Isaiah 39:7
in Isaiah 39And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
KJV
And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
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This verse in Isaiah 39
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And of that sons - Thy posterity (see the note at Mat 1:1). That shall issue from thee - Of the royal family. The captivity at Babylon occurred more than a hundred years after this, and of course those who were carried there were somewhat remote descendants of Hezekiah. And they shall be eunuchs - The word used here (סריסים sâriysiym) denotes properly and strictly eunuchs, or such persons as were accustomed to attend on the harems of Oriental monarchs Est 2:3, Est 2:14-
This site's exposition
eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon
The oracle names Hezekiah's own line as the exiles: some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs. From here the book carries Babylon's shadow as the chapters before carried Assyria's. The sentence was fulfilled in the exile of Judah's royal line.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
When the ambassadors of the Babylonian king came to Hezekiah, his heart in a fresh access of human weakness was lifted up with pride, and he received them with all gladness, for his own glory; and contrary to the will of God, he led them …
(Verses 5-7) And Isaiah said to Hezekiah: Listen to the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the day will come, and everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have laid up until this day, will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And of your sons who shall come forth out of you, whom you shall beget, they will take away, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
Be quiet, you who exalt yourself. Do not think you are better than you are! For if your wealth has caused your heart to be proud, it still is not more abundant than that of Hezekiah. He went in and boasted of his wealth before the Babylonians, yet it was all carried away to Babylon. And, if you glory in your children, they shall be led away from you to the beast, as the children of King Hezekiah were led away, and became eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.
Therefore, Isaiah delivers the judgment of God's word: 'Listen to the word of the Lord of Hosts: A time will come when all these things that are in your house, acquired not by your own labor but by the labor of your fathers, will be transferred to Babylon, and from your descendants they will become eunuchs in the royal palace.' From where the Hebrews want Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were of royal descent, to become eunuchs, it is beyond doubt that they served in the ministry of King Nebuchadnezzar. So Hezekiah said: It is a good word of the Lord that he has spoken. In this, he is criticized by the Hebrews for not imitating the goodness of Moses, who said to the Lord: Either forgive them this crime, or if you do not, then erase me from your book which you have written (Exodus 32:32). And so the Apostle Paul wishes to be accursed from Christ for his brethren who are Israelites (Rom. IX); and therefore, Hezekiah was not approved by God in His words who spoke in the following: 'Console, console my people,' says your God, so that by whom He had not prayed, they may be consoled by the mercy of the Lord.
The Medieval Church1 voice
As to the servitude of his children: and of your children, which they say was fulfilled in Daniel and his companions, not because they were such in body, but in mind and office: your sons and your daughters will be given to another people (Deut …
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
sons . . . from thee--The sons which Hezekiah (as JOSEPHUS tells us) wished to have (see on Isa 28:3, on "wept sore") will be among the foremost in suffering. eunuchs--fulfilled (Da 1:2, 3, 7).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
nothing shall remain You shall be paid in kind, corresponding to “There was nothing (v. 4).” (I.e., Hezekiah would be punished for showing off all his treasures, by having all those treasures carried off to Babylonia.)
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
“The word of the Lord..is good” since there will be peace in my days.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִבָּנֶ֜יךָ | umibaneikha | and some of own descendants your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵצְא֧וּ | yetzeu | they will come forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמְּךָ֛ | mimekha | from you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תּוֹלִ֖יד | tolid | you will father | H3205 → | 496 times |
| יִקָּ֑חוּ | yikachu | people will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| וְהָיוּ֙ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| סָרִיסִ֔ים | sarisim | eunuchs | H5631 → | 42 times |
| בְּהֵיכַ֖ל | beheikhal | in [the] palace of | H1964 → | 80 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶֽל׃ | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
וּמִבָּנֶ֜יךָand some of own descendants your
umibaneikhaH1121 →4930 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵצְא֧וּthey will come forth
yetzeuH3318 →1067 times
מִמְּךָ֛from you
mimekhaH4480 →1188 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תּוֹלִ֖ידyou will father
tolidH3205 →496 times
יִקָּ֑חוּpeople will take
yikachuH3947 →966 times
וְהָיוּ֙and they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
סָרִיסִ֔יםeunuchs
sarisimH5631 →42 times
בְּהֵיכַ֖לin [the] palace of
beheikhalH1964 →80 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶֽל׃Babylon
bavelH894 →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
Jeremiah 39:7Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 12:13
But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and…
- Ezekiel 12:13
Through
2 Chronicles 36:10In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 37:1
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.
- 2 Chronicles 36:7
Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some of the articles from the house of the LORD, and he put them in his temple in Babylon.
- Jeremiah 37:1
Through
2 Kings 24:12Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 52:28
These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
- Jeremiah 24:1
After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to…
- 2 Chronicles 36:10
In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and…
- Jeremiah 29:1–2
This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried…
- 2 Kings 25:27
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from…
- Jeremiah 52:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATION 5:7; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 8; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.