2 Kings 20:1-11
New American Standard Bible
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
20 (A)In those days Hezekiah became [a]mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘(B)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” 2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Please, Lord, just (C)remember (D)how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight!” And (E)Hezekiah wept [b]profusely. 4 And even before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 “Return and say to (F)Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “(G)I have heard your prayer, (H)I have seen your tears; behold, I am going to heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add fifteen years to your [c]life, and I will save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and (I)I will protect this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took it and placed it on the inflamed spot, and he recovered.
8 Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 Isaiah said, “(J)This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform the word that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” 10 So Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps.” 11 Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and (K)He brought the shadow on the [d]stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the [e]stairway of Ahaz.
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- 2 Kings 20:1 Lit sick to death
- 2 Kings 20:3 Lit great weeping
- 2 Kings 20:6 Lit days
- 2 Kings 20:11 Lit steps
- 2 Kings 20:11 Lit steps
2 Kings 20:1-11
King James Version
20 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,
3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.
6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?
9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
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2 Kings 20:1-11
Living Bible
20 Hezekiah now became deathly sick, and Isaiah the prophet went to visit him.
“Set your affairs in order and prepare to die,” Isaiah told him. “The Lord says you won’t recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall.
3 “O Lord,” he pleaded, “remember how I’ve always tried to obey you and to please you in everything I do. . . . ” Then he broke down and cried.
4 So before Isaiah had left the courtyard, the Lord spoke to him again.
5 “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, and tell him that the Lord God of his ancestor David has heard his prayer and seen his tears. I will heal him, and three days from now he will be out of bed and at the Temple! 6 I will add fifteen years to his life and save him and this city from the king of Assyria. And it will all be done for the glory of my own name and for the sake of my servant David.”
7 Isaiah then instructed Hezekiah to boil some dried figs and to make a paste of them and spread it on the boil. And he recovered!
8 Meanwhile, King Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “Do a miracle to prove to me that the Lord will heal me and that I will be able to go to the Temple again three days from now.”
9 “All right, the Lord will give you a proof,” Isaiah told him. “Do you want the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten points or backward ten points?”
10 “The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied; “make it go backward.”
11 So Isaiah asked the Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten points backward on the sundial of Ahaz![a]
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- 2 Kings 20:11 on the sundial of Ahaz, or “on the steps of Ahaz.” Egyptian sundials in this period were made in the form of miniature staircases, so that the shadow moved up and down the steps.
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