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But having first mentioned the alliance with the Egyptians as if in passing, the same man mentions the help from God, in which both Hezekiah himself and all the people with him trusted in addition to these things, since he did not know the God of Israel to be himself the God over all, he thought that the destruction of the idolatrous error, which was accomplished by Hezekiah, was of his God of all things. For this reason he says that he trusts in vain in the god “the one who tore down his high places and his altars,” being deceived and not knowing that the things destroyed by Hezekiah were foreign to God. Then, next to these things, as the Judeans did not know how to ride horses, he said he would give two thousand horses, but that Hezekiah was not able to provide riders for them. And it was likely that the king, being God-fearing and law-abiding, because it is said in the law of Moses concerning the one who is to rule piously, “that he will not multiply horses for himself and he will not multiply wives for himself,” for the sake of the law had not taken pains concerning the cavalry contingent, but since the Assyrian says: if you do not want to provide riders for the horses presented to you by us because of being inexperienced in battle on horseback. How can you turn back the face of our toparchs? But instead of: And how can you turn back the face of the toparchs? Symmachus says: and how will you withstand, he says, the face of one ruler of the servants of my lord, even of the least? And if, because you do not have a cavalry force, you have trusted in the Egyptians’ horses and riders, he says, know that the Egyptians themselves happen to be our servants; therefore much more so also are those who trust in them, though he was saying nothing true; for not because of trust in the Egyptians, but for the sake of observing the divine law they neglected the preparation of horses. Then since the things done against Samaria and Damascus and against many other nations had succeeded for the Assyrian, he reasons, as it seemed to him, saying: Surely I have not taken all these without God? For I would not have conquered so many if he who has authority over all had not delivered them into my hands, so that serving the command of God I also came up against your land; for the Lord, he says, said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it. And he says it is a clear sign that these things have happened according to the command of God that he took Samaria and led all Israel away captive. For “as” I “took” them, being your brothers, in no other way than by God’s will, in the same way by his nod I will “take” you also. And whether he said these things reasonably, guessing from having conquered the people called of God, I mean of Israel, or whether he truly perceived God suggesting to his thoughts to come against the land of the Judeans because of the transgressions committed by them, you yourself will know. But after Rabshakeh said these things at the beginning, at the end of his speech he exhorts with promises the crowds standing on the very walls and towers of the city to surrender the city, by which promises he has made, and since the piety of Hezekiah had been proclaimed to all, he tries to slander him to the crowds, saying: Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, God will deliver you. And above he said: “who took away his high places and his altars”; for he was not ignorant that the crowds rejoiced in these things in the time before this during the reign of Ahaz. For this reason, as if they were still disposed to them, he slandered Hezekiah, by means of which he accused, providing in reality the greatest testimony of piety; for it is a good thing to be slandered for such things by enemies, for things in which one might take pride before God. Then he adds: Did the gods of the nations deliver, each one his own country? And he adds: Where is the god of Hamath and Arpad? And where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim? Were they able to deliver Samaria from my hands? through which things he presented the reason for having been handed over

