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Selected Verse: Isaiah 39:3 - Strong Concordance
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Isa 39:3 |
Strong Concordance |
Then came [0935] Isaiah [03470] the prophet [05030] unto king [04428] Hezekiah [02396], and said [0559] unto him, What said [0559] these men [0582]? and from whence [0370] came [0935] they unto thee? And Hezekiah [02396] said [0559], They are come [0935] from a far [07350] country [0776] unto me, even from Babylon [0894]. |
|
King James |
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. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
What . . . whence--implying that any proposition coming from the idolatrous enemies of God, with whom Israel was forbidden to form alliance, should have been received with anything but gladness. Reliance on Babylon, rather than on God, was a similar sin to the previous reliance on Egypt (Isa. 30:1-31:9).
far country--implying that he had done nothing more than was proper in showing attention to strangers "from a far country." |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Then came Isaiah - Isaiah was accustomed to declare the will of God most freely to monarchs (see Isa. 7)
What said these men? - What proposition have they made? What is the design of their coming? It is implied in the question that there had been some improper communication from them. To this question Hezekiah returned no answer.
And from whence came they? - It was doubtless known in Jerusalem that ambassadors had come, but it would not be likely to be known from what country they had come.
From a far country - Probably this was said in order to palliate and excuse his conducts, by intimating to the prophet that it was proper to show respectful attention to foreigners, and that he had done nothing more than was demanded by the laws of hospitality and kindness. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
The consequences of this coqueting with the children of the stranger, and this vain display, are pointed out in Isa 39:3-8 : "Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hizkiyahu, and said to him, What have these men said, and whence come they to thee? Hizkiyahu said, They came to me from a far country (K. omits to me), out of Babel. He said further, What have they seen in thy house? Hizkiyahu said, All that is in my house have they seen: there was nothing in my treasures that I had not shown them. Then Isaiah said to Hizkiyahu, Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts (K. omits tsebhâ'ōth); Behold, days come, that all that is in thy house, and all that thy fathers have laid up unto this day, will be carried away to Babel (בּבל, K. בּבלה): nothing will be left behind, saith Jehovah. And of thy children that proceed from thee, whom thou shalt beget, will they take (K. chethib, 'will he take'); and they will be courtiers in the palace of the king of Babel. Then said Hizkiyahu to Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. And he said further, Yea (כּי, K. אם הלוא), there shall be peace and stedfastness in my days." Hezekiah's two candid answers in vv. 3 and 4 are an involuntary condemnation of his own conduct, which was sinful in two respects. This self-satisfied display of worthless earthly possessions would bring its own punishment in their loss; and this obsequious suing for admiration and favour on the part of strangers, would be followed by plundering and enslaving on the part of those very same strangers whose envy he had excited. The prophet here foretells the Babylonian captivity; but, in accordance with the occasion here given, not as the destiny of the whole nation, but as that of the house of David. Even political sharp-sightedness might have foreseen, that some such disastrous consequences would follow Hezekiah's imprudent course; but this absolute certainty, that Babylon, which was then struggling hard for independence, would really be the heiress to the Assyrian government of the world, and that it was not from Assyria, which was actually threatening Judah with destruction for its rebellion, but from Babylon, that this destruction would really come, was impossible without the spirit of prophecy. We may infer from Isa 39:7 (cf., Isa 38:19, and for the fulfilment, Dan 1:3) that Hezekiah had no son as yet, at least none with a claim to the throne; and this is confirmed by Kg2 21:1. So far as the concluding words are concerned, we should quite misunderstand them, if we saw nothing in them but common egotism. כּי (for) is explanatory here, and therefore confirmatory. אם הלוא, however, does not mean "yea, if only," as Ewald supposes (324, b), but is also explanatory, though in an interrogative form, "Is it not good (i.e., still gracious and kind), if," etc.? He submits with humility to the word of Jehovah, in penitential acknowledgement of his vain, shortsighted, untheocratic conduct, and feels that he is mercifully spared by God, inasmuch as the divine blessings of peace and stability (אמת a self-attesting state of things, without any of those changes which disappoint our confident expectations) would continue. "Although he desired the prosperity of future ages, it would not have been right for him to think it nothing that God had given him a token of His clemency, by delaying His judgment" (Calvin).
