2 Kings 20

Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery

1 x In those days y Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, z 'Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.'" 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 "Now, O Lord, a please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and b with a whole heart, c and have done what is good in your sight." d And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 "Turn back, and say to Hezekiah e the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: f I have heard your prayer; g 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 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, h and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake." 7 And Isaiah said, "Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover."

8 And 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?" 9 And Isaiah said, "This shall be i the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?" 10 And Hezekiah answered, "It is an easy thing for the shadow j to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps." 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, k and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys

12 l At that time m Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, n sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them o all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon." 15 He said, "What have they seen in your house?" And 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: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when p all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 q And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, r and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." 19 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, s "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?"

20 t The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made u the pool and the conduit v and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 w And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

  1. Cross References
    2 Kings 20:1 - 11
    In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the 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.'
    Isaiah 38:1 - 22
    In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the 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.
  2. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:24
    In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign.
  3. Cross References
    2 Samuel 17:23
    When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.
  4. Cross References
    Nehemiah 5:19
    Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
    Nehemiah 13:14
    Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
    Nehemiah 13:22
    Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
    Nehemiah 13:31
    And I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
  5. Cross References
    1 Kings 8:61
    Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.
  6. Cross References
    2 Kings 18:3
    And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 39:12 - 13
    Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
  8. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:16
    "Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me."
    1 Samuel 10:1
    Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
  9. Cross References
    2 Kings 19:20
    Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
    Psalms 65:2
    O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 39:12
    Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
    Psalms 56:8
    You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
  11. Cross References
    2 Kings 19:34
    For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.
  12. Cross References
    2 Kings 19:29
    And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 102:11
    My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
  14. Cross References
    Joshua 10:12 - 13
    At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.
  15. Cross References
    2 Kings 20:12 - 19
    At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
    Isaiah 39:1 - 8
    At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 39:1
    At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.
  17. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:31
    And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes 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.
  18. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:27
    And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels.
  19. Cross References
    2 Kings 24:13
    And carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold.
    Jeremiah 20:5
    Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon.
    2 Kings 25:13
    And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.
    Jeremiah 27:19 - 22
    For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city.
  20. Cross References
    2 Kings 24:12
    And Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
    2 Chronicles 33:11
    Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon.
  21. Cross References
    Daniel 1:3
    Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility.
  22. Cross References
    1 Samuel 3:18
    So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.
    2 Chronicles 32:25 - 26
    But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem.
  23. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:32
    Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
  24. Cross References
    2 Kings 18:17
    And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer's Field.
    Nehemiah 2:14
    Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.
    Nehemiah 3:16
    After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.
  25. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:30
    This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
    Isaiah 22:9
    And you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool.
    Isaiah 22:11
    You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
  26. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:33
    And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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