Isaiah 36:21

"But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh."

The rent garments of the three envoys whom the king had sent to receive the communication from Sennacherib's messengers indicate the shameful, tragic nature of the word they brought back. Their king had been insulted, unconditional surrender had been demanded, the captivity of the people had been promised, their God, even the Holy One of Israel, had been blasphemed, Jerusalem had been consigned to the ban and would be totally destroyed. Therefore, in sorrow, disgrace, grief, and the utmost despair, indicated by their rent clothing, these envoys returned to Hezekiah. This was indeed a dark moment in the history of God's chosen people. Under such dreadful circumstances as these, Hezekiah reacted as a believer in Jehovah should have done; and that is fully developed in the next chapter.