2 Kings 20:14
in 2 Kings 20Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” “They came from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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, even from Babylon.
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, even from Babylon.
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This verse in 2 Kings 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hezekiah did not answer Isaiah’s first question, “What said these men?” but only his second. Probably he knew that Isaiah would oppose reliance on an “arm of flesh.” Babylon now for the first time became revealed to the Jews as an actual power in the world, which might effect them politically. As yet even the prophets had spoken but little of the great southern city; up to this time she had been little more to them than Tyre, or Tarshish, or any other rich and powerful idolatrous city. Henceforth, all this was wholly changed.
This site's exposition
what did they say to you
on 2 Kings 20:14-15
Isaiah asks Hezekiah where the envoys came from, "what did they say to you," and what they have seen. Hezekiah names Babylon and answers the last question, saying "There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them". The record gives no answer to what the envoys said.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Why then did he not bring them to Isaiah, and show him to them who was without doubt the best treasure he had in his dominions, and who by his prayers and prophecies had been instrumental in all those wonders which these ambassadors came to enquire into?
(3.) To add fifteen years to his life. This would not bring him to be an old man; it would reach but to fifty-four or fifty-five; yet that was longer than he had lately expected to live. His lease was renewed, which he thought was expiring.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But, after the destruction of Sennacherib, presents were brought him from various quarters, out of respect to a king who, by his faith and prayer, saved his country; and besides, it is by no means improbable that from the corpses in the Assyrian camp, all the gold and silver he had paid might be recovered.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
”They came from a distant land.” This is one of the three [men] whom the Holy One, Blessed Is He, tested and found them to be a pot of muddy water: [The three are,] Kayin, Chizkiyohu and Bilam.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹא֙ | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יְשַֽׁעְיָ֣הוּ | yesha'yahu | Isaiah | H3470 → | 39 times |
| הַנָּבִ֔יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֜יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מָ֥ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אָמְר֣וּ׀ | ʾameru | did they say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֣ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָאֵ֗לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וּמֵאַ֙יִן֙ | umeayin | and from where? | H370 → | 17 times |
| יָבֹ֣אוּ | yavou | are they coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֔יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| מֵאֶ֧רֶץ | meeretz | from a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| רְחוֹקָ֛ה | rechokah | distant | H7350 → | 84 times |
| בָּ֖אוּ | bau | they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִבָּבֶֽל׃ | mibavel | from Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
וַיָּבֹא֙and he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
יְשַֽׁעְיָ֣הוּIsaiah
yesha'yahuH3470 →39 times
הַנָּבִ֔יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֜יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
מָ֥הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אָמְר֣וּ׀did they say
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֣יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
הָאֵ֗לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וּמֵאַ֙יִן֙and from where?
umeayinH370 →17 times
יָבֹ֣אוּare they coming
yavouH935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֔יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
מֵאֶ֧רֶץfrom a land
meeretzH776 →2504 times
רְחוֹקָ֛הdistant
rechokahH7350 →84 times
בָּ֖אוּthey came
bauH935 →2568 times
מִבָּבֶֽל׃from Babylon
mibavelH894 →262 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 141:5Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds…
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:5
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
- Revelation 3:19
Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
- Proverbs 27:5–6
Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
- Proverbs 25:12
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.
- Ecclesiastes 7:5
Through
Joshua 9:9“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt,
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 20:15
This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
- Joshua 9:24
The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we…
- Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
- Deuteronomy 20:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate 8th century BCE / Divided KingdomIsaiahEighth-century BCE prophet of Judah whose oracles make up the book of Isaiah; a central voice for messianic prophecy.
- PersonDivided kingdomHezekiahThe reforming king of Judah who trusted Jehovah against Sennacherib, spread the Assyrian letter before the LORD, was granted fifte…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.