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Hezekiah’s Illness

20In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’ ²Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord: ³‘Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.’ Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ⁵‘Turn back, and say to Hezekiah prince of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; indeed, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. ⁶I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.’ ⁷Then Isaiah said, ‘Bring a lump of figs. Let them take it and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.’

8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?’ ⁹Isaiah said, ‘This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: the shadow has now advanced ten intervals; shall it retreat ten intervals?’ ¹⁰Hezekiah answered, ‘It is normal for the shadow to lengthen ten intervals; rather let the shadow retreat ten intervals.’ ¹¹The prophet Isaiah cried to the Lord; and he brought the shadow back the ten intervals, by which the sun^* had declined on the dial of Ahaz.

Hezekiah’s Illness

38In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’ ²Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord: ³‘Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ⁵‘Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.

7 ‘This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: ⁸See, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.’ So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.^*

Hezekiah’s Sickness

24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. ²⁵But Hezekiah did not respond according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Prosperity and Achievements

27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honour; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly objects; ²⁸storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds.^{* 29}He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very great possessions. ³⁰This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his works. ³¹So also in the matter of the envoys of the officials of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

9 A writing of King Hezekiah of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
¹⁰ I said: In the noontide of my days
   I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
   for the rest of my years.
¹¹ I said, I shall not see the Lord
   in the land of the living;
I shall look upon mortals no more
   among the inhabitants of the world.
¹² My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
   like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
   he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;^*
13   I cry for help^* until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
   from day to night you bring me to an end.^*

¹⁴ Like a swallow or a crane^* I clamour,
   I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upwards.
   O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security!
¹⁵ But what can I say? For he has spoken to me,
   and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has fled^*
   because of the bitterness of my soul.

¹⁶ O Lord, by these things people live,
   and in all these is the life of my spirit.^*
   O restore me to health and make me live!
¹⁷ Surely it was for my welfare
   that I had great bitterness;
but you have held back^* my life
   from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
   behind your back.
¹⁸ For Sheol cannot thank you,
   death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit cannot hope
   for your faithfulness.
¹⁹ The living, the living, they thank you,
   as I do this day;
fathers make known to children
   your faithfulness.

²⁰ The Lord will save me,
   and we will sing to stringed instruments^*
all the days of our lives,
   at the house of the Lord.

21 Now Isaiah had said, ‘Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.’ ²²Hezekiah also had said, ‘What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?’

Envoys from Babylon

12 At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³Hezekiah welcomed them;^* he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armoury, all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ¹⁴Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, ‘What did these men say? From where did they come to you?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have come from a far country, from Babylon.’ ¹⁵He said, ‘What have they seen in your house?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.’

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁹Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought, ‘Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?’

Envoys from Babylon Welcomed

39At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. ²Hezekiah welcomed them; he showed them his treasure-house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armoury, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ³Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and said to him, ‘What did these men say? From where did they come to you?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.’ ⁴He said, ‘What have they seen in your house?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.’

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: ⁶Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord. ⁷Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ⁸Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought, ‘There will be peace and security in my days.’