2 Kings 20

1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”

In those days Hezekiah fell sick unto death; and there came to him Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet, and said unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Give thy charge to thy house; for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

Then did he turn his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,

3 “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now that I have walked before thee in truth, and with an undivided heart, and have done what is good in thy eyes. And Hezekiah wept aloud.

4 Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.

Return, and say to Hezekiah the ruler of my people, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I will heal thee: on the third day shalt thou go up unto the house of the Lord.

6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And 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.’”

And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and out of the hand of the king of Assyria will I deliver thee and this city; and I will shield this city for my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.

7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” So they brought it and applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah recovered.

And Isaiah said, Fetch a lump of figs. And they fetched and laid it on the inflammation, and he recovered.

8 Now Hezekiah had asked 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?”

And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What sign shall there be that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?

9 And Isaiah had replied, “This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: Would you like the shadow to go forward ten steps, or back ten steps?”

And Isaiah said, This shall be unto thee the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: Shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

10 “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”

And Hezekiah said, It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten degrees: no; but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.

And Isaiah the prophet called unto the Lord; and he caused the shadow to return, by the degrees which the [sun] was gone down on the dial of Achaz, backward, ten degrees.

12 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness.

And at that time sent Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13 And Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

And Hezekiah listened unto them, and showed them the whole of his treasure-house, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the whole of his armor-house, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing that Hezekiah showed them not, in his house and in all his dominion.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” “They came from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”

Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What did these men say? and whence did they come unto thee? And Hezekiah said, From a far off country are they come, from Babylon.

15 “What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked. “They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

And he said, What did they see in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen: there was nothing that I did not show them in my treasures.

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD:

And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord,

17 The time will surely 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, says the LORD.

Behold, days are coming, when all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.

18 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

And of thy sons that will issue from thee, whom thou wilt beget, shall they take; and they shall be court-servants in the palace of the king of Babylon.

19 But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”

Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not so, if there be peace and stability in my days?

20 As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his mighty deeds, and how he made the pool, and the aqueduct, and brought the water into the city, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.

21 And Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Menasseh his son became king in his stead.