20. You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?
21. Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him.
22. Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem? ’
23. “So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them!