Isaiah 36:4
ESV
And the Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?
NIV
The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: " ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?
NASB
And Rabshakeh said to them, 'Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: 'What is this confidence that you have?
CSB
The royal spokesman said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: The great king, the king of Assyria, says this: What are you relying on?
NLT
Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?
KJV
And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
NKJV
Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust?
What does Isaiah 36:4 mean?
The spokesman for Assyria's King Sennacherib immediately establishes the tone of this diplomatic meeting. This is not negotiation. It is confrontation and an ultimatum. The Rabshakeh offers no insincere kindness nor opportunity for counterproposals. Assyria sees no reason to yield about anything. They have already defeated all other fortified cities in Judah. An enormous army is only a few hours away. Hezekiah must either surrender or be destroyed.The Rabshakeh tells the officials of Judah to pass along a question from his master. He doesn't bother to call Hezekiah a king, avoiding even a hint that Hezekiah and Sennacherib are peers. The question is this: should you be trusting in your God to save you? The rest of the nation is already defeated. The Egyptians Judah allied with (2 Kings 18:19–21; Isaiah 30:1–3) have been destroyed. In Assyria's eyes, the God of Judah is no different than the gods of all the other nations they have beaten.
