CHAPTER 39 39
Embassy from Merodach-baladan. 1At that time Merodach–baladan,[D][39:1] Merodach–baladan: twice king of Babylon, probably from 721 to 710 B.C., and again for nine months, in 704–703. This visit of his messengers, certainly before 701, was in reality a political one. Babylon hoped to lead an anti–Assyrian confederation composed of neighboring states and wanted Judah to join. son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and gifts to Hezekiah, when he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2Hezekiah was pleased at their coming, and then showed the messengers his treasury, the silver and gold, the spices and perfumed oil, his whole armory, and everything in his storerooms; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They came to me from a distant land, from Babylon.” 4He asked, “What did they see in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything in my house. There is nothing in my storerooms that I did not show them.” 5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6The time is coming when all that is in your house, everything that your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried off to Babylon;[E][39:6] Because Judah preferred to follow a pro–Babylonian policy, instead of trusting in the Lord, it would later be exiled to Babylon. nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 7Some of your own descendants, your progeny, shall be taken and made attendants in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.”[F][39:8] Hezekiah was relieved that the disaster would not occur in his lifetime. For he thought, “There will be peace and stability in my lifetime.”
II. ISAIAH 40—55[G][40:1–55:13] Chapters 40–55 are usually designated Second Isaiah (or Deutero–Isaiah) and are believed to have been written by an anonymous prophet toward the end of the Babylonian exile. Isaiah, who is named frequently in chaps. 1–39, does not appear here; the Assyrians, the great threat during the eighth century, hardly appear; the Judeans are in Babylon, having been taken there by the victorious Babylonians; Cyrus, the Persian king, is named; he will defeat Babylon and release the captives. Second Isaiah, who sees this not as a happy circumstance but as part of God’s age–old plan, exhorts the Judeans to resist the temptations of Babylonian religion and stirs up hopes of an imminent return to Judah, where the Lord will again be acknowledged as King (52:7). Because the prophet proclaimed the triumph of Persia over Babylon, his message would have been considered seditious, and it is very likely for this reason that the collection would have circulated anonymously. At some point it was appended to Is 1–39 and consequently was long considered the work of Isaiah of Jerusalem of the eighth century. But the fact that it is addressed to Judean exiles in Babylon indicates a sixth–century date. Nevertheless, this eloquent prophet in many ways works within the tradition of Isaiah and develops themes found in the earlier chapters, such as the holiness of the Lord (cf. note on 1:4) and his lordship of history. Second Isaiah also develops other Old Testament themes, such as the Lord as Israel’s redeemer or deliverer (cf. Ex 3:8; 6:6; 15:13; 18:8). New American Bible Revised Edition® / © 2010 CCD, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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