Isaiah 39 7

Isaiah 39:7 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.

Isaiah 39:7 nkjv

'And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' "

Isaiah 39:7 niv

And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Isaiah 39:7 esv

And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."

Isaiah 39:7 nlt

'Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon's king.'"

Isaiah 39 verses

Isaiah 39 7 Meaning

Isaiah 39:7 is a pronouncement of judgment and consequence delivered by the prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah of Judah. It specifically foretells that Hezekiah's own descendants, who will succeed him, will be taken captive to Babylon and compelled to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the Babylonian king. This signifies a profound national and dynastic humiliation, contrasting sharply with Judah's past deliverance from Assyria under Hezekiah's reign and underscoring the severe consequences of his prideful actions in displaying his treasures to Babylonian envoys.

Isaiah 39 7 Context

Isaiah 39:7 immediately follows King Hezekiah's display of all his treasures, armory, and everything in his dominion to envoys from Babylon. This visit (39:1-2) occurs shortly after Hezekiah's miraculous recovery from a deadly illness and God's extension of his life (Isa 38). God had also confirmed Hezekiah's healing with a miraculous sign (the sun dial's shadow receding). However, instead of glorifying God for these blessings, Hezekiah seems to have acted out of pride, showing off his material wealth to the Babylonians. This act is seen as a sign of seeking alliances or boasting in human might rather than relying solely on God, effectively inviting future temptation and revealing national vulnerabilities. Isaiah's prophecy directly confronts this error, turning Hezekiah's moment of pride into a chilling forecast of the future subjugation of his kingdom by the very nation he sought to impress. The larger context of Isaiah (chapters 1-39) outlines various prophecies against Judah and other nations, with strong themes of God's judgment and ultimate salvation, positioning this verse as a critical turning point concerning Judah's interaction with nascent superpower Babylon.

Isaiah 39 7 Word analysis

• And of thy sons (וּמִבָּנֶיךָ, u-mi-bāneyka):
  • וּ (u-): "And," linking to the previous verse's prophecy of taking treasures.
  • מִבָּנֶיךָ (mi-bāneyka): "From your sons," emphasizing Hezekiah's direct progeny. Not just any people, but those from his own royal lineage, making the judgment intensely personal and dynastic.
• that shall issue from thee (אֲשֶׁר יֵצְאוּ מִמִּמְךָ, asher yētz'ū mimmeḵā):
  • אֲשֶׁר יֵצְאוּ (asher yētz'ū): "Who will go out" or "who will come forth," stressing their direct biological connection and natural succession from Hezekiah.
  • מִמִּמְךָ (mimmimm'ḵā): "From you," reiterates the direct descendant relationship, ensuring no ambiguity that this prophecy targets his immediate family line.
• which thou shalt beget (אֲשֶׁר תּוֹלִיד, asher tôlîd):
  • אֲשֶׁר תּוֹלִיד (asher tôlîd): "Whom you will father" or "bear," firmly connecting the prophecy to Hezekiah's direct offspring. It emphasizes that this is not a general judgment but one against his line, highlighting the reversal of blessing for the continuity of a royal dynasty.
• shall they take away (יִקָּחוּ, yiqqāḥū):
  • יִקָּחוּ (yiqqāḥū): "They shall take" or "seize," implying a forced, non-consensual removal, akin to captivity. It's an active verb of violent appropriation.
• and they shall be eunuchs (וְהָיוּ סָרִיסִים, wĕ-hāyū sārîsîm):
  • וְהָיוּ (wĕ-hāyū): "And they shall be," indicating a transformation of status and condition.
  • סָרִיסִים (sārîsîm): "Eunuchs." In ancient Near Eastern courts, these were often castrated men who served in administrative or royal guard roles, forbidden from fathering children. This condition implies both political servitude and, crucially for a king's line, the end of their biological succession, marking ultimate shame and degradation for a royal house. It denies them the ability to fulfill the divine mandate of "be fruitful and multiply" for their lineage.
• in the palace of the king of Babylon (בְּהֵיכַל מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל, bĕ-hēyḵal meleḵ Bāvel):
  • בְּהֵיכַל (bĕ-hēyḵal): "In the palace" or "temple," here referring to the royal court, the seat of the enemy's power. It is a place of prestige for the conqueror but servitude for the conquered.
  • מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל (meleḵ Bāvel): "King of Babylon." Explicitly names the future oppressor. This is a crucial detail, shifting the focus from Assyria (Judah's primary threat at the time) to a rising new power, signaling a fundamental change in regional geopolitics. The specificity of "Babylon" grounds the prophecy historically.

