Envoys from Babylon
Isa 39:1 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery.
Isa 39:2 Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isa 39:3 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,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
Isa 39:4 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.”
Isa 39:5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD Almighty:
Isa 39:6 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. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.
Isa 39:7 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.”
Isa 39:8 “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
1 Merodach-baladan, sending to visit Hezekiah because of the wonder, hath notice of his treasures. 3 Isaiah, understanding thereof, foretells the Babylonian captivity.
Envoys from Babylon
Isa 39:1 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery.
Merodach-baladan. See on 2 Kings 20:12. This name is common in the Assyrian inscriptions of Sargon and Sennacherib. Merodach-baladan, originally ruler of Bit—Yakin, a small state north of the Persian Gulf, was king of Babylon from 721 to 709, and again for a short time in 703. At the time of Hezekiah’s illness and the sending of these envoys he was a king in exile.
Because of his stalwart resistance against Sennacherib, Merodach-baladan saw in Hezekiah a valuable ally. The envoys ostensibly came to congratulate Hezekiah upon his recovery, but perhaps to secure his assistance in the bitter struggle then going on against Assyria’s attempts to dominate the entire Near East.
Isa 39:2 Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
His vanity had been flattered by this unexpected attention from a king of Babylon, and he was happy that others were interested in resisting Assyria. Hezekiah therefore welcomed the Babylonian envoys as allies and friends, little dreaming that in a short time Babylon would take the place of Assyria as the great power of the East and that one of its kings would conquer Judah.
Showed them the house. For comment on Hezekiah’s folly in doing this, see on 2 Kings 20:13.
Isa 39:3 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,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
Compare previous messages by Isaiah against foreign alliances (chs. 8:9–13; 30:1–7; 31:1–5).
Isa 39:4 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.”
What have they seen? See on 2 Kings 20:15. Solomon had foreseen the time when men would come from distant lands to learn of Israel’s God (1 Kings 8:41–43; see also pp. 28, 29). Failure to make use of this opportunity to bear witness to the true God proved Hezekiah ungrateful for the blessing of restored health (Isa. 38:1, 9).
Isa 39:5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD Almighty:
Isa 39:6 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. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.
Carried to Babylon. See on 2 Kings 20:17.
Isa 39:7 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.”
Descendants. See on 2 Kings 20:18.
Isa 39:8 “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
This attitude reflects a selfish point of view on the part of the king (see on 2 Kings 20:19).
Peace and security. See on 2 Kings 20:19. Hezekiah took comfort in the thought that God would show him the favor of delaying punishment. God often postponed the execution of a sentence when men repented and showed themselves submissive to Him (see 1 Kings 21:28, 29; 2 Kings 22:18–20).