Here Yahweh, through his prophet, quotes an imaginary speech made by Assyria, now speaking as a person. The words are Yahweh’s, but they are intended to reflect the thoughts of the Assyrian king. The speech covers verses 8-11. For Good News Translation Yahweh’s words ended with verse 6; verse 7 has the prophet’s words, while in verse 8 it is the Assyrian emperor who speaks. This approach is also valid. The speech highlights the king’s arrogance, arising from his victories. There are four rhetorical questions in verses 8-9. The first two begin literally with “Is it not?” and the last two with “Or [is it] not?” From the king’s point of view the implied answer to the first question is “Yes, they are!” and for the last three it is “Yes, they are alike!” If the receptor language does not favor the use of rhetorical questions, they may be rendered as strong statements; for example, “For sure, all my commanders are kings, and for sure, I have won major victories at [the cities of] Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus.”

For he says: The verb “say” here can also mean “think.” Since the general context is one of boasting, we may say “For he boasts” (so Good News Translation).

Are not my commanders all kings?: This implies that all of Assyria’s military leaders, besides holding military power, were also political and social leaders. So the king of Assyria boasts that his military leaders are superior to those of other nations; they are even equal to the kings of those nations. Commanders may be rendered “generals” or “military officers.”

In his boast the king of Assyria now lists six of his military victories, each one referred to by the name of the city where the battle took place.

Is not Calno like Carchemish?: The city of Calno is unknown. It may be the same as Calneh mentioned in Amos 6.2, with a possible location in northern Syria. Carchemish was a city on the Euphrates River in northwest Syria, on the border with Turkey. King Sargon~II captured that city in 717 B.C. So the Assyrian king is claiming that the city of Calno fell to his army just like the great city of Carchemish did. The particle like may need to be explained. In what way are these cities alike? They are alike since they both were conquered by Assyria.

As noted earlier, translators may use a statement form if required; for example, “Calno was no different from Carchemish,” “Calno fell just as Carchemish did,” “Calno was defeated just as Carchemish was,” or even “I defeated Calno just as I defeated Carchemish.” These same translation suggestions apply for the next two questions.

Is not Hamath like Arpad?: This third question refers to the cities of Hamath and Arpad. These cities are usually mentioned together (see 36.19; 37.13) since they were close to each other, near the Orontes River in Syria. Sargon captured them both in 720 B.C., but King Tiglath-Pileser~III had defeated Arpad before, in 738.

Is not Samaria like Damascus?: This question links Samaria, the Israelite capital, with Damascus, the Syrian capital. Damascus had fallen in 732 B.C. to Tiglath-Pileser, while Samaria lasted until 721.

The form used for the translation of each of the questions in verse 9 should be the same or at least very similar in order to reflect the Hebrew structure. The repeated form reflects in an emphatic way the boasting tone of the Assyrian king.

Translation examples for verses 8-9 are:

• 8 For the king of Assyria boasts: “Are not all my generals kings? 9 Is the city of Calno any different from Carchemish? Is Hamath any different from Arpad? Is Samaria any different from Damascus?

• 8 For the king of Assyria boasts: “Are not all my captains kings? 9 Was not Calno defeated like Carchemish? Was not Hamath defeated like Arpad? Was not Samaria defeated like Damascus?

An example that uses indirect speech is:

• 8 For the king of Assyria claims that all his military leaders are kings. 9 He also claims that the fate of the city of Calno was the same as that of Carchemish; that of Hamath the same as that of Arpad; that of Samaria the same as that of Damascus.

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 .