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.

Hezekiah Healed

38 ^(A)In those days Hezekiah became ^[a]mortally ill. And ^(B)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(C)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ and said, “^(D)Please, Lord, just remember how I have ^(E)walked before You ^(F)wholeheartedly and in truth, and ^(G)have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah ^(H)wept ^[b]profusely.

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, ⁵ “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add ^(I)fifteen years to your ^[c]life. ⁶ And I will ^(J)save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will protect this city.”’

⁷ “And this shall be the ^(K)sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform this word that He has spoken: ⁸ Behold, I will ^(L)make the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, go back ten steps.” So the ^(M)sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.

^24 (A)In those days Hezekiah became ^[a]mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and ^[b]the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did nothing in return for the benefit ^[c]he received, ^(B)because his heart was ^[d]proud; ^(C)therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ However, ^(D)Hezekiah ^[e]humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles, ²⁸ also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and ^[f]sheepfolds for the flocks. ²⁹ He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, because ^(E)God had given him very great ^[g]wealth. ³⁰ It was Hezekiah who ^(F)stopped the upper outlet of the waters of ^(G)Gihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did. ³¹ Even in the matter of ^(H)the messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about ^(I)the wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only ^(J)to test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.

⁹ This is a writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and ^[a]recovery:

²¹ Now ^(AF)Isaiah had said, “Have them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.” ²² Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the ^(AG)sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?”

Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures

^12 (A)At that time ^[a]Berodach-baladan, a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ And Hezekiah listened to ^[b]them, and showed them ^(B)all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the ^[c]scented oil, the house of his armor, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” ¹⁵ Isaiah said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah ^[d]answered, “They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘Behold, the days are coming when ^(C)everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘And some ^(D)of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away; and they will become ^(E)officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” ¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is ^(F)good.” For he ^[e]thought, “Is it not good, if there will be peace and ^[f]security in my days?”

Hezekiah Shows His Treasures

39 ^(A)At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. ² Hezekiah ^[a]was ^(B)pleased, and let them see all his treasure house, the ^(C)silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the excellent olive oil, his entire armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his realm that Hezekiah did not let them see. ³ Then Isaiah the ^(D)prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far ^(E)country, from Babylon.” ⁴ Then he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah ^[b]answered, “They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not let them see.”

⁵ Isaiah then said to Hezekiah, “Hear the ^(F)word of the Lord of armies, ⁶ ‘Behold, the days are coming when ^(G)everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ⁷ ‘And some of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, ^(H)will be taken away, and ^(I)they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” ^8 (J)Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he ^[c]thought, “For there will be peace and truth ^(K)in my days.”