennacherib of Assyria is trying to coerce the people of Jerusalem to give up without a fight. Resistance will bring the horror of a siege (Isaiah 36:12). Assyria deliberately took on a reputation for cruel sadism against their enemies. Facing impossible odds (Isaiah 36:4–10), the people will be tempted to give up.To add more pressure, the Assyrian commander offers incentive to anyone who surrenders now. They will be allowed to live in peace on their own land before they are relocated to comfort in Assyria (Isaiah 36:17). They can spend their remaining days in this country in comfort and peace. These ultimatums are delivered in the people's own language. This seems to include a common Hebrew expression often used to describe peace and security (1 Kings 4:25; 5:5; Micah 4:4).
However, the people have been given strict instructions to offer no response (Isaiah 36:21). Given Assyria's terrible reputation and recent broken word (2 Kings 18:17–18), the people would have plenty of reasons to doubt the offer.
