1 At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.
2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.
3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts:
6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.
7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.
<html><b>when he heard that he had been ill and had recovered</b> He was accustomed to eating after the first three hours of the day had elapsed and he would sleep until the ninth hour. Since the sphere of the sun had gone backwards because of Hezekiah, he awoke from his sleep after nine hours and found that it was morning. He sought to kill all his servants. He said, “You let me sleep a day and a night until morning!” They said to him, “It was the sphere of the sun that went backwards.” He said to them, “Who brought it back?” They said to him, “The God of Hezekiah, etc.” As is stated in Tanhuma (Ki Thissa 5) and in Pesikta (d’ Rav Kahana p. 14a).</html>
<html><b>his entire treasure house</b> (נְכֹתֹה) the storehouse of his spices, like (Gen. 37:25) “spices (נְכֹאת), balm, and lotus.” <b>and the good oil</b> Some interpret this as the anointing oil (Ex. 30:22 33), and others say that it is balsam oil, which is found in Eretz Israel, and that is Pannag mentioned in Ezekiel (27:17): “Judah and the land of Israel, they were your merchants, with wheat of Minnith and Pannag.” I saw in the book of Josephon (book 4, ch. 22), Pannag is balsam, and it grows in Jericho. Therefore, it is called Jericho because of the aroma (רֵיחַ). <b>there was nothing</b> Even the Scroll of the Law.</html>
<html><b>“They have come to me from a distant country”</b> This is one of three people whom the Holy One, blessed be He, tested and found to be a chamber pot: Cain, Hezekiah, and Balaam. Hezekiah should have replied, “You are a prophet of the Omnipresent. Yet you ask me?” Instead, he commenced to become haughty, and said, “They have come to me from a distant country.” Therefore, he was punished, and because he rejoiced over them and fed them on his table. Similarly, Balaam, to whom He said, “Who are these men with you?” (Num 22:9) And he replied and said, “Balak the son of Zippor sent them to me.” Similarly, Cain, to whom He said, “Where is your brother Abel?” (Gen. 4:9) He should have replied, “Lord of the Universe, are not all hidden things revealed to You?” As it is stated in Tanhuma.</html>
<html><b>nothing shall remain</b> You shall be paid in kind, corresponding to “There was nothing (v. 4).” (I.e., Hezekiah would be punished for showing off all his treasures, by having all those treasures carried off to Babylonia.)</html>
<html><b>And…[some] of your sons</b> Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.</html>
<html><b>“The word of the Lord…is good”</b> since there will be peace in my days.</html>