Isaiah 39:5-6

Isaiah informed the king that the Babylonians would end up taking everything that Hezekiah had shown the ambassadors back to Babylon-not as resources for opposition to Assyria but as the spoils of war. This is the first explicit reference to the Babylonian captivity in Isaiah. Many critics of the Bible who do not believe in predictive prophecy have used this reference as evidence of a much later date of writing than Isaiah’s day. The ambassadors had come "from Babylon" (Isaiah 39:3), and they would carry everything off "to Babylon" (Isaiah 39:6). Hezekiah had shown them "all" (Isaiah 39:4), and they would take "all" (Isaiah 39:6, twice) to Babylon. This happened finally in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kings 24:13; 2 Kings 25:13-15; 2 Chronicles 36:18; Jeremiah 20:5). Isaiah’s mention of Babylon as the enemy undoubtedly shocked Hezekiah because at this time Assyria was the great threat to Judah. Furthermore, Isaiah had previously predicted the demise of Babylon (ch. 14).

". . . Isaiah’s message to Hezekiah is the same as it was to Ahaz, whose trust was in Assyria. ’That which we trust in place of God will one day turn and destroy us.’" [Note: Oswalt, p. 696.]

This one sin of Hezekiah’s did not doom Judah to Babylonian captivity. However, it illustrates the pride that the whole nation and its leaders manifested that ultimately resulted in the captivity.