2 Kings 20

1 About this time Hezekiah fell very sick and was about to die. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your affairs in order, because you are going to die. You won't recover.”

In those days hath Hezekiah been sick unto death, and come unto him doth Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, and saith unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah: Give a charge to thy house, for thou art dying, and dost not live.'

2 When Hezekiah heard this, he went to pray privately to the Lord, saying

And he turneth round his face unto the wall, and prayeth unto Jehovah, saying,

3 “Please remember Lord how I have followed you faithfully with all my heart. I have done what is good in your sight.” Then Hezekiah cried and cried.

'I pray Thee, O Jehovah, remember, I pray Thee, how I have walked habitually before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and that which [is] good in Thine eyes I have done;' and Hezekiah weepeth — a great weeping.

4 Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke to him, saying,

And it cometh to pass — Isaiah hath not gone out to the middle court — that the word of Jehovah hath been unto him, saying,

5 “Go back in and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, This is what the Lord, the God of your forefather David, says: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Look! I am going to heal you. In three days time you will go to the Lord's Temple.

'Turn back, and thou hast said unto Hezekiah, leader of My people: Thus said Jehovah, God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tear, lo, I give healing to thee, on the third day thou dost go up to the house of Jehovah;

6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

and I have added to thy days fifteen years, and out of the hand of the king of Asshur I deliver thee and this city, and have covered over this city for Mine own sake, and for the sake of David My servant.'

7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a dressing from figs.” Hezekiah's servants did so and put it on the skin sores, and Hezekiah got better.

And Isaiah saith, 'Take ye a cake of figs;' and they take and lay [it] on the boil, and he reviveth.

8 Hezekiah had previously asked Isaiah, “What is the sign to confirm that the Lord is going heal me and that I will go to the Lord's Temple in three days time?”

And Hezekiah saith unto Isaiah, 'What [is] the sign that Jehovah doth give healing to me, that I have gone up on the third day to the house of Jehovah?'

9 Isaiah replied, “This is the sign from the Lord to you that the Lord will do what he promised: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps, or back ten steps?”

And Isaiah saith, 'This [is] to thee the sign from Jehovah, that Jehovah doth the thing that He hath spoken — The shadow hath gone on ten degrees, or it doth turn back ten degrees?'

10 “It's easy enough for the shadow to go forward ten steps, but not to go back ten steps,” Hezekiah answered.

And Hezekiah saith, 'It hath been light for the shadow to incline ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.'

11 So Isaiah the prophet asked the Lord, and he moved the shadow back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

And Isaiah the prophet calleth unto Jehovah, and He bringeth back the shadow by the degrees that it had gone down in the degrees of Ahaz — backward ten degrees.

12 At the same time Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah was sick.

At that time hath Berodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick;

13 Hezekiah welcomed the visitors and showed them everything in his treasury—all the silver, the gold, the spices, and the expensive oils. He also showed them his armory and all that he had in his storehouses. In fact there wasn't anything in his palace or in the whole of his kingdom that Hezekiah didn't show them.

and Hezekiah hearkeneth unto them, and sheweth them all the house of his treasury, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the good ointment, and all the house of his vessels, and all that hath been found in his treasuries; there hath not been a thing that Hezekiah hath not shewed them, in his house, and in all his dominion.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did those men come from, and what did they tell you?” “They came from a long way away, from Babylon,” Hezekiah replied.

And Isaiah the prophet cometh in unto king Hezekiah, and saith unto him, 'What said these men? and whence come they unto thee?' And Hezekiah saith, 'From a land afar off they have come — from Babylon.'

15 “What did they see in your palace?” Isaiah asked. “They saw everything in my palace,” replied Hezekiah. “There wasn't anything in all my storehouses I didn't show them.”

And he saith, 'What saw they in thy house?' and Hezekiah saith, 'All that [is] in my house they saw; there hath not been a thing that I have not shewed them among my treasures.'

16 Isaiah told Hezekiah, “Listen to what the Lord says:

And Isaiah saith unto Hezekiah, 'Hear a word of Jehovah:

17 You can be certain that the time is coming when everything in your palace, and everything that your forefathers have saved up until now, will be taken away to Babylon. There will be nothing left, says the Lord.

Lo, days are coming, and borne hath been all that [is] in thy house, and that thy father have treasured up till this day, to Babylon; there is not left a thing, said Jehovah;

18 Some of your sons, your own offspring, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

and of thy sons who go out from thee, whom thou begettest, they take away, and they have been eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'

19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The message from the Lord that you have told me is fine.” For he said to himself, “Why not, if there'll be peace and safety in my lifetime.”

And Hezekiah saith unto Isaiah, 'Good [is] the word of Jehovah that thou hast spoken;' and he saith, 'Is it not — if peace and truth are in my days?'

20 The rest of what happened in Hezekiah's reign, all he did, and how he made the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

And the rest of the matters of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and bringeth in the waters to the city, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

21 Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh succeeded him as king.

And Hezekiah lieth with his fathers, and reign doth Manasseh his son in his stead.