2 Kings 20:13
in 2 Kings 20And Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
KJV
And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.
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This verse in 2 Kings 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them - The Jewish king lent a favorable ear to the proposals of the ambassadors, and exhibited to them the resources which he possessed, in order to induce them to report well of him to their master. All the house of his precious things - literally, the “spice-house;” the phrase had acquired the more generic sense of “treasure-house” from the fact that the gold, the silver, and the spices were all stored together.
This site's exposition
sent letters and a present
on 2 Kings 20:12-13
Merodach-baladan's envoys arrive with letters and a present, ostensibly congratulating a recovered king, and Hezekiah answers by showing them everything: the silver, the gold, the spices, the armor, nothing in his house or his dominion left unseen. Babylon and Assyria were rivals at this date, and the visit reads as diplomacy on Babylon's side, an approach to a king who had just embarrassed the Assyrian army; on Hezekiah's side the commentators read pride, pointing to 2 Chronicles 32:25 where his heart was lifted up at the honor God had shown him. A courtesy call from the power that will one day carry this same treasure away opens the door the rest of the chapter walks through.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And assuredly no gold or silver vessel was ever so dear to God as is the temple of a virgin's body. The shadow went before, but now the reality has come. You indeed may speak in all simplicity, and from motives of amiability you may treat with courtesy the truest strangers, but unchaste eyes see nothing aright. They fail to appreciate the beauty of the soul and value only that of the body. Hezekiah showed God's treasure to the Assyrians, who ought never to have seen what they were sure to covet.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shewed - Which he did through pride of heart, 2 Chron. xxxii, 25, 26, being lifted up by the great honour which God had done him, in working such glorious miracles for his sake, and by the great respects rendered to him from divers princes, and now by this great Babylonian monarch. So hard a matter is it even for a good man to be high and humble.
He was more open and free than he should have been, and stood not so much upon his guard. What reason had he that was in covenant with God so eagerly to catch at an alliance with a heathen prince, or to value himself at all upon his respectful notice?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
AND what of that? Was it not the most natural thing in all the world to do? Who among us would not have shown the strangers over our house, and our garden, and our library, and have pointed out to them any little treasures and curiosities which we might happen to possess? And what if Hezekiah was somewhat proud of his wealth? Was it not a most natural pride that he, who was a monarch of so small a territory, should nevertheless be able, by economy and good government, to accumulate so large and varied a treasure?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
AND what of that? Was it not the most natural thing in all the world to do? Who among us would not have shown the strangers over our house, and our garden, and our library, and have pointed out to them any little treasures and curiosities which we might happen to possess? And what if Hezekiah was somewhat proud of his wealth? Was it not a most natural pride that he, who was a monarch of so small a territory, should nevertheless be able, by economy and good government, to accumulate so large and varied a treasure? Did it not show that he was prudent and thrifty? And might he not commend himself as an example to the Babylonian ambassadors by showing what these virtues had done for him? Exactly so. This is just as man sees. But God sees after another sort: "Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart." Things are not to God as they seem to us. Actions which apparently, and upon the surface, and even so far as human judgment can go, may appear to be either indifferent or even laudable, may seem to God to be so hateful that His anger may burn against them! We look upon a needle, and to our naked eye it is as smooth as glass, but when we put it under the microscope it appears at once to be as rough as a raw bar of iron. It is much after this manner with our actions. They may seem in our own judgments, and in the judgments of our fellow creatures to be as bright and smooth as the needle for their excellence. But when they come under the inspection of the all-seeing God they are full of all manner of roughness of sin. Our lilies may be the Lord's nettles, and our gardens nothing better than a wilderness in His sight. Yet another reflection which strikes one at the very first blush of this affair, namely, that God has a different rule for judging His children's doings from that which He applies to the actions of strangers.
Hezekiah hearkened unto them - Instead of וישמע vaiyishma, he hearkened, וישמח vaiyismach, he rejoiced or was glad, is the reading of twelve of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., the parallel place, Isa 39:2, the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Arabic, some copies of the Targum, and the Babylonian Talmud. All the house of his precious things - Interpreters are not well agreed about the meaning of the original נכתה nechothoh, which we here translate precious things, and in the margin spicery or jewels. I suppose the last to be meant. There was nothing in his house - He showed them through a spirit of folly and exultation, all his treasures, and no doubt those in the house of the Lord. And it is said, 2Ch 32:31, that in this business God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart; and this trial proved that in his heart there was little else than pride and folly.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
For he heard that Chizkiyohu was ill. And until that day no person who had ever been ill, had become well. Now, how did he hear?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
”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
35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע | vaiyishma' | and he listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶם֮ | ʾaleihem | to them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חִזְקִיָּהוּ֒ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| וַיַּרְאֵ֣ם | vaiyarem | and he showed them | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| נְכֹת֡וֹ | nekhoto | treasure his | H5238 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכֶּסֶף֩ | hakesef | the silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַזָּהָ֨ב | hazahav | the gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַבְּשָׂמִ֜ים | habesamim | the spices | H1314 → | |
| וְאֵ֣ת׀ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֶׁ֣מֶן | shemen | [the] oil of | H8081 → | 193 times |
| הַטּ֗וֹב | hatov | the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כֵּלָ֔יו | kelav | weapons his | H3627 → | 325 times |
| וְאֵ֛ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִמְצָ֖א | nimtza' | it was found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בְּאֽוֹצְרֹתָ֑יו | beotzrotav | in storehouses his | H214 → | 79 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיָ֣ה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דָבָ֗ר | davar | anything | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲ֠שֶׁר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶרְאָ֧ם | heram | he showed them | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| בְּבֵית֖וֹ | beveito | in house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ׃ | memshalto | realm his | H4475 → |
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣עand he listened
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
עֲלֵיהֶם֮to them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
חִזְקִיָּהוּ֒Hezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
וַיַּרְאֵ֣םand he showed them
vaiyaremH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
נְכֹת֡וֹtreasure his
nekhotoH5238 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכֶּסֶף֩the silver
hakesefH3701 →403 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַזָּהָ֨בthe gold
hazahavH2091 →389 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַבְּשָׂמִ֜יםthe spices
habesamimH1314 →
וְאֵ֣ת׀and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שֶׁ֣מֶן[the] oil of
shemenH8081 →193 times
הַטּ֗וֹבthe good
hatovH2896 →538 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
כֵּלָ֔יוweapons his
kelavH3627 →325 times
וְאֵ֛תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִמְצָ֖אit was found
nimtza'H4672 →455 times
בְּאֽוֹצְרֹתָ֑יוin storehouses his
beotzrotavH214 →79 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָיָ֣הit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
דָבָ֗רanything
davarH1697 →1440 times
אֲ֠שֶׁרwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הֶרְאָ֧םhe showed them
heramH7200 →1300 times
חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
בְּבֵית֖וֹin house his
beveitoH1004 →2046 times
וּבְכָל־and in all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ׃realm his
memshaltoH4475 →
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
Proverbs 23:5When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:24
for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- James 5:1–2
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
- Matthew 6:19
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- 1 Timothy 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- Proverbs 27:24
Through
1 Kings 10:10Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:2
She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.
- Psalms 72:10
May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 10:2
Through
Isaiah 39:2And Hezekiah welcomed the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his entire armory—all that was found in…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:31
And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that He might…
- 2 Chronicles 32:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 704: Hezekiah And The Ambassadors, Or, Vainglory Rebuked; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 704: “Hezekiah And The Ambassadors—Or, Vainglory Rebuked” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, LETTER 22.23; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.