1At the same time Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah was sick and had recovered. 2Hezekiah happily welcomed the visitors and showed them what he had in his treasury—all the silver, the gold, the spices, and the expensive oils. He also showed them his whole armory and all that he had in his storehouses. In fact there wasn't anything in his palace or in the whole of his kingdom that Hezekiah didn't show them.

3Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did those men come from, and what did they tell you?”

“They came to see me from a long way away, from Babylon,” Hezekiah replied.

4“What did they see in your palace?” Isaiah asked.

“They saw everything in my palace,” replied Hezekiah. “There wasn't anything in all my storehouses I didn't show them.”

5Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Listen to what the Lord says: 6You can be certain that the time is coming when everything in your palace, and everything that your forefathers have saved up until now, will be taken away to Babylon. There will be nothing left, says the Lord. 7Some of your sons, your own offspring, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

8Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The message from the Lord that you have told me is fine.” For he said to himself, “There'll definitely be peace and safety in my lifetime.”