Isaiah 36:18
ESV
Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, "The Lord will deliver us." Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
NIV
"Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria?
NASB
Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, 'The Lord will save us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
CSB
Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?
NLT
Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria?
KJV
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
NKJV
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
What does Isaiah 36:18 mean?
The Rabshakeh, or "field commander" of the Assyrian army, is shouting out a tempting offer to the people of Jerusalem (Isaiah 36:12). Ine their own language, he warns them of impending doom. And yet, those who surrender are offered the chance to live in peace before being relocated. This messenger's strategy is to create fear and panic among the people, as well as resentment against their king.Due to those motives, the Assyrian officer cautions the people not to trust Hezekiah if he says that their God will save them. He states something very rational from his point of view: none of the other nations or cities were helped by their gods. The Rabshakeh brings up the fact that all the other nations Assyria has conquered had their own gods. And none of those deities could stop the Assyrian invasion. Why think the Lord God of Judah would be any different?
At this time in history, the Assyrians were ruthlessly and relentlessly sweeping through every nation they set their sights on. Nothing had stopped them. No matter how fervently victim cultures had worshiped their gods, nothing had blocked the Assyrians from victory and destruction (Isaiah 36:19–20). Ancient spiritual beliefs of the day interpreted battles to mean that the god of the winning side was more powerful than the god of the losing side. To some extent, the Assyrian Empire is placing its king, Sennacherib, above the God of Israel and all the other deities defeated by his army (Isaiah 36:19–20).
The Rabshakeh's point is clear: it's foolish to think God will save the people of Jerusalem when no other so-called-gods have done the job. Fortunately, the people have been warned not to respond (Isaiah 36:21). Even more fortunately, the God of Judah is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He fully intends to defeat this invading army (Isaiah 37:36).
