Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.”
Parallel Translations
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Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.”
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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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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.'
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 20:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 28:49 Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Joshua 9:6 They went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. Now therefore make a covenant with us.”
- Joshua 9:9 They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of Yahweh your God; for we have heard of his fame, all that he did in Egypt,
- 2 Samuel 12:7-15 Nathan said to David, “You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’ “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ ” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.” Nathan departed to his house. Yahweh struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it was very sick.
- 2 Kings 5:25-26 But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you come from, Gehazi?” He said, “Your servant went nowhere.” He said to him, “Didn’t my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and male servants and female servants?
- 2 Chronicles 16:7-10 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on Yahweh your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of your hand. Weren’t the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge army, with chariots and exceedingly many horsemen? Yet, because you relied on Yahweh, he delivered them into your hand. For Yahweh’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. You have done foolishly in this; for from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.
- 2 Chronicles 25:7-9 A man of God came to him, saying, “O king, don’t let the army of Israel go with you, for Yahweh is not with Israel, with all the children of Ephraim. But if you will go, take action, and be strong for the battle. God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to overthrow.” Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “Yahweh is able to give you much more than this.”
- 2 Chronicles 25:15-16 Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?” As he talked with him, the king said to him, “Have we made you one of the king’s counselors? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” Then the prophet stopped, and said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not listened to my counsel.”
- Psalms 141:5 Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds.
- Proverbs 25:12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.
- Isaiah 13:5 They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
- Isaiah 39:3-8 Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and asked him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come from a country far from me, even from Babylon.” Then he asked, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh of Armies: ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up until today, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says Yahweh. ‘They will take away your sons who will issue from you, whom you shall father, and they will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.’ ” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”
- Jeremiah 26:18-19 “Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “ ‘Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? We would commit great evil against our own souls that way!”
- Amos 7:12-13 Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!”
- Mark 6:18-19 For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him, but she couldn’t,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 20:14 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king…
2Ki 20:14 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.
Ver. 14. What said these men? &c.] Very wisely doth the prophet fetch about the business, that he may prick the bladder, and let out the pride, that now lay festering in Hezekiah’s heart.
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Even from Babylon.] Which is said to be six hundred and eighty miles from Jerusalem.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They are come from a far country; a vain-glorious…
They are come from a far country; a vain-glorious expression, intimating the great honour which he had from all parts, both far and near.
Even from Babylon, that great and potent monarchy; which he speaks to magnify his own honour and happiness.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 20:14-15. Hezekiah said, They are come from a…
2Ki 20:14-15. Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country — A vain-glorious expression, intimating the great honour which he had from all parts, far and near. Even from Babylon — That potent monarchy; which he mentions to magnify his own honour and happiness. What have they seen in thy house? — He asks, not because he was ignorant of it, but in order that, from Hezekiah’s answer, he might take occasion of delivering God’s message to him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Hezekiah did not answer Isaiah’s first question, “What said…
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. The prophetic utterance of Isaiah on this occasion 2Ki 20:16-18 never was, never could be, forgotten. He followed it up with a burst of prophecy Isa. 40–66, in which Babylon usurps altogether the place of Assyria as Israel’s enemy, and the captivity being assumed as a matter of certainty, the hopes of the people are directed onward beyond it to the Return. Other prophets took up the strain and repeated it Hab 1:6-11; Hab 2:5-8; Mic 4:10. Babylon thus became henceforth, in lieu of Assyria, the great object of the nation’s fear and hatred.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. From a far country — This thought seems…
14. From a far country — This thought seems to have flattered his vanity and pride. He must needs be great who receives ambassadors from such a far country as Babylon.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. What said these men?] Hezekiah does not answer…
14. What said these men?] Hezekiah does not answer this question. To tell of the proposals which had been made to him by the Babylonians, and of the remarks which had been called forth in praise of all that he had shewn them, would have provoked some reproach from God’s prophet, who was probably averse to any alliance with foreign and idolatrous powers, knowing that in Jehovah there was present help so long as His people trusted in Him only.
even from Babylon] Except as one of the places whence colonists were brought to occupy Samaria (2Ki_17:24), Babylon has not before come into Jewish history. Soon it begins to figure largely, especially in the writings of the prophets, and at last becomes the victor of Jerusalem, and the scene of the long captivity of the two tribes.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) What said these men?—“Isaiah, with that fearless assumption…
(14) What said these men?—“Isaiah, with that fearless assumption of a superior position which we have noticed in Isaiah 7, at once challenges the king to explain his conduct. Jehovah’s will is opposed to all coquetting with foreign powers. (Comp. Isa_30:1.)” [Cheyne.]
From a far country.—So the Assyrian kings describe Palestine as “a far off land,” using the same adjective (rûqu).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah; and…
Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah; and said unto him. When a prophet came, unsummoned, into king"s presence, it was usually to rebuke him. (comp. 2Sa_12:1 2Sa_24:11-13; 1Ki_13:1, 2 18:15-18 21:18-22; 2Ki_1:15, 2Ki_1:16; 2Ch_12:5 2Ch_16:7 2Ch_20:37 2Ch_25:7, 2Ch_25:15, etc.) What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? Isaiah does not ask because he does not know, but to obtain a confession, on which he may base the message that he has to deliver. And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. Note first, that Hezekiah does not give any answer to the prophet"s first question, "What said these men?" being unwilling probably to make known the overtures that he had received from them, since he knows that Isaiah is opposed to any reliance on an "arm of flesh:" and secondly, that he answers the second question, not with shame, but with complacency, "They are come to me from a very far country, whither my fame has reached even from Babylon are they come, "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees" excellency"." (Isa_13:19) Self-satisfaction shows itself in the answer. He thinks it redounds to his honor that he has been sought out from so great a distance, and by so great a city.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 these men
these men
This refers to the men sent to King Hezekiah with a message and gifts from Marduk-Baladan.
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They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among my valuable things that I have not shown them
Hezekiah repeats the same idea in two ways to emphasize his point. (See: Hyperbole and Generalization and Parallelism)
There is nothing among my valuable things that I have not shown them
"Nothing" and "not" cancel each other out to make the idea positive. This exaggeration is used for emphasis. AT: "I showed them absolutely every one of my valuable things" (See: Double Negatives)
translationWords
Isaiah
prophet
king
Hezekiah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.