2 Raja-raja 20:12-18

Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

20:12 At that time Merodach-Baladan ¹  son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 20:13 Hezekiah welcomed ²  them and showed them his whole storehouse, with its silver, gold, spices, and high quality olive oil, as well as his armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ³  20:14 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 20:15 Isaiah ⁴  asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything ⁵  in my treasuries.” 20:16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord, 20:17 ‘Look, a time is ⁶  coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 20:18 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father ⁷  will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

2 Raja-raja 24:10-16

24:10 At that time the generals ⁸  of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city. ⁹  24:11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 24:12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered ¹⁰  to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, ¹¹  took Jehoiachin ¹²  prisoner. 24:13 Nebuchadnezzar ¹³  took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 24:14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 24:15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. ¹⁴  24:16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors. ¹⁵ 

[20:12]  ¹ tc The MT has “Berodach-Baladan,” but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach-Baladan.”

[20:13]  ² tc Heb “listened to.” Some Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:2 and read, “was happy with.”

[20:13]  ³ tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”

[20:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “there was nothing I did not show them.”

[20:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “days are.”

[20:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”

[24:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “servants.”

[24:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “went up [to] Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”

[24:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “came out.”

[24:12]  ¹¹ sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597 b.c.

[24:12]  ¹² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”

[24:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the entire [group], mighty men, doers of war.”