ישעיהו, פרק ל״ו, פסוק י״ח

The enemy delivers a calculated warning aimed at breaking the people's trust in their leadership and shattering any hope of rescue. The speaker wants to preemptively neutralize King Hezekiah's efforts to encourage the residents of Jerusalem. The primary approach among commentators is that this warning serves to caution the people against being seduced or led astray by false hope. Moving beyond a simple emotional plea, [מלבי״ם] clarifies that the enemy anticipates a well-reasoned defense from the king. The speaker expects Hezekiah to present logical arguments, leaning on the words of the prophets and deep religious faith, to convince the people that God will save them. Anticipating this strategy, the enemy warns the people in advance to reject these rational and religious claims [שד״ל].

To completely dismantle the king's promises, the speaker presents a harsh counterargument based on recent history. By pointing out the utter failure of the gods of other nations to save their lands, the speaker attempts to expose Hezekiah's assurances as empty nonsense [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The core argument is both historical and theological. The enemy asserts that even if God truly wanted to save the Israelites, He simply lacks the power to do so. The proof is drawn directly from past experience. Just as no deity of any other nation succeeded in rescuing its people from the mighty grip of the Assyrian king, the God of Israel will similarly fail to withstand his power [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The speaker emphasizes that not a single one of these foreign deities was able to protect their own territories from inevitable defeat [מצודת דוד].