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Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

39 At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. Hezekiah welcomed[a] them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.[b] Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” Isaiah[c] asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors[d] have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father[e] will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s message that you have announced is appropriate.”[f] Then he thought,[g] “For[h] there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 39:2 tn Heb “was happy with”; NAB, NASB “was pleased”; NIV “received the envoys gladly.”
  2. Isaiah 39:2 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
  3. Isaiah 39:4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Isaiah 39:6 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
  5. Isaiah 39:7 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
  6. Isaiah 39:8 tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”
  7. Isaiah 39:8 tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (ʾamar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
  8. Isaiah 39:8 tn Or “surely”; cf. CEV “At least.”