Old Testament

Isaiah 39
Hezekiah Receives Envoys From Babylon
391At that time, Merodak[] Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered. 2Hezekiah was happy to receive the envoys, and he showed them his palace treasury—the silver and the gold, the spices and the precious oil, his whole armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men say? Where did they come from?”
Hezekiah replied, “They have come from a faraway country, from Babylon.”
4The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
Hezekiah said, “They have seen everything in my palace. There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord of Armies. 6Listen carefully. The days are coming when whatever is in your house—everything that your fathers have stored up until today—will be carried away to Babylon. Not a thing will be left, says the Lord. 7They will take away some of the sons who were born to you, your own children, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For Hezekiah also said, “There will be peace and stability during my days.”

Footnotes

  • 39:1 Merodak is probably a derogatory form of the name Marduk, the chief god of Babylon.