(2 Kings 20:12–19)
1
At that time, Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah. For he had heard that he had fallen ill and had recovered.
2
And Hezekiah rejoiced over them, and he showed them the storehouses of his aromatic spices, and of the silver and gold, and of the perfumes and precious ointments, and all the repositories for his belongings, and all the things that were found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not show them.
3
Then Isaiah the prophet entered before king Hezekiah, and he said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far away land, from Babylon.”
4
And he said, “What did they see in your house?” And Hezekiah said: “They have seen all the things that are in my house. There was nothing that I did not show them among my treasures.”
5
And Isaiah said to Hezekiah: “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts:
6
Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have stored up, even to this day, will be taken away to Babylon. There will be nothing left behind, says the Lord.
7
And your children, who will issue from you, whom you will produce, they will be taken away. And they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
8
And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which he has spoken is good.” And he said, “But let there be peace and truth in my days.”