2 Kings 18:35 records a boast from the Assyrian commander Rabshakeh, who asks whether any of the gods of the nations have ever rescued their people from the Assyrian king. He is claiming that the Lord, the God of Israel, is no different from the idols that failed to stop Assyria, and that Jerusalem will fall just as the other cities did. He speaks in the Assyrian camp outside Jerusalem, addressing the officials of King Hezekiah who are standing on the city wall within earshot.
Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
2 Kings 18:35 (WEB)
What 2 Kings 18:35 Means
The verse is a question, but it is not an honest one. Rabshakeh is not seeking information. He is making a rhetorical point by asking “Who are they among all the gods of the countries,” which means that none of the gods of those lands could stand against Assyria. He then notes that these gods “have delivered their country out of my hand,” a phrase that shows how he sees himself: as the hand of an empire that holds the fate of nations. The final clause, “that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand,” puts the God of Israel in the same category as the others, which is the real insult.
What the verse does not do is tell us anything about whether the Lord will or will not protect Jerusalem. Rabshakeh is wrong about God, and the rest of the chapter shows that. The verse reveals the arrogance of the speaker and his assumption that power in the world is measured by military strength. Read on its own, it is a record of a boast, not a promise or a principle about how God acts.
The Context of 2 Kings 18:35
Second Kings was compiled to tell the story of the kings of Judah and Israel, with a clear theological frame that judges each king by his faithfulness to the Lord. The events of chapter 18 take place around 701 BC, when Assyria under Sennacherib was pressing against the small states of the region. Hezekiah had led a reform in Judah, removing high places and pagan shrines, and he had trusted the Lord in a way that the book presents as unusual among the kings.
Verses 32 through 34 set up the taunt, with Rabshakeh urging the people not to listen to Hezekiah and listing the cities of Hamath, Arpad, and Samaria that had fallen. Verse 35 is the climax of that list, and it changes how we read the surrounding words. Because the reader already knows that Samaria fell to Assyria, the speech sounds persuasive to the crowd on the wall. The verse becomes a test of whether the people will trust the Lord or trust the evidence of defeated nations. The very next verses show the officials tearing their clothes and bringing the report to Hezekiah, which leads into the next chapter.
Key Phrases in 2 Kings 18:35
2 Kings 19:19
Now therefore, the LORD our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, the LORD, are God alone.”
(WEB)
This is Hezekiah’s prayer after receiving the letter from Sennacherib. He takes the taunt directly to the Lord and asks that the nations learn that God alone is God. It shows the king answering the very challenge that Rabshakeh raised, and it gives the reader a model of how to respond to a threat by turning to the Lord rather than debating the speaker.
Isaiah 37:20
Now therefore, the LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD, even you only.”
(WEB)
Isaiah records the same prayer and adds the Lord’s reply to Hezekiah. The words here show that the God who was mocked is the one who will answer, and they confirm that the question of who can deliver is settled by the Lord’s own word rather than by the reports of the enemy.
A Short Prayer From 2 Kings 18:35
Lord, when the voices around me point to what has already fallen and ask whether you can do any better, help me remember that you are not one name on someone else’s list. Give me the honesty to bring my fear to you instead of measuring you by the last bad outcome I have seen. Let my trust rest in who you are and what you have promised, and steady my heart when the taunts grow loud. Keep me from answering the enemy’s arguments on his terms, and teach me to answer with prayer. Amen.
