2 Kings 20

1 About that time, Hezekiah became very ill. [He thought that he] was about to die. Isaiah the prophet came to him and said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You should tell the people in your palace what you want them to do after you die, because you are not going to recover from this illness. You are going to die.’”

In those days was Ezekias sick [even] to death. And the prophet Esaias the son of Amos came in to him, and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Give charge to your household; [for] you shall die, and not live.

2 Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed,

And Ezekias turned to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,

3 “Yahweh, do not forget that I have always served you faithfully, and I have done things that pleased you.” Then Hezekiah started to cry loudly.

Lord, remember, I pray you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your eyes. And Ezekias wept with a great weeping.

4 Isaiah left the king, but before he had crossed the middle courtyard of the palace, Yahweh gave him a message

And Esaias was in the middle court, and the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

5 which said, “Go back to Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, and say to him, ‘I, Yahweh, the God whom your ancestor King David [worshiped], have heard what you prayed. And I have seen your tears. So, listen: I will heal you. Two days from now you will [be able to] go up to my temple.

Turn back, and you shall say to Ezekias the ruler of my people, Thus says the Lord God of your father David, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you: on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.

6 I will enable you to live for 15 more years. And I will rescue you and this city again from the power [MTY] of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised King David, who served me [well].’”

And I will add to your days fifteen years; and I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant's David sake.

7 So Isaiah [returned to the palace and told Hezekiah what Yahweh had said. Then he] [to Hezekiah’s servants], “Bring a paste made of boiled figs. Put some of it on his boil, and he will get well.”

And he said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it upon the ulcer, and he shall be well.

8 Then Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “What will Yahweh do to prove that he will heal me and that two days from now I will be able to go up to the temple?”

And Ezekias said to Esaias, What [is] the sign that the Lord will heal me, and I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?

9 Isaiah replied, “Yahweh will do something that will prove to you that he will do what he promised. Do you want him to cause the shadow on the stairway/sundial to go back ten steps/degrees, or to go forward ten steps/degrees?”

And Esaias said, This [is] the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will perform the word which he has spoken, the shadow [of the dial] shall advance ten degrees: [or] if it should go back ten degrees [this would also be the sign].

10 Hezekiah replied, “It is easy to cause the shadow to move forward, [because that is what it always does]. Tell him to cause it to move backward ten steps/degrees.”

And Ezekias said, [It is] a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return ten degrees backward on the dial.

11 So Isaiah prayed earnestly to Yahweh, and Yahweh caused the shadow to go backward ten steps/degrees on the stairway/sundial that King Ahaz had made (OR, that workers had built for King Ahaz).

And Esaias the prophet cried to the Lord: and the shadow returned back ten degrees on the dial.

12 At that time, King Merodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan the [previous] King of Babylonia, heard a report that King Hezekiah had been very sick. So he wrote some letters and gave them to some messengers to take to Hezekiah, along with a gift.

At that time Marodach Baladan, son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Ezekias, because he had heard that Ezekias was sick.

13 [When the messengers arrived], Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. Then he showed them everything that was in his (treasure houses/places where very valuable things were stored)—the silver and gold, the spices, the nice-smelling olive oil, and all the weapons [for his soldiers]. He showed them all the [valuable] things in his storerooms and everywhere else in his kingdom [HYP]; he showed them everything.

And Ezekias rejoiced at them, and showed all the house of his spices, the silver and the gold, the spices, and the fine oil, and the armory, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing which Ezekias did not show them in his house, and in all his dominion.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah went to Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” Hezekiah replied, “They came from a country very far from here. They came from Babylonia.”

And Esaias the prophet went in to king Ezekias, and said to him, What said these men? and whence came they to you? And Ezekias said, they came to me from a distant land, [even] from Babylon.

15 Isaiah asked, “What did they see in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They saw everything. I showed them absolutely everything that I own—all my valuable things.”

And he said, What saw they in your house? And he said, They saw all things that [are] in my house: there was nothing in my house which I showed not to them; yes, all that was in my treasures also.

16 [Isaiah knew that Hezekiah had done a very foolish thing]. So Isaiah said to him, “Listen to what Yahweh says to you.

And Esaias said to Ezekias, Hear the word of the Lord:

17 There will be a time when everything that is still in your palace, all the valuable things that were put there by you and your ancestors, will be carried away to Babylon. There will be nothing left here! [That is what] Yahweh says [to you]

Behold, the days come, that all things that are in your house shall be taken, and all that your fathers have treasured up until this day, to Babylon; and there shall not fail a word, which the Lord has spoken.

18 Furthermore, some of your own descendants will be forced to go there, and they will be castrated in order that they may become servants in the palace of the King of Babylon.”

And as for your sons which shall come forth of you, which you shall beget, [the enemy] shall take them, and they shall be eunuchs in the house of the king of Babylon.

19 Then Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “That message from Yahweh that you have given to me is good.” He said that because he was thinking, “Even if that happens, there will be peace and security [in Israel] all the rest of my life.”

And Ezekias said to Esaias, Good [is] the word of the Lord which he has spoken: [only] let there be peace in my days.

20 [If you want to know more about] [RHQ] all the other things that Hezekiah did, about his brave deeds in battle, about his ordering a reservoir to be built in the city and a tunnel [to be dug] to bring water into the reservoir, they are all written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

And the rest of the acts of Ezekias, and all his might, and all that he made, the fountain and the aqueduct, and [how] he brought water into the city, [are] not these things written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?

21 Later Hezekiah died [EUP], and his son Manasseh became the king.

And Ezekias slept with his fathers: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead.