At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been ill and had recovered.
Look at the land of the Chaldeans – a people who no longer exist. Assyria destined it for desert creatures. They set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They made it a ruin.
When the ambassadors of Babylon’s rulers were sent to him to enquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.
Many were bringing an offering to the Lord to Jerusalem and valuable gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after that.
Then David said, ‘I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.’ So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Toi and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Joram had items of silver, gold, and bronze with him.
However, because his heart was proud, Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem.