1    ^noteAt this time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent envoys with a gift to Hezekiah; for he had heard that he had been ill and was well again. 2   Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them all his treasury, silver and gold, spices and fragrant oil, his entire armoury and everything to be found among his treasures; there was nothing in his house and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3   Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, ‘What did these men say and where have they come from?’ ‘They have come from a far-off country,’ Hezekiah answered, ‘from Babylon.’ 4   Then Isaiah asked, ‘What did they see in your house?’ ‘They saw everything,’ Hezekiah replied; ‘there was nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.’ 5   Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts: 6   The time is coming, says the Lord, when everything in your house, and all that your forefathers have amassed till the present day, will be carried away to Babylon; not a thing shall be left. 7   And some of the sons who will be born to you, sons of your own begetting, shall be taken and shall be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ 8   Hezekiah answered, ‘The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good’; thinking to himself that peace and security would last out his lifetime.

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