Isaiah
Isaiah 39
1At that time, Merodach Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and had recovered. 2Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn’t show them. 3Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and asked him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?”
Hezekiah said, “They have come from a country far from me, even from Babylon.”
4Then he asked, “What have they seen in your house?”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh of Armies: 6‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up until today, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says Yahweh. 7‘They will take away your sons who will issue from you, whom you shall father, and they will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.’ ”
8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”
Commentary
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4 commentators · 20 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
Hence we may learn these lessons: - 1. That humanity and common civility teach us to rejoice with our friends and neighbours when they rejoice, and to congratulate them on their deliverances, and particularly their recoveries from sickness. The king of…
Hence let us observe, 1. That, if God love us, he will humble us, and will find some way or other to pull down our spirits when they are lifted up above measure. A mortifying message is sent to Hezekiah, that he might be humbled for the pride of his heart…
John Gill8
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon,.... The same is called Berodach, 2 Kings 20:12 which, according to Hillerus (z), is the same with Barmerodach, the son of Merodach; though it is generally took to be a slip of the scribe's…
And Hezekiah was glad of them,.... Not of the presents, for he was very rich, and stood in no need of them, nor does it appear that he was covetous; but of the ambassadors, and of the honour that was done him in having such sent to him from such a prince; his…
Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah,.... Quickly after the ambassadors had been with the king, and he had shown them all his treasures; the prophet did not come of himself, but was sent by the Lord, though he was not sent for by the king; in the…
Keil & Delitzsch3
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
From this point onwards the text of the book of Kings (Kg2 20:12-19, cf., Ch2 32:24-31) runs parallel to the text before us. Babylonian ambassadors have an interview with the convalescent king of Judah. "At that time Merodach Bal'adan (K. Berodach Bal'adan)…
"And Hezekiah rejoiced (K. heard, which is quite inappropriate) concerning them, and showed them (K. all) his storehouse: the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the fine oil (hasshâmen,K. shemen), and all his arsenal, and all that was in his…
The consequences of this coqueting with the children of the stranger, and this vain display, are pointed out in Isa 39:3-8 : "Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hizkiyahu, and said to him, What have these men said, and whence come they to thee? Hizkiyahu…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown7
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
glad--It was not the mere act, but the spirit of it, which provoked God (Ch2 32:25), "Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up"; also compare Ch2 32:31. God "tries" His people at different times by…
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…
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 (Ch2 16:7-10).
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