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2 Kings 20
New Catholic Bible
2 Kings 20
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 20
Hezekiah’s Illness. 1 In those days Hezekiah fell ill, and his death was approaching. Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him and said, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you are to die, you will not survive.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed, saying, 3 “Please remember, O Lord, how I walked before you in fidelity and with a perfect heart. I have done what was good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 The word of the Lord came to Isaiah before he left the middle courtyard, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: I have heard, I have seen your tears. I will heal you today, and the day after tomorrow you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hands of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own sake and that of David, my servant.”
7 Isaiah said, “Prepare a fig poultice.” They took it and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and on the day after tomorrow I will go up into the temple of the Lord?” 9 Isaiah answered, “This is the sign that you will receive from the Lord that the Lord is going to do what he said: shall the shade climb up ten stairs, or go down ten stairs?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It is too easy for the shade to go down ten stairs. No, let the shade go back up ten stairs.”
11 Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and he brought the shade back up the ten stairs that it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
12 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 13 Hezekiah listened to them and showed them his entire treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious ointments as well as the armory in the treasury. There was nothing in his palace or his dominion that Hezekiah failed to show them.
14 Isaiah the prophet came to Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?” Hezekiah answered, “They came from a distant land, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace; they did not miss any of my treasures.”
16 Isaiah the prophet said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors collected up to the present, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, nothing, says the Lord. 18 Some of your sons who come forth from you, whom you begot, will be taken away. They will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my days?”
20 Now the rest of the deeds of Hezekiah, his achievements, and how he built a pool and a conduit[a] that brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
21 Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh, his son, reigned in his stead.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 20:20 Conduit: the tunnel from the pool or cistern of Siloam; it was explored in 1880. It was a justly famous piece of work, since it had to be bored through rock.
2 Kings 20
New International Version
2 Kings 20
New International Version
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.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “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.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “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. 6 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.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,(H) and he recovered.
8 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?”
9 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.
New International Version (NIV) 
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