2 Kings 18:23

2Ki 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.

Ver. 23. Give pledges.] Pignora certa. Tremellius rendereth it, Misce bellum, fight with my master, the king of Assyria, if thou darest. Lacessentis atque insultantis, verba.

If thou be able on thy part.] A bitter scoff, whereby he mocketh at Hezekiah’s boldness, being no better able.

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.

2Ki 18:23-24. Now, therefore, give pledges to my lord the king — That is, give hostages to ensure thy future obedience and subjection. And I will deliver thee two thousand horses, &c. — There is so little likelihood of thy being able to withstand the power of my master, who has thousands of chariots and horses, that I challenge thee to produce two thousand skilful horsemen that know how to manage horses, and I will give thee two thousand horses for them. How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain, &c. — How wilt thou force him to turn his back to thee, and flee away from thee?

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18:23-24 The officer next turned to taunting, suggesting that Jerusalem would be unable to field sufficient manpower and strength to withstand even the weakest contingent of Assyrian troops.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, that it was best for him to yield to the king of Assyria, because his power was so small that he had not men to furnish two thousand horses.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 23. I will deliver thee two thousand horses] Another insult: Were I to give thee two thousand Assyrian horses, thou couldst not find riders for them. How then canst thou think that thou shalt be able to stand against even the smallest division of my troops?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(23) Give pledges to.—Rather, make a compact with . . . So the Syriac; literally, mingle with . . . have dealings with (Psa_106:35). Gesenius explains: join battle with; literally, mingle yourselves with: LXX., μίχθητε δὴ. Mr. Cheyne prefers, lay a wager with . . . The rab-sak sneers at Hezekiah’s want of cavalry, an arm in which the Assyrians were preeminently strong; and further hints that even if horses were supplied him in numbers sufficient to constitute an ordinary troop, he would not be able to muster an equivalent number of trained riders.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord] R.V. my master. The change conforms to verses 24 and 27 below. Having ridiculed any trust in Egypt, and expressed his opinion that Hezekiah could not expect help from Jehovah, after demolishing all the altars in the land, Rab-shakeh comes to his third argument. This is, ‘you have no forces to resist us’. He puts this into the form of a taunt. The verb rendered ‘give pledges’, has in its simpler voice, the sense of ‘mortgaging’ or ‘giving something in pledge’. In the present verse it appears to mean ‘pledge yourself’, ‘put yourself under some penalty’. And so the taunt is equivalent to saying: ‘You dare not undertake to find two thousand riders, if I offer you the horses for them. If you dare, then do it. The horses are ready; I challenge you to provide the men’.

I will deliver] R.V. give. The verb is the one usually rendered ‘give’, and the insult is made the greater by this proud way of expressing superiority.

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.

The phrase translated “give pledges,” or “hostages” (margin) may perhaps be best understood as meaning “make an agreement.” If you will “bind yourself to find the riders” (i. e., trained horsemen), we will “bind ourselves to furnish the horses.” The suggestion implied that in all Judaea there were not 2000 men accustomed to serve as cavalry.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Over. Josephus insinuates that it is a challenge to fight, and that Rabsaces was so confident of victory, that he made this contemptuous proposal, (Haydock) knowing that the subjects of Ezechias were not good horsemen, (Calmet) or that they were comparatively (Haydock) so few in number. (Menochius) --- Hebrew, "agree, or give pledges to my master."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Give pledges to my lord, i.e. give him hostages to secure him from thy future rebellion, and he will depart from thee. Or rather, contend with my lord in battle; seeing thou hast counsel and strength for war, do not lie lurking in thy strong hold, but come out into the open field, and let us try for mastery; and whereas thou mayest pretend thou wantest horses to fight with me, if thou wilt accept of my challenge, I will furnish thee with two thousand horses, if thou hast riders for them; as it here follows.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

23. Give pledges to — Rather, enter into intercourse with, or, make an agreement with.

If thou be able — The whole verse is a contemptuous assumption of the weakness of the Jewish military force. The sense is, Suppose you make a bargain with the king of Assyria, I venture to say he will deliver you two thousand horses on condition that you furnish men enough to use them as cavalry, and I have no fear that you will be able to meet the condition. “The meaning is not that Hezekiah could not raise two thousand soldiers in all, but that he could not produce so many men who were able to fight as horsemen.” — Keil.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the King of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. "Pledge thyself," i.e. "to find the men, and I will pledge myself to find the horses." It is a strong expression of contempt for the military power of the Jews. They have not only no trained cavalry, but, were any one to furnish them with two thousand horses, they could not find the men to ride them. The Jewish army does, in fact, appear to have consisted of infantry and chariots only.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Provide a security. Glorify yourself over him; enter a wager on the condition that if you are able to supply riders for two thousand horses.

Wager. Gajer, in O.F.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.