¹²At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness. ¹³And 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. ¹⁴Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” ¹⁵“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked. ¹⁶Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: ¹⁷The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. ¹⁸And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁹But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”