Isaiah / Chapter 39

Isaiah 39

8 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Merodach-baladan king of Babylon sends envoys with letters and a gift to Hezekiah after his recovery. Hezekiah shows them everything — his treasure house, silver, gold, spices, precious oil, his armory, and all his storehouses. Isaiah confronts him: everything in the palace will be carried to Babylon, and some of Hezekiah's own descendants will serve as eunuchs in the Babylonian palace. Hezekiah responds with startling acceptance: 'The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,' adding, 'There will be peace and security in my days.'

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This brief chapter is the hinge of the entire book of Isaiah. It explains why chapters 40-66 shift from Assyrian crisis to Babylonian exile — the seeds of exile are sown in Hezekiah's own throne room. The king who prayed so magnificently against Assyria (37:16-20) now naively displays his wealth to Babylon's agents. His final words — 'There will be peace and security in my days' — are either humble submission to God's decree or chilling indifference to his descendants' fate. The ambiguity is deliberate.

Translation Friction

Merodach-baladan (Marduk-apla-iddina II) was a Chaldean ruler who twice seized the Babylonian throne and actively sought anti-Assyrian alliances. His embassy to Hezekiah was almost certainly political, not merely a get-well visit. We rendered Hezekiah's response in v. 8 without editorial judgment, preserving the Hebrew text's refusal to tell us whether his words reflect piety or selfishness.

Connections

This chapter parallels 2 Kings 20:12-19. Merodach-baladan's embassy likely dates to around 703 BCE, when he briefly held Babylon again before Sennacherib expelled him. The prophecy of Babylonian exile (vv. 6-7) bridges directly to Isaiah 40:1 ('Comfort, comfort My people'), which opens the exile-and-return section. The treasures Hezekiah displayed will be the same treasures Nebuchadnezzar carries away (2 Kings 24:13). Chapter 39 closes the 'Book of the King' (chs. 36-39) and opens the door to the 'Book of the Servant' (chs. 40-55). **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 6 has Isaiah's prophecy that everything in Hezekiah's treasury will be carried to Babylon — the first explicit prediction of the Babylonian exile in the book. Verse 8 has Hezekiah's ambiguous response. Both are preserved identically.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/39).

Isaiah 39:1

בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֡יא שָׁלַ֡ח מְרֹדַ֣ךְ בַּלְאֲדָ֣ן בֶּן־בַּלְאֲדָ֣ן מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֡ל סְפָרִ֤ים וּמִנְחָה֙ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֕ע כִּ֥י חָלָ֖ה וַיֶּחֱזָֽק׃

At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been ill and had recovered.

KJV At 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Merodach-baladan (Marduk-apla-iddina II) was a Chaldean chieftain who seized the Babylonian throne twice (721-710 and briefly in 703 BCE). His 'get well' embassy was almost certainly a diplomatic mission to recruit Hezekiah into an anti-Assyrian coalition. The gift (minchah) functions as tribute between equals — a political overture disguised as courtesy.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"Merodach-baladan"

1QIsaiah-a writes מרודך with plene spelling. Merodach-baladan (Marduk-apla-iddina II) was a historical Babylonian king who sought allies against Assyria. The diplomatic context — sending letters and gifts to a recovering Hezekiah — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 39:2

וַיִּשְׂמַ֣ח עֲלֵיהֶם֮ חִזְקִיָּהוּ֒ וַיַּרְאֵ֣ם אֶת־בֵּ֣ית נְכֹת֡וֹ אֶת־הַכֶּ֣סֶף וְאֶת־הַזָּהָ֣ב וְאֶת־הַבְּשָׂמִ֣ים וְאֵ֣ת הַשֶּׁ֣מֶן הַטּ֡וֹב וְאֵ֣ת כׇּל־בֵּ֣ית כֵּלָ֡יו וְאֵ֣ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִמְצָ֣א בְאֹצְרֹתָ֑יו לֹא־הָיָ֣ה דָבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־הֶרְאָ֧ם חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ בְּבֵית֖וֹ וּבְכׇל־מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ׃

Hezekiah was pleased with them and showed them his treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his entire armory, and everything found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The catalog of displayed wealth is exhaustive and damning: silver, gold, spices, oil, weapons, storehouses — and then the devastating summary: 'there was nothing he did not show them.' The verb vayismach ('he was pleased, rejoiced') reveals Hezekiah's motivation — he was flattered by Babylon's attention. The man who humbly spread a threatening letter before God (37:14) now proudly spreads his wealth before pagans.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"his treasure house"

1QIsaiah-a reads בית נכותו with identical consonants. Hezekiah's fatal error — showing the Babylonian envoys everything in his treasury, armory, and storehouses — is described identically. The verb 'showed them' (hir'am) emphasizes the deliberate, comprehensive nature of the display.

Isaiah 39:3

וַיָּבֹ֛א יְשַׁעְיָ֥הוּ הַנָּבִ֖יא אֶל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלָ֜יו מָ֣ה אָמְר֣וּ ׀ הָאֲנָשִׁ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה וּמֵאַ֙יִן֙ יָבֹ֣אוּ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ מֵאֶ֧רֶץ רְחוֹקָ֛ה בָּ֥אוּ אֵלַ֖י מִבָּבֶֽל׃

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, 'What did these men say, and where did they come from?' Hezekiah said, 'They came to me from a distant land — from Babylon.'

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Isaiah's questions are probing and deliberate — he already knows the answers. The interrogation mirrors Nathan confronting David (2 Sam. 12). Hezekiah's answer emphasizes distance ('a distant land') as if impressed by the reach of his reputation. He seems unaware that he is being interrogated, not interviewed.
Isaiah 39:4

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מָ֥ה רָא֖וּ בְּבֵיתֶ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֗הוּ אֵ֣ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֤ר בְּבֵיתִי֙ רָא֔וּ לֹא־הָיָ֥ה דָבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־הִרְאִיתִ֖ים בְּאֹצְרוֹתָֽי׃

Isaiah said, 'What have they seen in your palace?' Hezekiah answered, 'They have seen everything in my palace. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.'

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Hezekiah repeats the 'nothing I did not show' formula from v. 2, but now in his own mouth it sounds like a confession. What was narration in v. 2 becomes self-incrimination in v. 4. He does not seem to sense the danger in his own words — total transparency with a foreign power amounts to a strategic intelligence briefing.
Isaiah 39:5

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְשַׁעְיָ֖הוּ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ שְׁמַ֖ע דְּבַר־יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts:

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The prophetic announcement formula shema devar-YHWH tseva'ot ('Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts') signals that judgment follows. The same formula that delivered salvation in chapter 37 now delivers sentence. Isaiah is the same prophet with the same authority — only the message has changed because the king's behavior has changed.
Isaiah 39:6

הִנֵּ֣ה ׀ יָמִ֣ים בָּאִ֗ים וְנִשָּׂ֤א כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּבֵיתֶ֔ךָ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר אָצְר֖וּ אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ עַד־הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ בָּבֶ֔ל לֹא־יִוָּתֵ֥ר דָּבָ֖ר אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃

The days are coming when everything in your palace, and everything your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The prophecy mirrors Hezekiah's boast with surgical precision: he said 'nothing I did not show them' — God says 'nothing will be left.' What was displayed will be deported. The phrase 'everything your fathers stored up until this day' extends the loss across generations — not just Hezekiah's wealth but the accumulated treasury of the Davidic dynasty.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"to Babylon"

1QIsaiah-a reads בבלה identically. The prophecy is devastating in its simplicity: 'Everything in your house... shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left.' This sets the entire theological agenda for Second Isaiah (chs. 40–66), which addresses a community living in the exile Isaiah here predicts. Both traditions preserve this pivotal prophecy identically.

Isaiah 39:7

וּמִבָּנֶ֤יךָ אֲשֶׁר־יֵצְאוּ֙ מִמְּךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תּוֹלִ֖יד יִקָּ֑חוּ וְהָיוּ֙ סָרִיסִ֔ים בְּהֵיכַ֖ל מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃

Some of your own descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away. They will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The prophecy escalates from treasure to dynasty: not just gold but sons will be taken. The word sarisim ('eunuchs, court officials') in its most literal sense means Hezekiah's male line will be castrated and made to serve the very king whose envoys he just entertained. The Hebrew emphasizes biological descent: 'from your sons who will go out from you, whom you will father' — these are not abstract future people but Hezekiah's own bloodline. Tradition connects this to Daniel and his companions (Dan. 1:3-7).
Isaiah 39:8

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ ט֥וֹב דְּבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֥י יִהְיֶ֛ה שָׁל֥וֹם וֶאֱמֶ֖ת בְּיָמָֽי׃

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'The word of the LORD you have spoken is good.' Then he added, 'There will be peace and security in my days.'

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Hezekiah's final words in Isaiah are the most debated sentence in the Hezekiah narrative. 'The word of the LORD is good' (tov devar-YHWH) could be genuine submission to divine sovereignty — accepting God's judgment without argument. But 'there will be peace and security in my days' (shalom ve'emet beyamai) reads as relief that the blow falls after his lifetime. The Hebrew text refuses to resolve the ambiguity. The word emet here means 'stability, security, reliability' rather than its usual sense of 'truth.' This verse closes the historical section of Isaiah (chs. 36-39) and sets the stage for the exile-and-comfort oracles that begin in chapter 40.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)moderate

"The word of the LORD is good"

1QIsaiah-a reads טוב דבר יהוה identically. Hezekiah's response — 'The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good' — followed by 'For there will be peace and truth in my days' — is deeply ambiguous. Is this faithful submission to God's word? Or selfish relief that the catastrophe will come after his death? The ambiguity is present in both traditions and may be intentional: the narrator offers no evaluative comment, leaving the reader to judge. This morally complex ending to First Isaiah is preserved identically in the DSS.

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