2 Kings 20
New King James Version
Hezekiah’s Life Extended(A)
20 In (B)those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ”
2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 (C)“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah (D)the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: (E)“I have heard your prayer, I have seen (F)your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and (G)I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ”
7 Then (H)Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, (I)“What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?”
9 Then Isaiah said, (J)“This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”
10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten [a]degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”
11 So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and (K)He brought the shadow ten [b]degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.
The Babylonian Envoys(L)
12 (M)At that time [c]Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And (N)Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and [d]all [e]his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”
So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”
15 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”
So Hezekiah answered, (O)“They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures 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 all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, (P)shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘And (Q)they shall take away some of your sons who will [f]descend from you, whom you will beget; (R)and they shall be (S)eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”
19 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, (T)“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?”
Death of Hezekiah(U)
20 (V)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he (W)made a (X)pool and a [g]tunnel and (Y)brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21 So (Z)Hezekiah [h]rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 20:10 Lit. steps
- 2 Kings 20:11 Lit. steps
- 2 Kings 20:12 Merodach-Baladan, Is. 39:1
- 2 Kings 20:13 So with many Heb. mss., Syr., Tg.; MT omits all
- 2 Kings 20:13 Lit. the house of his armor
- 2 Kings 20:18 be born from
- 2 Kings 20:20 aqueduct
- 2 Kings 20:21 Died and joined his ancestors
2 Kings 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 1 Hezekiah is sick, and receiveth the sign of his health, 12 He receiveth rewards of Berodach, 13 Showeth his treasures, and is reprehended of Isaiah. 21 He dieth, and Manasseh his son reigneth in his stead.
1 About that time (A)was Hezekiah sick unto death: and the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Put thine house in an order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then he turned his face to the [a]wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,
3 I beseech thee, O lord, remember now, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a [b]perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight: and Hezekiah [c]wept sore.
4 ¶ And afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle of the court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, I have heard thy [d]prayer, and seen thy tears: behold, I have healed thee, and the third day thou shalt go up to the [e]house of the Lord,
6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years, and will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city for mine own sake, and for David my servant’s sake.
7 Then Isaiah said, Take a [f]lump of dry figs. And they took it, and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 ¶ For Hezekiah had 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 answered, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do that he hath spoken, Wilt thou that the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to pass forward ten degrees: not so then, but let the shadow [g]go back ten degrees.
11 And Isaiah the Prophet called unto the Lord, and he brought again the shadow ten degrees back by the degrees whereby it had gone down in the [h]dial of Ahaz.
12 (B)The same season Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a [i]present to Hezekiah: for he had heard how that Hezekiah was sick.
13 And Hezekiah heard them, and showed them all his treasure house, to wit, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, and in all his [j]realm, that Hezekiah showed them not.
14 Then Isaiah the Prophet came unto King Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they to thee? And Hezekiah said, They be come from a far country, even from Babylon.
15 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures, that I have not showed them.
16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord.
17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and whatsoever thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, (C)shall be carried into Babylon: Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.
18 And of thy sons, that shall proceed out of thee, and which thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
19 Then Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, The word of the Lord, which thou hast [k]spoken, is good: for said he, Shall it not be good if [l]peace and truth be in my days?
20 Concerning the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his valiant deeds, and how he made a pool and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 20:2 That his mind might not be troubled.
- 2 Kings 20:3 Meaning, without all hypocrisy.
- 2 Kings 20:3 Not so much for his own death, as for fear that idolatry should be restored, which he had destroyed, and so God’s Name be dishonored.
- 2 Kings 20:5 Because of his unfained repentance and prayer, God turned away his wrath.
- 2 Kings 20:5 To give thanks for thy deliverance.
- 2 Kings 20:7 He declareth that albeit God can heal without other medicines, yet he showeth that he will not have these inferior means contemned.
- 2 Kings 20:10 Let the sun go so many degrees back, that the hours may be so many the fewer in the king’s dial.
- 2 Kings 20:11 Which dial was set the top of the stairs that Ahaz had made.
- 2 Kings 20:12 Moved with the favor that God showed to Hezekiah, and also because he had declared himself enemy to Sennacherib his enemy which was now destroyed.
- 2 Kings 20:13 Being moved with ambition and vain glory, and also because he seemed to rejoice in the friendship of him that was God’s enemy and an infidel.
- 2 Kings 20:19 He acknowledgeth Isaiah to be the true Prophet of God, and therefore humbleth himself to his word.
- 2 Kings 20:19 Seeing that God hath showeth me this favor to grant me quietness during my life: for he was afraid lest the enemies should have had occasion to rejoice, if the Church had decayed in his time, because he had restored religion.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Global Bible Initiative
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
