Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery

20 ^(A)In those days ^(B)Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^(C)‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’”

Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery

38 ^(A)In those days Hezekiah became ^(B)sick and was at the point of death. And ^(C)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”^{[a] 2} Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how ^(D)I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add ^(E)fifteen years to your life.^{[b] 6 (F)}I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

⁷ “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: ^8 (G)Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.^[c]

⁹ A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

^21 (AC)Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” ²² Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

²⁷ Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Hezekiah's Pride and Achievements

^24 (A)In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah ^(B)did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for ^(C)his heart was proud. Therefore ^(D)wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ But Hezekiah ^(E)humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ^5 (A)And the people of Nineveh believed God. ^(B)They called for a fast and ^(C)put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

⁶ The word reached^[a] the king of Nineveh, and ^(D)he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ^(E)and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ^(F)“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ^(G)beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, ⁸ but let man and ^(H)beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ^(I)Let everyone turn from his evil way and from ^(J)the violence that is in his hands. ^9 (K)Who knows? God may turn and relent ^(L)and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

¹⁰ When God saw what they did, ^(M)how they turned from their evil way, ^(N)God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

⁷ If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will ^(A)pluck up and break down and destroy it, ⁸ and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, ^(B)turns from its evil, ^(C)I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. ⁹ And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will ^(D)build and plant it, ¹⁰ and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib's Fall

²⁰ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria ^(A)I have heard.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to ^(A)his own city. He ^(B)set his house in order and ^(C)hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

³⁰ for he nearly died^{[a] (A)}for the work of Christ, risking his life ^(B)to complete what was lacking in your service to me.