Isaiah 39

You juxtaposed [events] so that you might not grieve us and that you might save them. Those who had seized our silver brought gold. Those who had wounded our bodies brought myrrh. Those who had burned our sanctuary offered frankincense to your divinity.The myrrh [of the Magi] intercedes for their swords with which they killed us. Their gold intercedes for our treasures, for they plundered the treasuries of the house of Hezekiah. Their frankincense appeases your divinity, for they had angered your Father.… The Babylonians, too, came up [and] afflicted the children in Judah. By you the children have found peace, for by you the vicious have become worshipers. Those who despised old men honor a Child who is older than all. Babylon, too, sent offerings to Hezekiah; the envoys who saw his treasures were amazed. What did you show to the Magi? You showed a wonder, for they rendered you homage although you were poor. However great was the ivory palace of the kings of our people, greater and more beautiful is the little cave in which I bore you.

Now, when the Babylonians heard about Hezekiah's healing from the sickness, they sent ambassadors to him, and not without reason. Indeed, on the day when the sun went backward, one extra hour was added to the duration of the day, which did not elude the Babylonians, who were skilled in their observation of the stars. And as they venerated the sun as divine, they perceived that it was turned back by a superior power. Therefore they were eager to investigate the cause of the phenomenon. Thus driven by curiosity, they learned that the God of the Hebrew people was great and that he was the Creator of the world. When Hezekiah was healed, through which also the miracle of the sun took place, they perceived what happened and strongly desired the friendship of Hezekiah as a man loved by God. That is the story of the Jewish teacher.However, I grasped that all of the following events happened the same year: the attack of the Assyrians against the Jewish people, the defeat of the Assyrians by the angel of God, Sennacherib's escape, the revolt of his subjects and the death of the son who succeeded him, which is not mentioned in this text. It is likely that the rumor about all those events reached the Babylonian king, who showed friendship toward Hezekiah and sent him gifts, an ambassador and letters.

Often the care of government, when undertaken, distracts the heart in divers directions; and one is found unequal to dealing with particular things, while with confused mind divided among many. Whence a certain wise man providently dissuades, saying, "My son, meddle not with many matters;" because, that is, the mind is by no means collected on the plan of any single work while parted among divers. And, when it is drawn abroad by unwonted care, it is emptied of the solidity of inward fear: it becomes anxious in the ordering of things that are without, and, ignorant of itself alone, knows how to think of many things, while itself it knows not. For, when it implicates itself more than is needful in things that are without, it is as though it were so occupied during a journey as to forget where it was going; so that, being estranged from the business of self-examination, it does not even consider the losses it is suffering, or know how great they are. For neither did Hezekiah believe himself to be sinning, when he shewed to the strangers who came to him his storehouses of spices; but he fell under the anger of the judge, to the condemnation of his future offspring, from what he supposed himself to be doing lawfully. Often, when means are abundant, and many things can be done for subordinates to admire, the mind exalts itself in thought, and fully provokes to itself the anger of the judge, though not breaking out in overt acts of iniquity. For he who judges is within; that which is judged is within. When, then, in heart we transgress, what we are doing within ourselves is hidden from men, but yet in the eyes of the judge we sin.

At that time Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent books and gifts to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah was glad over them, and showed them the storehouse of spices, and of silver, and of gold, and of perfumes, and of the best ointment, and all the storerooms of his furnishings, and all that was found in his treasuries: there was not a word that Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his dominion. Above we read that in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them, and afterward besieged Lachish, passed on to Libnah, and sent part of his army to Jerusalem; and that, when one hundred and eighty-five thousand of his army had been slain by the Angel, he himself fled to Nineveh and was killed by his sons in the shrine of his god, and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place; that Hezekiah fell sick and recovered his health at the Prophet's message; that an incredible sign was done, so that the sun went back by the space of ten hours toward its rising, and the day became almost double. Now we read that at that time, that is, in the same year in which all these things were done, Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent books and gifts to Hezekiah; not Esarhaddon, who had succeeded his father Sennacherib in the kingdom among the Assyrians, about whose death or life Scripture is silent. From which it is clear that the kingdom of the Assyrians was then one thing, and that of the Babylonians another. Indeed, the Assyrians took Samaria, that is, the ten tribes; but Judah and Jerusalem, we read, were taken later by the Chaldeans, whose king was Nebuchadnezzar. And because among them there is the observation of the heavenly bodies, and the course of the stars is known by long practice and exercise, as is shown also at the Lord's nativity, they understood that the sun had gone back and the spaces of the day had been doubled, in the service of him whom they thought the only God. And when they inquired into the causes and reason of this miracle, as the report flew through all the nations, they learned that because of the sickness of the king of Judah even the course of the brightest sign had been changed. That this is not my opinion but the faith of holy Scripture, the words of Chronicles testify, which say after other things: This is Hezekiah who stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and turned them down to the west of the city of David. In all his works he accomplished prosperously what he wished; but in the embassy of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the portent that had happened on the earth, God left him, that he might be tested, and that all that was in his heart might be made known (2 Chr 32:30, 31). And he was left to temptation for this reason, because after so great a victory, and the sun's going back, and the congratulation of a most powerful kingdom, his heart was lifted up. Indeed, in the same volume it is written: Many brought victims and sacrifices to the Lord in Jerusalem, and gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah: and he was exalted before all the nations. In those days he was sick unto death, and he prayed to the Lord; and he heard him and gave him a sign; but he did not make return according to the benefits he had received: for his heart was lifted up, and there was wrath against him, and against Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:23, 24). And again holy Scripture says that the lifting up of his heart was softened by penance, adding: And afterward he was humbled because his heart had been lifted up, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and therefore the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

In the parable of the rich man, he flattered himself about the increase of his fields. But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" It was the same way when King Hezekiah heard from Isaiah the sad doom of his kingdom after he had gloried before the envoys of Babylon in his treasures and the deposits of his precious things.

At that time. Here he sets out the congratulation of friends, shown in the sending of messengers and gifts; and concerning this, he does three things.

First, he sets out the sending of messengers: the king of Babylon, who was then under the Assyrians; books, letters; for he had heard that he had been sick and was recovered, but especially because of the sign which he had seen in the turning back of the sun: he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Arabia (Ps 71[72]:15).

He was glad, then, at the coming of the envoys of Merodach, whom the Hebrews suppose to have been the father of Nebuchadnezzar, and at the offering of gifts and the congratulation on his recovery. And he showed them, according to the Seventy, the house NECHOTHA (נכתה), for which Symmachus translated of his spices; and the treasuries of silver, and of gold, and of perfumes, and of the best ointment, which in the Hebrew is written of good oil; and all the treasuries of the vessels of his gaza, or, as is read there, of his vessels. Now in the language of the Persians riches are called gaza; nor is it a Hebrew word, but a Barbarian one. There was not, he says, a word (which according to Hebrew usage is frequently taken for thing) that he did not show them in his house and in all his dominion. Hence the most just wrath of God, because he showed not only his own treasures and those of the palace but also those of the Temple, which certainly was within his dominion, and from whose doors he had already earlier taken the plates of gold.

Second, he sets out the vainglory of Ezechias himself, which he derived from this, setting out the joy of vainglory: Ezechias rejoiced; against this is what is said in Job 31:25: if I have rejoiced over my great riches; and the manifestation of vainglory in his works, in the exhibition of his riches: and he showed them the storehouses of his aromatical spices, which are called fragrant species, either the place where kings were buried, or the lower part of the house of the forest, which was of alabaster, where things of this kind were best preserved; storehouses, cellars; no word, nothing worthy of a word, in all his dominion, as to those things which were in the temple, which indeed had been usurped in the dominion of the king: bring not every man into your house (Sir 11:31[29]).

