Isaiah 39
BSASBAfter God healed Hezekiah, envoys from Babylon came with a gift, and the king proudly showed them all his wealth. Isaiah told him that Babylon would one day carry off everything, including some of his own descendants. Hezekiah’s reply shows a man more concerned about his own comfort than about those who would come after him.
Isaiah 39:1
Babylon’s king sent letters and a gift, ostensibly to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery. Babylon was then a rising rival to Assyria, so friendly words may also have hidden a wish for an ally. The visit tests what Hezekiah will do with God’s recent mercy.
BSA: gift (“offering, present”): A present like this was often a way of courting friendship and seeking an alliance. recovery (“restoration to health, strengthening”): The healing that came from God’s hand becomes the occasion for this visit.
See also: 2 Kings 20:12-13; Isaiah 38:5.
Isaiah 39:2
Hezekiah was delighted and showed the envoys everything: his treasures, spices, oil and weapons. He did not lean on the LORD here but displayed his own strength. Nothing was held back, and nothing was said about the God who had saved him.
BSA: welcomed the envoys gladly (“rejoiced greatly, was glad of them”): His pleasure at the attention of a foreign power shows where his heart was resting. armory (“all his weapons, armory”): He even revealed his military strength, leaving his kingdom’s weak points open to a future enemy.
See also: 2 Chronicles 32:25; Proverbs 16:18.
Isaiah 39:3
Isaiah comes uninvited and asks two plain questions. He already knows the answers, but he wants Hezekiah to say them aloud. The king answers openly, though he sounds pleased that men from so far away had come to him.
BSA: prophet (“messenger of God, spokesperson”): Isaiah speaks as God’s representative, not as a mere court adviser.
Isaiah 39:4
Isaiah presses on: what did they see? Hezekiah answers without any shame. He had shown them everything, and he says so almost as a boast. His honesty only shows how little he saw the danger.
BSA: everything (“all things, the whole”): The completeness of his display shows that nothing was kept back from a foreign power.
Isaiah 39:5-6
Isaiah gives a message from the LORD of Hosts, the commander of heaven’s armies. The treasures Hezekiah showed off, and everything his fathers stored up, will be carried to Babylon. What he trusted as his security will be taken away. God alone stays secure.
BSA: carried off (“taken away, removed”): The same Babylon that seemed friendly would become the conqueror and the place of exile. LORD of Hosts (“armies, the heavenly forces, the commander of the armies of angels”): The One who speaks is far stronger than any king or treasury.
See also: 2 Kings 24:13; Jeremiah 52:17.
Isaiah 39:7
The judgment becomes personal. Some of Hezekiah’s own descendants will serve in a Babylonian palace as eunuchs, officials who were often made unable to have children. The line of David would be humbled. Daniel and his friends later served in just such a setting.
BSA: eunuchs (“unsexed servants, officials”): This word covers court officials, and many such men were made unable to have children, which marks a deep loss of family honor.
See also: Daniel 1:3-6.
Isaiah 39:8
Hezekiah calls the word good, but he is reasoning that peace would last through his own days. It is a sad end to the story of a good king. He accepts God’s word, yet he shows little grief for the generations that would suffer. Still, the book moves on to comfort in chapter 40.
BSA: peace (“shalom, completeness, wellness”): He wanted shalom for himself, but real wholeness would have meant concern for his children too. security (“truth, faithfulness”): The Hebrew word also means truth or faithfulness, a reminder that lasting safety rests on God’s faithfulness, not a king’s lifetime.
Hebrew: אֱמֶת (emet, H571) — “truth, faithfulness, firmness.” Here it is translated security. It is the word used for something solid you can lean on. Hezekiah hoped for a secure life, but true security belongs to God’s own faithfulness.
See also: Isaiah 40:1.