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 Shows Babylon His Treasures

^12 (L)At that time ^[f]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 ^[g]them, and showed them ^(M)all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the ^[h]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 ^[i]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 ^(N)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 ^(O)of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away; and they will become ^(P)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 ^(Q)good.” For he ^[j]thought, “Is it not good, if there will be peace and ^[k]security in my days?”

^20 (R)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he ^(S)constructed the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^21 (T)So Hezekiah ^[l]lay down with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Pay Attention

2 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to ^[a]what we have heard, so that ^(A)we do not drift away from it. ² For if the word ^(B)spoken through ^(C)angels proved ^[b]unalterable, and ^(D)every violation and act of disobedience received a just ^[c](E)punishment, ^3 (F)how will we escape if we neglect so great a ^(G)salvation? ^[d]After it was at first ^(H)spoken through the Lord, it was ^(I)confirmed to us by those who heard, ⁴ God also testifying with them, both by ^(J)signs and wonders, and by ^(K)various ^[e]miracles and by ^[f](L)gifts of the Holy Spirit ^(M)according to His own will.

Earth Subject to Man

⁵ For He did not subject to angels ^[g](N)the world to come, about which we are speaking. ⁶ But someone has testified ^(O)somewhere, saying,

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now ^(S)we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

Jesus Briefly Humbled

⁹ But we do see Him who was ^(T)made ^[j]for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, ^(U)because of His suffering death ^(V)crowned with glory and honor, so that ^(W)by the grace of God He might ^(X)taste death ^(Y)for everyone.

¹⁰ For ^(Z)it was fitting for Him, ^(AA)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to ^(AB)perfect the ^[k](AC)originator of their salvation through sufferings. ¹¹ For both He who ^(AD)sanctifies and those who ^(AE)are ^[l]sanctified are all ^(AF)from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them ^(AG)brothers and sisters, ¹² saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Therefore, since the children share in ^[m](AK)flesh and blood, ^(AL)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that ^(AM)through death He might destroy ^(AN)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and free those who through ^(AO)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. ¹⁶ For clearly He does not ^[n]give help to angels, but He gives help to the ^[o]descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He ^[p]had ^(AP)to be made like His brothers so that He might ^(AQ)become a merciful and faithful ^(AR)high priest in ^(AS)things pertaining to God, to ^(AT)make ^[q]propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For since He Himself was ^[r](AU)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are ^[s]tempted.