36:12
The Assyrian commander stresses that he fully intends that the people will hear. He then makes things worse by declaring that the people would have to drink their own urine and eat their own excrement. These are the things that happened in sieges. Initially a city would have sufficient supplies, but as the siege dragged on the situation would get steadily worse, and then would start to get really desperate. The commander may have expressed things in a somewhat crude way, but it was not an idle threat. You will find grounds for believing that the fear that the enemy seeks to bestow upon us is a real threat.
36:13-15
The commander then speaks loudly to the city, wanting as many as possible to hear his words. Hezekiah had previously told the people to trust in the Lord (2 Chron 32:7,8), and that Assyria was nothing in the sight of the Lord. The enemy will tell us not to rely on the words of those who commend us to trust in the Lord, we will find the words of the faithful ones mocked.
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