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προτάξας δὲ τὴν περὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων συμμαχίαν ὡς ἐν παρέργῳ ὁ αὐτὸς μέμνηται τῆς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ βοηθείας, ᾗ ἐπεποίθει αὐτός τε ὁ Ἑζεκίας καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ πᾶς λεὼς ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις, ἅτε μὴ εἰδὼς τὸν θεὸν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεόν, τὴν καθαίρεσιν τῆς εἰδωλολάτρου πλάνης ὑπὸ Ἑζεκίου γενομένην αὐτοῦ εἶναι ἐνόμιζεν τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ. διὸ μάτην φησὶν ἐπιθαρσεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν «τὸν καθελόντα αὐτοῦ τὰ ὑψηλὰ καὶ τὰ θυσιαστήρια» πεπλανημένος καὶ οὐκ εἰδώς, ὅτι τοῦ θεοῦ ἦν ἀλλότρια τὰ καθαιρεθέντα ὑπὸ Ἑζεκίου. Εἶτα τούτοις ἑξῆς ὡς μὴ ἐπισταμένοις ἱππάζεσθαι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις αὐτὸς μὲν δώσειν ἔλεγε δισχιλίαν ἵππον, τὸν δὲ Ἑζεκίαν μὴ δύνασθαι παρασχεῖν ἀναβάτας αὐτοῖς. καὶ εἰκός γε ἦν τὸν βασιλέα θεοσεβῆ καὶ νόμιμον ὄντα διὰ τὸ λέγεσθαι ἐν τῷ Μωσέως νόμῳ περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος εὐσεβῶς βασιλεύειν, «ὅτι οὐ πληθυνεῖ ἑαυτῷ ἵππον καὶ οὐ πληθυνεῖ ἑαυτῷ γυναῖκας» τοῦ νόμου χάριν μὴ πεφιλοκαληκέναι περὶ τὸ μέρος τὸ ἱππικόν, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ λέγει ὁ Ἀσσύριος· εἰ μὴ βούλεσθε παρασχεῖν ἀναβάτας τοῖς ὑφ' ἡμῶν παρισταμένοις ὑμῖν ἵπποις διὰ τὸ ἀπείρους εἶναι ἐφ' ἵππων παρατάξεως. Πῶς δύνασθε ἀποστρέψαι εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον τῶν ἡμετέρων τοπαρχῶν; ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ πῶς δύνασθε ἀποστρέψαι εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον τῶν τοπαρχῶν; ὁ Σύμμαχος· καὶ πῶς ὑποστήσῃ φησὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ἄρχοντος ἑνὸς τῶν δούλων τοῦ κυρίου μου τῶν μικρῶν; εἰ δὲ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ὑμᾶς ἱππικὴν στρατείαν τοῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων φησὶν ἵπποις τε καὶ ἀναβάταις πεποίθατε, γινώσκετε ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ Αἰγύπτιοι ἡμέτεροι τυγχάνουσιν οἰκέται· οὐκοῦν πολὺ πρότερον καὶ οἱ ἐπιθαρσοῦντες ἐκείνοις οὐδὲν ἀληθὲς λέγων· οὐ γὰρ τῇ ἐπ' Αἰγυπτίους πεποιθήσει, τοῦ δὲ θείου νόμου φυλακῆς ἕνεκα τῆς τῶν ἵππων παρασκευῆς ἠμέλουν. Εἶτ' ἐπειδήπερ προκεχωρήκει τῷ Ἀσσυρίῳ τὰ κατὰ τῆς Σαμαρείας καὶ τῆς ∆αμασκοῦ καὶ καθ' ἑτέρων πλείστων ἐθνῶν πεπραγμένα, συλλογίζεται ὥς γε αὐτῷ ἐδόκει λέγων· μὴ ἄνευ θεοῦ πάσας ταύτας εἴληφα; οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐκράτησα τῶν τοσούτων μὴ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πάντων τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχοντος ἐμοὶ παραδεδωκότος αὐτοὺς ὑποχειρίους ὥστε προστάγματι θεοῦ ὑπηρετούμενος καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀνῆλθον χώραν· κύριος γάρ φησιν εἶπε πρός με Ἀνάβηθι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ταύτην καὶ διάφθειρον αὐτήν. δεῖγμα δέ φησιν ἐναργὲς τοῦ κατὰ πρόσταγμα θεοῦ ταῦτα γεγενῆσθαι τὸ τὴν Σαμάρειαν ἑλεῖν καὶ πάντα τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἀπαγαγεῖν αἰχμάλωτον. «ὡς» γὰρ ἐκείνους ἀδελφοὺς ὄντας ὑμετέρους «εἷλον», οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ τοῦ θεοῦ βουλομένου, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον αὐτοῦ νεύματι καὶ ὑμᾶς «λήψομαι». εἴτε δὲ ἐκ τοῦ εἰκότος ταῦτα ἔφασκεν στοχαζόμενος τοῦ κεκρατηκέναι τοῦ χρηματίζοντος λαοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, λέγω δὴ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, εἴτε καὶ ἀληθῶς ᾔσθετο θεοῦ ὑποβαλόντος αὐτοῦ τοῖς λογισμοῖς τῇ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐπελθεῖν χώρᾳ διὰ τὰς πεπραγμένας αὐτοῖς παρανομίας καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιστήσεις. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ Ῥαψάκης ἐπὶ τέλει τοῦ λόγου προτρέπει ἐπαγγελίαις τὰ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς τείχεσι καὶ πύργοις τῆς πόλεως ἑστῶτα πλήθη παραδοῦναι τὴν πόλιν, ἐφ' αἷς πεποίηται ὑποσχέσεσι καὶ ἐπειδὴ βεβόητο εἰς πάντας ἡ τοῦ Ἑζεκίου θεοσέβεια, διαβάλλειν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὰ πλήθη πειρᾶται λέγων· Μὴ ἀπατάτω ὑμᾶς Ἑζεκίας λέγων Ὁ θεὸς ῥύσεται ὑμᾶς. καὶ ἀνωτέρω δὲ ἔφασκεν· «ὃς ἀφεῖλε τὰ ὑψηλὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θυσιαστήρια αὐτοῦ»· οὐ γὰρ ἠγνόει χαίροντα τὰ πλήθη τούτοις ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου χρόνῳ κατὰ τὴν Ἄχαζ βασιλείαν. διὸ ὡς ἔτι περὶ αὐτὰ διακειμένοις αὐτοῖς τὸν Ἑζεκίαν διέβαλλε, δι' ὧν κατηγόρει μεγίστην θεοσεβείας μαρτυρίαν παρέχων τῷ ὄντι· καλὸν γὰρ τοιαῦτα διαβάλλεσθαι ὑπὸ ἐχθρῶν, ἐφ' οἷς ἄν τις κατὰ θεὸν σεμνύνοιτο. εἶτ' ἐπιλέγει· Μὴ ἐρρύσαντο οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν; καὶ ἐπιλέγει· Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς Αἰμὰθ καὶ Ἀρφάδ; καὶ ποῦ ὁ θεὸς τῆς πόλεως Ἐπφαρουέμ; μὴ ἐδύναντο ῥύσασθαι Σαμάρειαν ἐκ χειρῶν μου; δι' ὧν παρέστησε τὸ αἴτιον τοῦ παραδεδόσθαι