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 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 Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed,

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

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

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

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

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

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]

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

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