2 Kings 20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
20 In those days(A) Hezekiah became terminally ill.(B) The prophet Isaiah(C) son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your affairs in order,[a] for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”(D)
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall(E) and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please Lord, remember(F) how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.”[b](G) And Hezekiah wept bitterly.(H)
4 Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader(I) of My people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer;(J) I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 6 I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”(K)
7 Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.(L)
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign(M) that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple on the third day?”
9 Isaiah said, “This is the sign(N) to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?”
10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps.” 11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow[c] back the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz’s stairway.[d](O)
Hezekiah’s Folly
12 At that time(P) Merodach-baladan[e] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick. 13 Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.(Q)
14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”
Hezekiah replied, “They came from a distant country, from Babylon.”
15 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 ‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’(R) says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your descendants who come from you will be taken away,(S) and they will become eunuchs[f] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”(T)
19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,”(U) for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?
Hezekiah’s Death
20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool(V) and the tunnel and brought water into the city,(W) are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(X) 21 Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.(Y)
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 20:1 Lit Command your house
- 2 Kings 20:3 Lit what is good in Your eyes
- 2 Kings 20:11 Lit shadow on the steps
- 2 Kings 20:11 Tg, Vg; DSS read on the steps of Ahaz’s roof chamber; Is 38:8
- 2 Kings 20:12 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg, some Vg mss, Is 39:1; other Hb mss read Berodach-baladan
- 2 Kings 20:18 Or court officials
2 Kings 20
New Century Version
Hezekiah’s Illness
20 At that time Hezekiah became so sick he almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Make arrangements because you are not going to live, but die.”
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Lord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you and have done what you said was right.” Then Hezekiah cried loudly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, so I will heal you. Three days from now you will go up to the Temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria; I will protect the city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Make a paste from figs.” So they made it and put it on Hezekiah’s boil, and he got well.
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?”
9 Isaiah said, “The Lord will do what he says. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps or back ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps. Instead, let it go back ten steps.”
11 Then Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten steps back up the stairway of Ahaz that it had gone down.
Messengers from Babylon
12 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan was king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah was sick. 13 Hezekiah listened to the messengers, so he showed them what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices, expensive perfumes, his swords and shields, and all his wealth. He showed them everything in his palace and his kingdom.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”
Hezekiah said, “They came from a faraway country—from Babylon.”
15 So Isaiah asked him, “What did they see in your palace?”
Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my palace. I showed them all my wealth.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the words of the Lord: 17 ‘In the future everything in your palace and everything your ancestors have stored up until this day will be taken away to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your own children, those who will be born to you, will be taken away. And they will become servants in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
19 Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord are good.” He said this because he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
20 Everything else Hezekiah did—all his victories, his work on the pool, his work on the tunnel to bring water into the city—is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 21 Then Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.
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