3 And Isaiah the prophet cometh in unto king Hezekiah, and saith unto him, `What said these men? and whence come they unto thee?' And Hezekiah saith, `From a land afar off they have come unto me -- from Babylon.'
`Jehovah doth lift up against thee a nation, from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle it flieth; a nation whose tongue thou hast not heard,
And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: `Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;
Lo, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah, A nation -- strong it `is', a nation -- from of old it `is', A nation -- thou knowest not its tongue, Nor understandest what it speaketh.
And they go unto Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, and say unto him, and unto the men of Israel, `From a land far off we have come, and now, make with us a covenant;'
And Isaiah the prophet cometh in unto king Hezekiah, and saith unto him, `What said these men? and whence come they unto thee?' And Hezekiah saith, `From a land afar off they have come -- from Babylon.' And he saith, `What saw they in thy house?' and Hezekiah saith, `All that `is' in my house they saw; there hath not been a thing that I have not shewed them among my treasures.'
and go out unto his presence doth Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, and saith unto king Jehoshaphat, `To give help to the wicked, and to those hating Jehovah, dost thou love? and for this against thee `is' wrath from before Jehovah,
In those days hath Hezekiah been sick unto death, and come in unto him doth Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, and saith unto him, `Thus said Jehovah: Give a charge to thy house, for thou `art' dying, and dost not live.'
Go, and thou hast said to Hezekiah, Thus said Jehovah, God of David thy father, `I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tear, lo, I am adding to thy days fifteen years,
Thus said Jehovah, `Go down `to' the house of the king of Judah, and thou hast spoken there this word, and hast said, Hear a word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, who art sitting on the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, who are coming in at these gates,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 39
Commentary on Isaiah 39 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 39
Isa 39:1-8. Hezekiah's Error in the Display of His Riches to the Babylonian Ambassador.
1. Merodach-baladan—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—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—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—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.
2. glad—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—rather, "the house of his (aromatic) spices"; from a Hebrew root, to "break to pieces," as is done to aromatics.
silver … gold—partly obtained from the Assyrian camp (Isa 33:4); partly from presents (2Ch 32:23, 27-29).
precious ointment—used for anointing kings and priests.
armour—or else vessels in general; the parallel passage (2Ch 32:27), "treasuries … for shields," favors English Version. His arsenal.
3. What … whence—implying that any proposition coming from the idolatrous enemies of God, with whom Israel was forbidden to form alliance, should have been received with anything but gladness. Reliance on Babylon, rather than on God, was a similar sin to the previous reliance on Egypt (Isa 30:1-31:9).
far country—implying that he had done nothing more than was proper in showing attention to strangers "from a far country."
4. All—a frank confession of his whole fault; the king submits his conduct to the scrutiny of a subject, because that subject was accredited by God. Contrast Asa (2Ch 16:7-10).
5. Lord of hosts—who has all thy goods at His disposal.
6. days come—one hundred twenty years afterwards. This is the first intimation that the Jews would be carried to Babylon—the first designation of their place of punishment. The general prophecy of Moses (Le 26:33; De 28:64); the more particular one of Ahijah in Jeroboam's time (1Ki 14:15), "beyond the river"; and of Am 5:27, "captivity beyond Damascus"; are now concentrated in this specific one as to "Babylon" (Mic 4:10). It was an exact retribution in kind, that as Babylon had been the instrument of Hezekiah and Judah's sin, so also it should be the instrument of their punishment.
7. sons … from thee—The sons which Hezekiah (as Josephus tells us) wished to have (see on Isa 28:3, on "wept sore") will be among the foremost in suffering.
eunuchs—fulfilled (Da 1:2, 3, 7).
8. peace … in my days—The punishment was not, as in David's case (2Sa 24:13-15), sent in his time. True repentance acquiesces in all God's ways and finds cause of thanksgiving in any mitigation.