it in pieces, and give an answer to it, but he applies
unto God.
Vet. 2. And he sent Eliakira, who was over the house-
hold, and Shebna the scribe, &C.] Two of the com-
nfissioners sent to Rabshakeh, and who heard his inso-
lence and blasphetny, and were capable of giving a full
account of it, to Isaiah the prophet: and the elders
the priests; as the chief of those that were concerned in
civil afthits, so the chief of those that were employed
in sacred things, .were sent'- this was a very honour-
able embassy; and it was shewing great respect to
the prophet, to send such personages to him: covered
with sackcloth; as the king himself was, following his
example; and this is to be understood not of the elders
of the priests only, but of Efiakim and Shebna also.
These, so clad, were sent by the king unto Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amoz; to give him an account of
the present situation of affairs, of the distress he was
in, and to desire his prayers: a very proper person to
apply to, a prophet, one highly dear to God, and ho-
noured by him, had near access unto him, and knew
much of his mind.
Ver. 3. And they said unto Mm, &c.] The messen-
gers to the prophet: thus saith Hezekiah; this is the
message he has sent hs with; this is what he would
have us lay before. thee, and has given us in charge to
say unto thee: this day is a day of trouble, and of re-
buke, and of blasphemy; it was a day of trouble to He-
zekiah and his people, because it was a day of rebulce,
in which God rebuked them for their sins; or of re-
proachand reviling, as the Targum and Septuagint, in
which the Assyrians reviled and reproached. both God
and them; and especially because it was a day of
blasphemy against God:for the children are come to
the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth ; which
is to be understood not of the reformation within
themselves, happily-begun and carried on, but now
hindered from being brought to perfection, by the As-
syrian army being so near them; nor of their attempt
to cast.off the Assyrian yoke, which was. thought to
be just hpon finishing, but now despaired of, unless
divine assistance be given; nor of their inability to pu-
nish the blasphemy that so much affected them; but
of the deplorable condition they were now in. Heze-
kiah compares himself and his people to a woman in
travail, that has been some time in it, and the child is
fallen down to the place of the breaking forth of chil-
dren, as the word P used signifies, but unable to make
its way, and she having neither strength to bear it,
nor to bring it forth, nature being quite exhausted,
and strength gone, through the many pains and throes
endured: and just so it was even with him and his peo-
ple, they were in the utmost pain and distress;
they could not help themselves, nor could he help
them; and therefore must perish, unless they had im-
mediate assistance and relief. Jarchi interprets the
children of the children of Israel, the children of God.
Ver. 4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the
words of Rabshakeh, '&c.] He had heard them; but
the sense is, that it might be that he would take no-
tice of them, and-resent them in a public manner,.
and punish for them; and this is said, not as doubting
and questioning whether he would or no, but as.
hoping and encouraging himself that he would: and
it may be observed, that Hezekiah does not call the
Lord my God, or our God, because_ he and his peo-.
. ple were under the chastening hand of God for tlleir
sins, and were undeserving of isuch a relation; but
thy. God, whose prophet he was, whom he served,
and to whom he was dear, and with whom he had an
interest; and therefore it might be hoped his prayer
to him would be heard and accepted, and that through
his .interposition God would be prevailed upon to take
notice of the rail ing speech of Rabshakeh :whom the king
of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God;
who has life in and of himself, and is the fountain, au-
thor, and giver of life to all others; him he reproached.
by setting him on a level with the lifeless idols of the
Gentiles: and will reprove the words which the Lord thy
God hath heard; reprove him for his words, take venge-
ance upon him, or punish him for the blasphemous
.words spoken by him against the Lord and in his hear-
mg: to this sense is the Targu. m; and so the Syriae
and Arabic versions: whereJbre lift up thy prayer for
the remnant that is left; 14It up thy voice, thy- hands,
and thine heart, in prayer to God in heaven; pray ear-
nestly and fervently for those that are left; the two
tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the other ten having
been carr. ied captive some time ago; or the inhabitants
of Jerusalem particularly, the defeneed cities of Judah
having been-already taken by the Assyrian king. The
fewhess of !the number that remained seenis to be
made use of as an argument tbr prayer in their fayour.
In thnes of distress, men should not only pray for
themselves, but get others to pray for them, and espe-
cially men of eminence in religion, who have nearness
of access to God, and interest in him.
Ver. 5. So the servants of King Ilezekiah came to
Isaiah.] And delivered the above message to him
from the king: these servants are mentioned ver.
Musculus thinks that the third and fourth verses are
the words of the king to the messengers, and not of the
ruessen. gets to the .prophet; and that the first clause of
the third verse should be rendered, that they ?night say
unto him, &c.; and having received their instructions.
here is an account of their going to the prophet with
them, which they delivered to him, and w,hicb it was
not necessary to repeat. The Arabic version reads this
verse in connexion with the following, thus, when the
servants of King Hez.ekiah, came to Isaiah, Isaiah said
to them, &c.
'Ver. 0'. And Isaiah said unto them, thus shah you
say unto your master, &c.] Or, your lord {q} ;, King He-
zekiah, whose ministers and messengers they were:
thus saith the Lord, be not afraid of the words thou hast.
heard; be not not terrified by them, they are but words.
and no more, and will never become facts: wherewith
the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me;
by representing him as no better than the gods of the
Gentiles, and as unable to deliver out of the hands of

{p} \^rbvm\^ a \^rbv\^ fregit, confregit- matrix, vel os matricis, quod
partu frangi videtur vel a frangentibus partus doloribus sic dictum,
Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 324. \^rbvm de\^ usque ad angustias uteri
Vatablus. So Ben Melech interprets it of \^Mxr\^ , the womb.
{q} \^Mkynda la\^ ad dominum vestrum, Montanus.