2 Kings 20:12-21

Hezekiah Reveals Too Much to a Babylonian Envoy

12 At that time, Berodak-Baladan the son of Baladan king of {Babylon} sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill.
13 Hezekiah heard about them and showed them all of the house of his treasure, both the silver and the gold, the spices, the good olive oil, the room of his weapons, and all that could be found in his treasuries. There was nothing that he did not show them in his palace and in all of his kingdom.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?" Hezekiah said, "From a far land; they have come from Babylon."
15 Then he asked, "What did they see in your palace?" And Hezekiah said, "All that is in my palace they have seen; there is nothing that I did not show them in my treasuries."
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of Yahweh!
17 'Look, days [are] coming when all that is in your palace will be carried off; [even] all that your ancestors have stored up until this day, to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says Yahweh.
18 'Your sons who went out from you, whom you brought forth, will be taken, and they shall be eunuchs in the temple of the king of Babylon.'"
19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh which you have spoken [is] good," and he thought, "Is it not that peace and security shall be in my days?"
20 Now the remainder of the acts of Hezekiah, all of his powerful [deeds], and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought the water into the city, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?
21 Then Hezekiah slept with his ancestors, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

2 Kings 20:12-21 Meaning and Commentary

In this chapter is an account of Hezekiah's sickness, and of the means of his recovery, and of the sign given of it, 2 Kings 20:1 of the king of Babylon's congratulatory letter to him upon it, when he showed to the messengers that brought it his treasures, in the pride and vanity of his heart, 2 Kings 20:12 for which he was reproved by the prophet Isaiah, and was humbled, and submitted to the sentence pronounced on his house, 2 Kings 20:14, and the chapter is concluded with his reign and death, 2 Kings 20:20.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Or "Babel." Babel was the ancient name for Babylon, the capital of Babylonia. See also Genesis 11:9
  • [b]. Or "fathers"
  • [c]. Or "fathers"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.