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20 ¶ In those days Hezekiah became sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live.

Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the LORD, saying,

I beseech thee, O LORD, remember how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept with great weeping.

And before Isaiah had gone out into the middle of the court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

Turn again and tell Hezekiah, prince of my people, Thus saith 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 thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

And I will add unto thy days fifteen years, and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my slave David’s sake.

And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

And Hezekiah had said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go back ten degrees?

10 And Hezekiah answered, It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees, but not for the shadow to return backward ten degrees.

11 Then Isaiah, the prophet, cried unto the LORD, and he caused the shadow to return by the degrees by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.

12 ¶ At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and presents unto Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious ointment and all the house of his weapons and all that was found in his treasury; there was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah, the prophet, came unto King Hezekiah and said unto him, What did these men say, and where did they come from unto thee? And Hezekiah replied, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

15 And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house they have seen; there is nothing among my treasury that I have not showed them.

16 Then Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

17 Behold, the days come that all that is in thy house and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day shall be carried into Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, they shall take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

19 Then Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, The word of the LORD which thou hast spoken is good. And he said, For shall there not be peace and truth in my days?

20 The rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made a pool and a conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh, his son reigned in his stead.

Hezekiah’s Illness(A)

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember,(B) Lord, how I have walked(C) before you faithfully(D) and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard(E) your prayer and seen your tears;(F) I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend(G) this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,(H) and he recovered.

Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign(I) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

10 “It is a simple(J) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back(K) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Envoys From Babylon(L)(M)

12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”

15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(N) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants,(O) your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”(P)

19 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

20 As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool(Q) and the tunnel(R) by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.