Hezekiah Shows His Treasure to the Babylonian Envoys

¹² Some time later, Berodach-baladan,^[a] the son of King Baladan of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill. ¹³ Hezekiah listened to the entourage^[b] and showed them his entire treasury, including the silver, gold, and spices, the precious oil, his armory, and everything that was inventoried in his treasuries. There was nothing in his household or in his holdings that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men have to say, and where did they come from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from a country far away—from Babylon.”

¹⁵ He asked, “What did they see in your household?”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything. In my household there is nothing in my treasuries that I haven’t shown them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah replied to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘Watch out! The days are coming when everything that’s in your house—everything that your ancestors have saved up right to this day—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ declares the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Some of your descendants—your very own seed, whom you will father—will be carried away to become officials^[c] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

¹⁹ At this, Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “What you’ve spoken from the Lord is good,” because he had been thinking, “Why not, as long as there’s peace and security^[d] in my lifetime…?”