26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the commander, “Please speak to us in Aramaic. We understand that language. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah because the people on the wall can hear us! [230] ”
26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, We pray you, speak to your servants in the Aramaic (Syrian) language, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall.
26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not with us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
26 Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic because we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew, because the people on the wall will hear it.”
26 Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh: "We beseech you, that you may speak to us, your servants, in Syriac. For we understand that language to some extent. And do not speak to us in the Jews' language, in the hearing of the people, who are upon the wall."
And later, at the time Artaxerxes {\cf2\super [16]} became the new king of Persia, some of those men wrote another letter complaining about the Jews. The men who wrote the letter were: Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the other people in their group. They wrote the letter to King Artaxerxes in Aramaic {\cf2\super [17]} using the Aramaic way of writing.
Then the Chaldeans {\cf2\super [7]} answered the king. They spoke in the Aramaic language. {\cf2\super [8]} They said, “King, live forever! We are your servants. Please tell us your dream, then we will tell you what it means.”
These men called for the king. Eliakim son of Hilkiah (Eliakim was in charge of the king’s house), Shebna (the secretary), and Joah son of Asaph (the record keeper) came out to meet them.
But Rabshakeh said to them, “My lord did not send me to speak only to you and your king. [231] I also speak to the other people that sit on the wall! They will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you! [232] ”
Eliakim son of Hilkiah (Eliakim was in charge of the king’s house), Shebna (the secretary), and Joah son of Asaph (the record keeper) came to Hezekiah. Their clothes were torn {to show they were upset}. They told Hezekiah the things that the Assyrian commander had said.