But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
But if thou say to me ... The Assyrian mistakes Hezekiah's religious reforms, whereby he took away the high places (2 Kings 18:4), as directed against Yahweh. Some of the high places may have been dedicated to Yahweh, but worshipped under the form of an image, in violation of the Second Commandment. So the "brazen serpent" (broken in pieces by Hezekiah, and called Nehushtan, 'a piece of brass,' because it was worshipped by Israel), was originally set up by God's command. Hence, the Assyrian's allegation has a specious colour-You cannot look for help from Yahweh, for your king has 'taken away His altars.' The familiarity which Rabshakeh shows, not only with the Hebrew language, but also with the religious doings of Hezekiah, gives colour to the conjecture that he was an apostate Jew, like Shebna (Isaiah 22:1-25) and the "sinners in Zion," and "hypocrites" Isaiah 33:14).
To Jerusalem - (Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:11; John 4:20).