Isaiah 39

Around that time, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He did this because he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had gotten well again.

1At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.

NoteMerodach-baladan was a Chaldean chief who twice seized the throne of Babylon (roughly 721–710 BC and again briefly around 703 BC) and led revolts against Assyria, the empire that then dominated the region and to which Judah paid tribute. In the diplomacy of the time, a letter and a gift from one king to a distant one were the standard opening move in seeking an alliance; congratulating Hezekiah on his recovery gave the embassy a public reason for coming.

2Hezekiah was glad to see the messengers. He showed them his treasure house, with its silver, its gold, its spices, and its costly oil. He also showed them his whole armory and everything stored among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace, or anywhere in the land he ruled, that Hezekiah did not show them.

2And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.

NoteShowing envoys the royal treasury and the armory was itself a diplomatic act: it displayed the wealth and military strength a possible partner would be bringing to an alliance. "Precious ointment" in the King James means costly perfumed oil, a luxury trade good, not medicine.

3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did those men say, and where did they come from?" Hezekiah said, "They came to me from a country far away, from Babylon."

3Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.

NoteBabylon lay some seven hundred miles east of Jerusalem, at the far end of the trade routes, and in Hezekiah's day it was a rebellious province of the Assyrian empire rather than a great power. The empire that would later carry Judah into exile was more than a century away.

4Then Isaiah asked, "What have they seen in your palace?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything in my palace. There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them."

4Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to what the LORD of Hosts, the commander of armies, says:

5Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:

NoteWhere the King James prints LORD in capital letters it stands for the personal name of God in Hebrew, four consonants usually written YHWH, which Jewish readers replaced with the word "Lord" when reading aloud. "Hosts" is old English for armies.

6The days are coming when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon, along with everything your ancestors have stored up until now. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.

6Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

7And some of your own sons, your own children who will be born to you, will be taken away. They will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

7And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Note"Issue from thee" and "beget" are old English for children fathered by him, meaning his descendants generally, not only his immediate sons. Eunuchs were castrated men; ancient courts used them as palace servants and officials, particularly in areas where the king's women lived, since they could father no rival line. The Hebrew word can also be used more loosely of a court official, but the threat here is that the royal line's own sons will end up as servants in a foreign palace.

8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good." He also said, "For there will be peace and security during my lifetime."

8Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.

Note"Truth" in 1611 English carried the sense of firmness and reliability, and the Hebrew word behind it means steadiness or faithfulness rather than accurate statement; paired with "peace" it describes settled, secure conditions. The Hebrew of the second sentence can be read either as something Hezekiah said aloud or as what he thought to himself, and it leaves open whether he speaks in relief, in resignation, or in simple acceptance.