Discovery BoxIsaiah 39:1-8
Context39:1 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. 39:2 Hezekiah welcomed 1 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. 2 39:3 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.” 39:4 Isaiah 3 asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 39:5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies: 39:6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors 4 have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 5 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 6 Then he thought, 7 “For 8 there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”
[39:2] 1 tn Heb “was happy with”; NAB, NASB “was pleased”; NIV “received the envoys gladly.”
[39:2] 2 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
[39:4] 3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[39:6] 4 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
[39:7] 5 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
[39:8] 6 tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”
[39:8] 7 tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (’amar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