Over the kingdom of Judah there was now hanging the very same fate of captivity and exile, which had put an end to the kingdom of Israel eight years before. When the author of the book of Kings prefaces the four accounts of Isaiah in Kg2 18:13-20, with the recapitulation in Kg2 18:9-12 (cf., Isa 17:5-6), his evident meaning is, that the end of the kingdom of Israel, and the beginning of the end of the kingdom of Judah, had their meeting-point in Hezekiah's time. As Israel fell under the power of the Assyrian empire, which foundered upon Judah, though only through a miraculous manifestation of the grace of God (see Hos 1:7); so did Judah fall a victim to the Babylonian empire. The four accounts are so arranged, that the first two, together with the epilogue in Isa 37:36., which contains the account of the fulfilment, bring the Assyrian period of judgment to a close; and the last two, with the eventful sketch in Isa 39:6-7, open the way for the great bulk of the prophecies which now follow in chapters 40-66, relating to the Babylonian period of judgment. This Janus-headed arrangement of the contents of chapters 36-39 is a proof that this historical section formed an original part of the "vision of Isaiah." At any rate, it leads to the conclusion that, whoever arranged the four accounts in their present order, had chapters 40-66 before him at the time. We believe, however, that we may, or rather, considering the prophetico-historical style of chapters 36-39, that we must, draw the still further conclusion, that Isaiah himself, when he revised the collection of his prophecies at the end of Hezekiah's reign, or possibly not till the beginning of Manasseh's, bridged over the division between the two halves of the collection by the historical trilogy in the seventh book. |
6 Behold, the days [03117] come [0935], that all that is in thine house [01004], and that which thy fathers [01] have laid up in store [0686] until this day [03117], shall be carried [05375] to Babylon [0894]: nothing [01697] shall be left [03498], saith [0559] the LORD [03068].
7 And of thy sons [01121] that shall issue [03318] from thee, which thou shalt beget [03205], shall they take away [03947]; and they shall be eunuchs [05631] in the palace [01964] of the king [04428] of Babylon [0894].
36 Then the angel [04397] of the LORD [03068] went forth [03318], and smote [05221] in the camp [04264] of the Assyrians [0804] a hundred [03967] and fourscore [08084] and five [02568] thousand [0505]: and when they arose early [07925] in the morning [01242], behold, they were all dead [04191] corpses [06297].
7 But I will have mercy [07355] upon the house [01004] of Judah [03063], and will save [03467] them by the LORD [03068] their God [0430], and will not save [03467] them by bow [07198], nor by sword [02719], nor by battle [04421], by horses [05483], nor by horsemen [06571].
5 And it shall be as when the harvestman [07105] gathereth [0622] the corn [07054], and reapeth [07114] the ears [07641] with his arm [02220]; and it shall be as he that gathereth [03950] ears [07641] in the valley [06010] of Rephaim [07497].
6 Yet gleaning grapes [05955] shall be left [07604] in it, as the shaking [05363] of an olive tree [02132], two [08147] or three [07969] berries [01620] in the top [07218] of the uppermost bough [0534], four [0702] or five [02568] in the outmost fruitful [06509] branches [05585] thereof, saith [05002] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].
9 And it came to pass in the fourth [07243] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396], which was the seventh [07637] year [08141] of Hoshea [01954] son [01121] of Elah [0425] king [04428] of Israel [03478], that Shalmaneser [08022] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] came up [05927] against Samaria [08111], and besieged [06696] it.
10 And at the end [07097] of three [07969] years [08141] they took [03920] it: even in the sixth [08337] year [08141] of Hezekiah [02396], that is the ninth [08672] year [08141] of Hoshea [01954] king [04428] of Israel [03478], Samaria [08111] was taken [03920].
11 And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] did carry away [01540] Israel [03478] unto Assyria [0804], and put [05148] them in Halah [02477] and in Habor [02249] by the river [05104] of Gozan [01470], and in the cities [05892] of the Medes [04074]:
12 Because they obeyed [08085] not the voice [06963] of the LORD [03068] their God [0430], but transgressed [05674] his covenant [01285], and all that Moses [04872] the servant [05650] of the LORD [03068] commanded [06680], and would not hear [08085] them, nor do [06213] them.
13 Now in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] did Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] come up [05927] against all the fenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.
14 And Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] sent [07971] to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] to Lachish [03923], saying [0559], I have offended [02398]; return [07725] from me: that which thou puttest [05414] on me will I bear [05375]. And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] appointed [07760] unto Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] three [07969] hundred [03967] talents [03603] of silver [03701] and thirty [07970] talents [03603] of gold [02091].
15 And Hezekiah [02396] gave [05414] him all the silver [03701] that was found [04672] in the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and in the treasures [0214] of the king's [04428] house [01004].
16 At that time [06256] did Hezekiah [02396] cut off [07112] the gold from the doors [01817] of the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068], and from the pillars [0547] which Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] had overlaid [06823], and gave [05414] it to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804].
17 And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] sent [07971] Tartan [08661] and Rabsaris [07249] and Rabshakeh [07262] from Lachish [03923] to king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] with a great [03515] host [02426] against Jerusalem [03389]. And they went up [05927] and came [0935] to Jerusalem [03389]. And when they were come up [05927], they came [0935] and stood [05975] by the conduit [08585] of the upper [05945] pool [01295], which is in the highway [04546] of the fuller's [03526] field [07704].
18 And when they had called [07121] to the king [04428], there came out [03318] to them Eliakim [0471] the son [01121] of Hilkiah [02518], which was over the household [01004], and Shebna [07644] the scribe [05608], and Joah [03098] the son [01121] of Asaph [0623] the recorder [02142].
19 And Rabshakeh [07262] said [0559] unto them, Speak [0559] ye now to Hezekiah [02396], Thus saith [0559] the great [01419] king [04428], the king [04428] of Assyria [0804], What confidence [0986] is this wherein thou trustest [0982]?
20 Thou sayest [0559], (but they are but vain [08193] words [01697],) I have counsel [06098] and strength [01369] for the war [04421]. Now on whom dost thou trust [0982], that thou rebellest [04775] against me?
1 Manasseh [04519] was twelve [08147] [06240] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427], and reigned [04427] fifty [02572] and five [02568] years [08141] in Jerusalem [03389]. And his mother's [0517] name [08034] was Hephzibah [02657].
3 And the king [04428] spake [0559] unto Ashpenaz [0828] the master [07227] of his eunuchs [05631], that he should bring [0935] certain of the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and of the king's [04410] seed [02233], and of the princes [06579];
19 The living [02416], the living [02416], he shall praise [03034] thee, as I do this day [03117]: the father [01] to the children [01121] shall make known [03045] thy truth [0571].
7 And of thy sons [01121] that shall issue [03318] from thee, which thou shalt beget [03205], shall they take away [03947]; and they shall be eunuchs [05631] in the palace [01964] of the king [04428] of Babylon [0894].
3 Then came [0935] Isaiah [03470] the prophet [05030] unto king [04428] Hezekiah [02396], and said [0559] unto him, What said [0559] these men [0582]? and from whence [0370] came [0935] they unto thee? And Hezekiah [02396] said [0559], They are come [0935] from a far [07350] country [0776] unto me, even from Babylon [0894].
4 Then said [0559] he, What have they seen [07200] in thine house [01004]? And Hezekiah [02396] answered [0559], All that is in mine house [01004] have they seen [07200]: there is nothing [01697] among my treasures [0214] that I have not shewed [07200] them.
5 Then said [0559] Isaiah [03470] to Hezekiah [02396], Hear [08085] the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635]:
6 Behold, the days [03117] come [0935], that all that is in thine house [01004], and that which thy fathers [01] have laid up in store [0686] until this day [03117], shall be carried [05375] to Babylon [0894]: nothing [01697] shall be left [03498], saith [0559] the LORD [03068].
7 And of thy sons [01121] that shall issue [03318] from thee, which thou shalt beget [03205], shall they take away [03947]; and they shall be eunuchs [05631] in the palace [01964] of the king [04428] of Babylon [0894].
8 Then said [0559] Hezekiah [02396] to Isaiah [03470], Good [02896] is the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] which thou hast spoken [01696]. He said [0559] moreover, For there shall be peace [07965] and truth [0571] in my days [03117].