Isaiah 39 KJV
Envoys from Babylon
Isaiah Chapter 39: Envoys from Babylon
The visit from Merodach-baladan, a known anti-Assyrian rebel who briefly seized Babylon's throne, likely sought an alliance with Hezekiah after his recovery from illness, turning a personal miracle into the seed of national downfall rather than political security.
1t 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.
2 And 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.
3 Then 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.
4 Then 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.
5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
6 Behold, 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.
7 And 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.
8 Then 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.
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Did You Know?
The visit from Merodach-baladan, a known anti-Assyrian rebel who briefly seized Babylon's throne, likely sought an alliance with Hezekiah after his recovery from illness, turning a personal miracle into the seed of national downfall rather than political security.
Isaiah's oracle here marks the book's first explicit prediction of Babylonian exile and temple looting, shifting the narrative arc from immediate Assyrian siege (chapters 36-37) to the distant catastrophe that will precede restoration in chapters 40 onward.
Hezekiah's act of displaying not only royal treasures but every item in his dominion echoes and inverts the earlier temple despoiling by his father Ahaz to buy Assyrian aid (2 Kings 16), now inviting foreign eyes that will return to strip everything away.
The prophecy that Hezekiah's own descendants will become eunuchs in Babylon's palace foreshadows the castration of Judean youths like Daniel, linking royal pride directly to the emasculation of the Davidic line's future in foreign service.
Hezekiah's reply that the word is 'good' because peace will last in his days exposes a profound failure of covenant kingship, prioritizing personal respite over the multi-generational consequences of sin and contrasting sharply with the servant songs' theme of vicarious suffering that follows.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain Merodach-baladan โ For a hundred fifty years before the overthrow of Nineveh by Cyaxares the Mede, a succession of rulers, mostly viceroys of Assyria, ruled Babylon, from the timeโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Isaiah 39 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Hezekiah's error in the display of his riches to the babylonian ambassador.
- 1
- Merodach-baladan โ For a hundred fifty years before the overthrow of Nineveh by Cyaxares the Mede, a succession of rulers, mostly viceroys of Assyria, ruled Babylon, from the time of Nabonassar, 747 B.C. That date is called "the Era of Nabonassar." Pul or Phallukha was then expelled, and a new dynasty set up at Nineveh, under Tiglath-pileser. Semiramis, Pul's wife, then retired to Babylon, with Nabonassar, her son, whose advent to the throne of Babylon, after the overthrow of the old line at Nineveh, marked a new era. Sometimes the viceroys of Babylon made themselves, for a time, independent of Assyria; thus Merodach-baladan at this time did so, encouraged by the Assyrian disaster in the Jewish campaign. He had done so before, and was defeated in the first year of Sennacherib's reign, as is recorded in cuneiform characters in that monarchs palace of Koyunjik. Nabopolassar was the first who established, permanently, his independence; his son, Nebuchadnezzar, raised Babylon to the position which Nineveh once occupied; but from the want of stone near the Lower Euphrates, the buildings of Babylon, formed of sun-dried brick, have not stood the wear of ages as Nineveh has. Merodach โ an idol, the same as the god of war and planet Mars (Jer 50:2). Often kings took their names from their gods, as if peculiarly under their tutelage. So Belshazzar from Bel. Baladan โ means "Bel is his lord." The chronicle of EUSEBIUS contains a fragment of BEROSUS, stating that Acises, an Assyrian viceroy, usurped the supreme command at Babylon. Merodach- (or Berodach-) baladan murdered him and succeeded to the throne. Sennacherib conquered Merodach-baladan and left Esar-haddon, his son, as governor of Babylon. Merodach-baladan would naturally court the alliance of Hezekiah, who, like himself, had thrown off the yoke of the Assyrian king, and who would be equally glad of the Babylonian alliance against Assyria; hence arose the excessive attention which he paid to the usurper. sick โ An additional reason is given (2Ch 32:31). "The princes of Babylon sent to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land"; namely, the recession of the shadow on Ahaz' sundial; to the Chaldean astronomers, such a fact would be especially interesting, the dial having been invented at Babylon.
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- glad โ It was not the mere act, but the spirit of it, which provoked God (2Ch 32:25), "Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up"; also compare 2Ch 32:31. God "tries" His people at different times by different ways, bringing out "all that is in their heart," to show them its varied corruptions. Compare David in a similar case (1Ch 21:1-8). precious things โ rather, "the house of his (aromatic) spices"; from a Hebrew root, to "break to pieces," as is done to aromatics. silver... gold โ partly obtained from the Assyrian camp (Isa 33:4); partly from presents (2Ch 32:23, 27-29). precious ointment โ used for anointing kings and priests. armour โ or else vessels in general; the parallel passage (2Ch 32:27), "treasuries... for shields," favors English Version. His arsenal.
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