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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.”

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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.”

39 At that time, Merodach Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and had recovered. Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn’t show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and asked him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?”

Hezekiah said, “They have come from a country far from me, even from Babylon.”

Then he asked, “What have they seen in your house?”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh of Armies: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up until today, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says Yahweh. ‘They will take away your sons who will issue from you, whom you shall father, and they will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.’”

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

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Envoys From Babylon(A)

39 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon(B) sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. Hezekiah received the envoys(C) gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold,(D) the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures.(E) There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,(F)” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word(G) of the Lord Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(H) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.(I)

“The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,(J)” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.(K)

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