Thus says the king introduces the actual words of the Assyrian king. Some translations will omit this quote frame since it is redundant in light of the closing words of the previous verse (see the third example below). Revised English Bible has “These are the king’s words.” Since the message is for all the people of Jerusalem, not just Hezekiah’s three officials, this quote frame may be rendered “This is what he says to all of you.”

Do not let Hezekiah deceive you may be rendered “Do not let your king Hezekiah trick/mislead you.” Good News Translation uses indirect speech for the Assyrian king’s words, which other languages may find helpful (see also the second example below).

For he will not be able to deliver you: The connector for introduces this clause as the reason for the warning just given. King Hezekiah will not be able to save his people from the Assyrian attack. Deliver here means “save” or “rescue.” This is the first time this key verb occurs in this subsection.

Bible en français courant translates this verse as “Don’t let yourselves be misled by Hezekiah: he is incapable of getting you out of trouble.” Other possible translation models are:

• This is what the Assyrian king says: ‘Don’t let your king Hezekiah trick you, because he cannot save you.

• The Assyrian king warns all of you against being deceived by Hezekiah your king. He cannot save you.

• ‘Don’t be fooled by Hezekiah your king. He won’t be able to rescue you!

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .