Isaiah 39:3

Isaiah 39:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?” “From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?" Hezekiah said, "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.”

Context of Isaiah 39:3

1At that time, Baladan's son, Merodach-Baladan, was the king of Babylon. Merodach-Baladan sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He had heard the news that Hezekiah had been ill, but he was now better. 2Hezekiah was happy to meet the officers who came from the king of Babylon. Hezekiah showed them the places where he stored his valuable things. He showed them all his silver and gold things, his spices and very valuable olive oil. He also showed them all his weapons. Hezekiah showed them all his valuable things. There was nothing in his palace or in his whole kingdom that he did not show to the king of Babylon's officers. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. Isaiah asked the king, ‘What did those men say? Where did they come from?’ Hezekiah replied, ‘They came to me from Babylon, far away.’ 4Isaiah asked, ‘What did they see in your palace?’ Hezekiah said, ‘They saw everything that is in my palace. I showed all my valuable things to them.’ 5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord Almighty:

Isaiah 39:3 word by word

וַיָּבֹא֙ יְשַׁעְיָ֣הוּ הַנָּבִ֔יא אֶל־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלָ֜יו מָ֥ה אָמְר֣וּ׀ הָאֲנָשִׁ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה וּמֵאַ֙יִן֙ יָבֹ֣אוּ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ מֵאֶ֧רֶץ רְחוֹקָ֛ה בָּ֥אוּ אֵלַ֖י מִבָּבֶֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• Isaiahיְשַׁעְיָ֫הוּyesha‛yâh yesha‛yâhû · IsaiahH3470
• the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• unto kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• Hezekiahחִזְקִיָּהוּchizqîyâh chizqîyâhû yechizqîyâh yechizqîyâhû · HezekiahH2396
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• these menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• and from whenceאַ֫יִן'ayin · where?H370
• from a farרָחֹקrâchôq râchôq · distantH7350
• countryאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• from Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894

Cross-references for Isaiah 39:3

• Isaiah 38:1At that time, Hezekiah became very ill. He nearly died. Then Amoz's son, Isaiah the prophet, went to Hezekiah. He said to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You will soon die. You will not get better. So you must tell your family what to do after your death.” ’
• 2 Samuel 12:1The Lord sent Nathan to go and speak to David. Nathan told this story to David, ‘There were two men who lived in the same town. One man was rich and the other man was poor.
• 2 Kings 20:14Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. Isaiah asked the king, ‘What did those men say? Where did they come from?’ Hezekiah replied, ‘They came from Babylon, far away.’
• 2 Chronicles 16:7At that time, the prophet Hanani went to visit Asa, king of Judah. He said to him, ‘You asked the king of Syria to help you. You should have trusted the Lord your God to help you instead. Because of that, the army of Syria's king has escaped from your power.
• 2 Chronicles 19:2The prophet Jehu, Hanani's son, went to meet him. He said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘You agreed to help a wicked man. You became the friend of someone who hates the Lord. You should not have done that. You have caused the Lord to be very angry with you.
• 2 Chronicles 25:15So the Lord became angry with Amaziah. He sent a prophet to him with a message. The prophet said to Amaziah, ‘You should not worship these foreign gods! They could not even save their own people from your power!’
• Jeremiah 22:1The Lord said to me, ‘Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. You must say to him,
• Deuteronomy 28:49The Lord will bring a nation from far away in the world to attack you. You will not understand their language. They will come quickly to attack you, like an eagle that comes down from the sky.
• Joshua 9:6They arrived at the tents of the Israelites in Gilgal. They said to Joshua and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a land that is very far away. Please let us make an agreement that we will not fight each other.’
• Jeremiah 5:15The Lord says this: ‘Listen to me, you people of Israel. I will bring an army to attack you. They will come from a nation that is far away. It is a strong nation that started long ago. You do not know their language. You cannot understand what they say.

Commentaries on Isaiah 39:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Then came Isaiah - Isaiah was accustomed to declare the will of God most freely to monarchs (see Isaiah 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-8Hezekiah was an example of godliness, prayer, and care for the people of Jerusalem. However, he disappointed the Lord by showing off his wealth and military power to the envoys from Babylon.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. 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 (Is 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."Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 39:3

• Minister, Christian
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• Hezekiah
• Isaiah
• Babylon, Babylonia, Babylonian
• Chronicles, Books of
• Hezekiah (2)

Commentaries on Isaiah 39

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings