דברי הימים ב, פרק ל״ב, פסוק ט״ו

Facing a terrifying siege, the people of Judah are subjected to intense psychological warfare designed to break their trust in King Hezekiah and God. The enemy warns the people not to be enticed or misled by their king [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This warning frames the king's encouragement as a dangerous deception, comparing his words to the cunning seduction of the serpent in the Garden of Eden [מצודת ציון]. The invaders urge the citizens not to be swept away by the false sense of security that their leader is trying to plant in their minds [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The core of this attack relies on a chilling historical precedent. The enemy argues that since no other nation's god or military power has ever successfully stopped the Assyrian army, the God of Israel will also fail to save His people [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To make this threat even more effective, the invaders add a sharp piece of propaganda to argue that Judah's chances of survival are actually much worse than those of the already conquered nations [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. According to their logic, because Hezekiah recently dismantled the local altars and high places dedicated to God, the people have absolutely no reason to believe that God would even want to protect them [מצודת דוד].