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2 Kings 20:10-12
New English Translation
2 Kings 20:10-12
New English Translation
10 Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it[a] to go back ten steps.” 11 Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord[b] made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.[c]
Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah
12 At that time Merodach Baladan[d] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent messengers with letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 20:10 tn Heb “the shadow.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 2 Kings 20:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 20:11 tn Heb “made the shadow return, on the steps which [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, back ten steps.” sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
- 2 Kings 20:12 tc The MT has “Berodach-Baladan,” but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach Baladan.”
2 Kings 20:10-12
New International Version
2 Kings 20:10-12
New International Version
10 “It is a simple(A) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back(B) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
Envoys From Babylon(C)(D)
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness.
New English Translation (NET)
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