Words-group analysis:

• "of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget": This three-fold emphasis unequivocally highlights the direct, royal lineage of Hezekiah. It means not just some people, but his bloodline, his direct legacy, will be specifically targeted for this humiliating fate. This intensifies the prophetic judgment, making it deeply personal to the king's heritage and dynasty.
• "shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs": This describes a two-fold judgment. First, forceful deportation ("take away"), implying a loss of homeland and freedom. Second, a reduction to impotence and servitude ("eunuchs"), signifying the loss of procreative power, social standing, and any hope of continuing the royal line in a dignified manner. It's the ultimate indignity for a ruling house that boasts of its dynasty.
• "in the palace of the king of Babylon": This specifies the destination and context of their degradation. The "palace" denotes a place of high political power and influence for the conquerors, contrasting sharply with the enslaved status of Hezekiah's descendants within it. "King of Babylon" names the oppressor, solidifying the coming historical events, particularly the eventual shift from Assyrian dominance to Babylonian power, which Isaiah prophesies.

Isaiah 39 7 Bonus section

The specific mentioning of "eunuchs" for royal descendants highlights several layers of humiliation. In Mesopotamian cultures, eunuchs could rise to positions of power and trust within a royal court due to their inability to form a rival dynasty, but this power came at the cost of personal and familial legacy. For a king's son, born to inherit, being made a eunuch fundamentally reversed their identity and destiny, stripping them of dynastic potential and reducing them to mere instruments of the foreign king. It negated their princely birthright in the most absolute way. Furthermore, the selection of royal sons for such servitude implies that the Babylonians recognized the strength and prestige of David's line and sought to appropriate and control that through their servitude, even while culturally eliminating their dynastic threat. This detail elevates the punishment from simple captivity to a carefully targeted humiliation of the Judean monarchy itself.

Isaiah 39 7 Commentary

Isaiah 39:7 stands as a stark prophecy, directly connecting Hezekiah's moment of pride—his ostentatious display of national treasures to Babylonian envoys—to the future downfall of his royal house and the kingdom of Judah. It underscores the severity of Hezekiah's actions, demonstrating that even a righteous king is not exempt from the consequences of misplaced trust and vanity. The core message is a judgment targeting the very essence of royal continuity: Hezekiah's descendants, his "sons," would not inherit and glorify his throne, but would instead be "taken away" to serve in a foreign court.

The designation "eunuchs" (סָרִיסִים) is particularly cutting. In the ancient world, it symbolized the ultimate form of emasculation and subjugation for a male. For royal descendants, whose primary role was to continue the lineage and uphold the dynastic succession, becoming eunuchs represented the utter obliteration of their hereditary function and honor. It meant not only political servitude in the heart of the enemy's kingdom, the "palace of the king of Babylon," but also the physical inability to perpetuate their own line, rendering the royal family effectively barren and impotent in a foreign land. This fate served as a direct polemic against reliance on human might and material wealth over absolute faith in the God who had so recently delivered them from Assyria.

This prophecy provides critical foresight, establishing Babylon, a relatively minor power during Hezekiah's reign, as the instrument of God's future judgment against Judah. It's a bitter pill after Hezekiah's great triumph over Sennacherib (Isaiah 36-37) and his miraculous healing. This verse serves as a powerful reminder of God's sovereignty over history and nations, and the severe repercussions of national and personal pride that fails to give glory where it is due. The prophecy finds its historical fulfillment generations later with the Babylonian exile and the service of royal descendants like Daniel and his companions in the Babylonian court, as recorded in the Book of Daniel.