When the ambassadors of the Babylonian king came to Hezekiah, his heart in a fresh access of human weakness was lifted up with pride, and he received them with all gladness, for his own glory; and contrary to the will of God, he led them into the palace, displaying to them his treasures and all his riches. Then again Isaiah was sent to him to correct his frame of mind, and said to him ironically: What do these men say, and whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said: From a far country have they come unto me—even from Babylon. Then said Isaiah again: What have they seen in thine house? But the King, seeing that the Prophet put the question knowing how matters stood, told the truth and said to him: All that is in my house have they seen, and there is nothing in the house which they have not seen—yea they have even seen all my treasures: Then he told him, by way of a threat to chastise the pride which uplifted his heart, what would come to pass after him and says: Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts. 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. 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; as if He said, For you ought to have been instructed by your former experiences that, not so much for your glory as for Mine, were the mighty signs wrought, in order that the nations also may be made acquainted with My greatness, which thou again didst think lightly of, and wert uplifted with pride, not giving Me thanks. But since without My sanction thou didst receive the ambassadors, and didst show them the wealth which thou hast obtained from Me, be therefore henceforth taught that hereafter, in the time of thy successors, I will deliver over to the Babylonians all thy wealth to be plundered and captured, because thou hadst again no regard for My glory, but didst honour thyself in preference to Me. But inasmuch as thou hast ever been virtuous and pious, none of these things shall happen in thy times. Hezekiah, on hearing and understanding this, humbled himself, as he was a righteous man and obedient to God, and giving thanks said to Isaiah: Good is the word of the Lord which he hath spoken. Let there be peace in my days

Then Isaiah the Prophet came in to king Hezekiah and said to him: What did these men say, and from where did they come to you? And Hezekiah said: From a far country they came to me, from Babylon. And he said: What did they see in your house? And Hezekiah said: They saw all that is in my house: there was not a word, or thing, that I did not show them in my treasuries. And Isaiah said to Hezekiah: Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the day will come, and all that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried away to Babylon: nothing shall be left, said the Lord. And of your sons who shall come forth from you, whom you shall beget, they shall take away: and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah: Good is the word of the Lord which he has spoken. And he said: Only let there be peace and truth in my days. The Hebrews relate that Hezekiah fell sick for this reason, because after the unheard-of victory of the Jews and the destruction of the Assyrian king he did not sing praises to the Lord, as Moses sang when Pharaoh was drowned (Exod 15), and Deborah when Sisera was killed (Judg 4), and Hannah when Samuel was born (1 Sam 2); and that hence he was reminded of his frailty. And again, after the health of his body and the greatness of the sign, another occasion of pride was offered him, which, as a prudent man and a worshiper of God, he ought to have avoided; nor ought he to have shown to foreigners his riches, which he possessed by God's gift. From which, according to the laws of tropology too, we learn that pearls are not to be cast before swine, nor what is holy given to dogs (Matt 7). For he who is of a faithful spirit hides matters; and whoever does not do this, all his strength is unnerved, and his posterity perishes, and, its manly vigor lost, is reduced to womanly softness (Prov 11:13-15). So Isaiah goes in to the king and, as though not knowing, inquires: What did these men say, and from where did they come? He asks two things: what they said, and from where they came. The king answered one, passing over the other, which is to be read with ἐμφάσει and a lifted brow: From a far country they came to me, from Babylon: meaning that the farther the land from which they came, the more glorious is he on whose account they came. And they came, he says, to me, when he ought to have said: they came to glorify God for the greatness of the sign; from Babylon, which is the most powerful city in the whole world.

Third, he sets out the reprimand of his vainglory: then Isaiah the prophet came.

And first, he sets out the inquiry and the manifestation of his fault: there was not any thing which I have not shown them in my treasures: counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water (Prov 20:5).

And again Isaiah: What, he says, did they see in your house? And he answered with part of the truth: that they saw everything in his house, and there was nothing that he did not show them in his treasuries. But he is silent about the other thing, for which he feared offense: that he showed them all that he had in his dominion; no doubt the furnishings of the Temple as well.

When the ambassadors of the Babylonian king came to Hezekiah, his heart in a fresh access of human weakness was lifted up with pride, and he received them with all gladness, for his own glory; and contrary to the will of God, he led them into the palace, displaying to them his treasures and all his riches. Then again Isaiah was sent to him to correct his frame of mind, and said to him ironically: What do these men say, and whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said: From a far country have they come unto me—even from Babylon. Then said Isaiah again: What have they seen in thine house? But the King, seeing that the Prophet put the question knowing how matters stood, told the truth and said to him: All that is in my house have they seen, and there is nothing in the house which they have not seen—yea they have even seen all my treasures: Then he told him, by way of a threat to chastise the pride which uplifted his heart, what would come to pass after him and says: Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts. 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. 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; as if He said, For you ought to have been instructed by your former experiences that, not so much for your glory as for Mine, were the mighty signs wrought, in order that the nations also may be made acquainted with My greatness, which thou again didst think lightly of, and wert uplifted with pride, not giving Me thanks. But since without My sanction thou didst receive the ambassadors, and didst show them the wealth which thou hast obtained from Me, be therefore henceforth taught that hereafter, in the time of thy successors, I will deliver over to the Babylonians all thy wealth to be plundered and captured, because thou hadst again no regard for My glory, but didst honour thyself in preference to Me. But inasmuch as thou hast ever been virtuous and pious, none of these things shall happen in thy times. Hezekiah, on hearing and understanding this, humbled himself, as he was a righteous man and obedient to God, and giving thanks said to Isaiah: Good is the word of the Lord which he hath spoken. Let there be peace in my days

For these reasons Isaiah pronounces the sentence in the word of God: Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: The time will come when all these things which are in your house, acquired not by your labor but by your fathers', will be carried over to Babylon, and of your seed eunuchs will be made in the royal court.

Second, he threatens punishment: and Isaiah said; as to the loss of his goods: all that is in your house: thus says the Lord to you: I have given all these lands into the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon (Jer 27:6).

Be quiet, you who exalt yourself. Do not think you are better than you are! For if your wealth has caused your heart to be proud, it still is not more abundant than that of Hezekiah. He went in and boasted of his wealth before the Babylonians, yet it was all carried away to Babylon. And, if you glory in your children, they shall be led away from you to the beast, as the children of King Hezekiah were led away, and became eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.

Verse 3. "And the king said to Ashpenaz the overseer of his eunuchs, that he should out of the number of the children of Israel and, of the royal seed and (the seed of) the rulers bring in some young lads who were free from all blemish." Instead of Ashpenaz ("Asphanez") I found Abriesdri written in the Vulgate edition. For the word phorlhommin which Theodotion uses, the Septuagint and Aquila translated "the chosen ones," whereas Symmachus rendered "Parthians," understanding it as the name of a nation instead of a common noun. This is in disagreement with the Hebrew edition as it is accurately read; I have translated it as "rulers," especially because it is preceded by the words "of the seed royal." From this passage the Hebrews think that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were eunuchs, thus fulfilling that prophecy which is spoken by Isaiah regarding Hezekiah: "And they shall take of thy seed and make eunuchs of them in the house of the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 39:7). If however they were of the seed royal, there is no doubt but what they were of the line of David. But perhaps the following words are opposed to this interpretation: "...lads, or youths, who were free from all blemish, in order that he might teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans." Philo supposes that Chaldee is the same thing as the Hebrew language, because Abraham came from the Chaldeans. But if we accept this we must ask how the Hebrew lads could now be bidden to be taught a language which they already knew; unless, perchance, we should say, as some believe, that Abraham was acquainted with two languages.

From this the Hebrews hold that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were of the royal seed, were made eunuchs; that they were in the service of king Nebuchadnezzar there is no doubt.

As to the servitude of his children: and of your children, which they say was fulfilled in Daniel and his companions, not because they were such in body, but in mind and office: your sons and your daughters will be given to another people (Deut 28:32).

So Hezekiah said: Good is the word of the Lord which he has spoken. In this he is reproached by the Hebrews for not imitating the goodness of Moses, who spoke to the Lord: Either forgive them this offense; or if you do not, blot me out of your book which you have written (Exod 32:32). Hence the apostle Paul too wishes to be anathema from Christ for his brethren who are Israelites (Rom 9); and they say that for this reason Hezekiah was not approved by the words of God, who in what follows says: Comfort, comfort, O my people, says your God, so that those for whom he had not prayed might be comforted by the Lord's clemency.

Third, he sets out his acceptance of the punishment: and Ezechias said; good, just; peace, from the Assyrians; truth, of religion, above: Lord, you will give us peace (Isa 26:12).