Verse Lens · Concise explanation

2 Kings 20:14 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 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.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Hezekiah displays his wealth to Babylonian envoys.”

Envoys from Babylon see everything

This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 20:12–19. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

  • 2 Kings 20:12–19

Read 2 Kings 20:14 with 20:12–19. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Merodach-baladan's envoys bring letters and a gift, Hezekiah shows all his treasures, and Isaiah announces future plunder and royal descendants in Babylon; Hezekiah calls the word good.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Within “Hezekiah displays his wealth to Babylonian envoys,” 2 Kings 20:14 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: Hezekiah's recovery and sign lead into Babylonian attention, a display of wealth, and an oracle that shifts the horizon from present rescue to future loss.

Read 2 Kings 20:12–19 together

Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 20:12–19 forms one scene or regnal notice: Merodach-baladan's envoys bring letters and a gift, Hezekiah shows all his treasures, and Isaiah announces future plunder and royal descendants in Babylon; Hezekiah calls the word good.

Verse 12. At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

Verse 13. 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.

Verse 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.

Verse 15. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

Verse 16. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

Verse 17. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

Verse 18. 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.

Verse 19. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

What Remains True

Theological interpretation never makes imperial domination morally clean or turns displaced and subjected people into scenery for a ruler's story. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Merodach-baladan's envoys bring letters and a gift, Hezekiah shows all his treasures, and Isaiah announces future plunder and royal descendants in Babylon; Hezekiah calls the word good. In 2 Kings 20:14, the concrete line “Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.

Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read 2 Kings 20:12–19 — Hezekiah displays his wealth to Babylonian envoys
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? strong

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: 2 Kings 20:12–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 20:12–19

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 659–660, translation and translator notes for 20:12–19

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