Bible Strands
2 Kings 20:12
At 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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Following Hezekiah’s recovery and the miraculous reversal of the sundial’s shadow, the Babylonian king Merodach-baladan dispatches envoys with letters and a gift to Hezekiah after hearing of the king’s illness.
The words — The Hebrew verb שָׁלַח (sha.Lach) records the physical act of sending, while בֶּן (ben) functions strictly as a genealogical marker translating literally to “son of” in the ruler’s title.
The thread — This same diplomatic mission appears in Isaiah 39:1 and 2 Chronicles 32:31, with the Babylonian kingdom’s origin noted in Genesis 10:10.
Why it lands — The passage documents a political overture triggered by reported news, requiring the reader to observe how external diplomacy enters the narrative without prescribing a moral or theological judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 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 know all that was in Hezekiah’s heart.
- Isaiah 39:1 At 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 and recovery.
- Genesis 10:10 His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Genesis 11:9 That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
- 2 Samuel 8:10 he sent his son Joram to greet King David and bless him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer, who had been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze,
- 2 Samuel 10:2 And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console Hanun concerning his father. But when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
- Isaiah 13:1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
- Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 14:4 you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended!