How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Parallel Translations
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How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
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How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
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How then canst thou turn away the face of one captain, even of the least of my masters servants? and yet thou puttest thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen!
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 18:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 10:8 For he says, “Aren’t all of my princes kings?
- Deuteronomy 17:16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Yahweh has said to you, “You shall not go back that way again.”
- 2 Kings 18:21 Now, behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt. If a man leans on it, it will go into his hand, and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust on him.
- Psalms 20:7-8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God. They are bowed down and fallen, but we rise up, and stand upright.
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh!
- Isaiah 31:3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
- Isaiah 36:6 Behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt, which if a man leans on it, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
- Isaiah 36:9 How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
- Jeremiah 37:7 “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, will return to Egypt into their own land.
- Jeremiah 42:14-18 saying, “No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we will see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:” ’ now therefore hear Yahweh’s word, O remnant of Judah: Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there; then it will happen that the sword, which you fear, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are afraid, will follow close behind you there in Egypt; and you will die there. So will it be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to live there. They will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. None of them will remain or escape from the evil that I will bring on them.’ For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and my wrath has been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you, when you enter into Egypt; and you will be an object of horror, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you will see this place no more.’
- Ezekiel 17:15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the covenant, and still escape?
- Ezekiel 17:17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company won’t help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.
- Daniel 2:37-38 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
- Daniel 4:22 it is you, O king, that have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
- Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the…
2Ki 18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Ver. 24. And put thy trust in Egypt.] See on 2Ki 18:21.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain How wilt thou force him to turn his back…
How wilt thou force him to turn his back to thee, and flee away from thee?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 24. Turn away the face — Or, cause to…
24. Turn away the face — Or, cause to face about, that is, put to flight.
One captain of the least — That is, how canst thou repulse even one of the less valiant officers who commands one of the smallest divisions of the army? The word פחת, here rendered captain, means properly a governor or satrap. It is “first used of Assyrian subordinate stadtholders and generals; (Isa_36:9;) afterwards transferred to the governors and prefects of the Babylonian, (Jer_51:57; Eze_23:6; Eze_23:23,) Median, (Jer_51:28,) and Persian empires, (Est_8:9; Est_9:3;) applied especially to the Persian governors on this side of the Euphrates and in Judea, (Neh_2:7; Neh_2:9; Neh_3:7; Ezr_8:36; Hag_1:1; Hag_1:14,) Nehemiah and Zerubbabel being such. The word was transplanted into Hebrew by early Assyrian influence.” — Furst.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24. How then wilt thou, &c.] Rab-shakeh impudently takes…
24. How then wilt thou, &c.] Rab-shakeh impudently takes for granted that Hezekiah’s only answer would be ‘I have not the men’. So he proceeds with his insults, and points out what he deems the folly of resistance. ‘We, three of the principal officers of our master, are come to treat with you. As your power is so feeble, you ought not to think of opposition, but to listen to the Assyrian proposals if they were brought even by some inferior person.’ The word which in this verse is rendered ‘captains’ is that which is constantly used in Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther of the ‘governors’ of provinces belonging to the great king. Any one of these, Rab-shakeh intimates, would be a power by himself which Hezekiah ought not to despise, as he possesses no men, even if the horses were made a present to him, out of which to form a body of cavalry. When Assyria can be so liberal in offers of horses, and when even her smallest governors are so well equipped with troops, is it not folly to go to Egypt for chariots and horses? He knows, and intimates that the same kind of vassalage would be required by the king of Egypt, as the king of Assyria demands.
Some have taken the verb ‘wilt thou turn away’ as equivalent to ‘wilt thou defeat and put to flight’. But this seems to suit very badly with the concluding clause of the sentence. ‘To put trust in Egypt’ is a good antithesis to the rejection of a proposal from the side of Assyria, but not to the defeat of the Assyrian troops.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (24) How then.—Literally, And how. The connection of thought…
(24) How then.—Literally, And how. The connection of thought is: (But thou canst not); and how . . .
Turn away the face of . . .—i.e., repulse, reject the demand of . . . (1Ki_2:16.)
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One captain of the least of my master’s servants.—Rather, a pasha who is one of the smallest of my lord’s servants. He means himself. The word we render “pasha” is, in the Hebrew, pa’hath, a word which used to be derived from the Persian, but which is now known to be Semitic, from the corresponding Assyrian words pahat, “prefect,” “provincial governor,” and pihat, “prefecture.”
And put thy trust.—Rather, but thou hast put thy trust; assigning a ground for Hezekiah’s folly. There should be a stop at “servants.” (Comp. Isa_31:1 : “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots.”)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain How then wilt thou turn away the face ofi.e.…
How then wilt thou turn away the face ofi.e. "repulse, "cause to retreatone captain of the least of my master"s servants; literally, one governor the word used is that which in modern times takes the form of "pasha," or "pacha." It properly applies to the rulers of provinces; but as these were expected to collect and command, upon occasions, the troops of their province, it has a secondary sense of "commander" or "captain." And put thy trust; rather, and thou puttest thy trust in this extremity of weakness, so far as thine own forces are concerned, thou art so foolish as to put thy trust in Egypt, and to expect that her strength will make up for thine own impotence. Vain hope! (see ver. 21). On Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? or, chariots and chariot-men.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Rabshakeh continues telling the message from the king of Assyria to King Hezekiah's men.
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How could you resist even one captain of the least of my master's servants?
He asks this question to emphasize that the army of Hezekiah does not have the resources to fight. He also uses exaggeration to mock Hezekiah's army. AT: Possible meanings are 1) "You could not defeat even one of the least of the king's soldiers." or 2) "You could not defeat a group of the king's soldiers commanded by his least important officer." (See: Rhetorical Question and Hyperbole and Generalization)
Have I traveled up here without Yahweh to fight against this place and destroy it?
He asks this question to emphasize that Yahweh is behind his success to obey the command to destroy Israel. AT: "Yahweh himself told us to come here and destroy this land!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
servant
chariot
horseman
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.