2 Kings 20

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

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

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

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