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2 Kings Chapter
Twenty
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 20
In
this chapter is an account of Hezekiah's sickness, and of the means of his
recovery, and of the sign given of it, 2 Kings 20:1 of the
king of Babylon's congratulatory letter to him upon it, when he showed to the
messengers that brought it his treasures, in the pride and vanity of his heart,
2 Kings 20:12 for
which he was reproved by the prophet Isaiah, and was humbled, and submitted to
the sentence pronounced on his house, 2 Kings 20:14, and
the chapter is concluded with his reign and death, 2 Kings 20:20.
2 Kings 20:1 In
those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of
Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your
house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’”
YLT
1In 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.'
Verses 1-3
In these days was Hezekiah sick unto death,.... Of this
sickness of Hezekiah, the message of the prophet Isaiah to him, and his prayer
upon it; see Gill on Isaiah 38:1; see
Gill on Isaiah 38:2; see
Gill on Isaiah 38:3.
2 Kings 20:2 2 Then he turned his face
toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying,
YLT
2And he turneth round his
face unto the wall, and prayeth unto Jehovah, saying,
2 Kings 20:3 3 “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I
have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what
was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
YLT
3`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.
2 Kings 20:4 4 And it happened, before
Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him,
saying,
YLT
4And it cometh to pass --
Isaiah hath not gone out to the middle court -- that the word of Jehovah hath
been unto him, saying,
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle
court,.... Of the king's palace, which is called the other court within
the porch, 1 Kings 7:8 so it
is according to the marginal reading, which we follow; but the textual reading
is, "the middle city"; Jerusalem was divided into three parts, and
this was the middle part Isaiah was entering into: but before he did, so it
was:
that the word of
the Lord came to him, saying; as follows.
2 Kings 20:5 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah
the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your
father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal
you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.
YLT
5`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;
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people,.... The king
of them, as the Targum:
thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, I have heard thy
prayer, I have seen thy tears; See Gill on Isaiah 38:5.
behold, I will heal thee; instantly, miraculously;
and none but God could heal him, his disease being in its kind mortal, and he
had been told from the Lord that he should die:
on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord: the temple,
to give thanks for his recovery; and this he should do on the third day from
thence; so soon should he be well, which would show the cure to be miraculous.
2 Kings 20:6 6 And I will add to your
days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king
of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My
servant David.”’”
YLT
6and 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.'
And I will add unto thy days fifteen years,.... See Gill
on Isaiah 38:5.
and I will deliver thee, and this city, out of the hand of the
king of Assyria; by which it appears that this sickness and recovery were before
the destruction of the Assyrian army:
and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant
David's sake: for the sake of his honour and glory in the temple, and the
service of it, that were in Jerusalem, and for the sake of his promise to David
and his seed.
2 Kings 20:7 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a
lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
YLT
7And Isaiah saith, `Take ye
a cake of figs;' and they take and lay [it] on the boil, and he reviveth.
And Isaiah said, take a lump of figs,.... Not moist
figs, but a cake of dried figs, as the word used signifies, and so the less
likely to have any effect in curing the boil:
and they took, and laid it on the boil, and he recovered; made a
plaster of it, and laid it on the ulcer, and it was healed. Physicians observeF21Scheuchzer.
Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 620. Vid. Levin. Lemnii Herb. Bibl. Explicat. c. 19.
p. 60. , that as such like inflammations consist in a painful extension of the
fibres by the hinderance of the circulation of the blood, through the extreme
little arteries, which may be mitigated, or dissipated, or ripened, by such
things as are emollient and loosening, so consequently by figs; and, in a time
of pestilence, figs beaten together with butter and treacle have been applied
to plague of boils with great success; yet these figs being only a cake of dry
figs, and, the boil not only malignant, but deadly, and the cure so suddenly
performed, show that this was done not in a natural, but in a supernatural way,
though means were directed to be made use of.
2 Kings 20:8 8 And Hezekiah said to
Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I
shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?”
YLT
8And 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?'
And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah,.... Or "had
said",F23ויאמר "dixerat
autem", V. L. Vatablus. before the plaster of figs was directed to, or,
however, laid on, and as soon as he was told he should be healed:
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? not that he
disbelieved the promise of God, or doubted of a cure, but this he requested for
the confirmation of his faith; which good men sometimes asked, when they
doubted not, as Gideon; and Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, was bid to ask a sign for
the like purpose, and it was resented in him that he did not, see Judges 6:17.
2 Kings 20:9 9 Then Isaiah said, “This is
the sign to you from the Lord,
that the Lord
will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten
degrees or go backward ten degrees?”
YLT
9And 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?'
And Isaiah said, this sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the
Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken,.... Cure him of his
disorder, so that he should be able to go to the temple on the third day:
shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? that is, the
shadow of the sun on a dial plate; it was left to his option to choose which he
would, as the confirming sign of his recovery.
2 Kings 20:10 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It
is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow
go backward ten degrees.”
YLT
10And Hezekiah saith, `It
hath been light for the shadow to incline ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow
turn backward ten degrees.'
And Hezekiah answered, it is a light thing for the shadow to go
down ten degrees,.... That is, it was comparatively so, otherwise to go down ten
degrees at once would be extraordinary and miraculous; but that was more
agreeable to the nature and course of it to go forward, and so the miracle
would be less apparent:
nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees; which was
directly contrary to its natural order and course, whereby the miracle would
appear more clear and manifest: these degrees are by some saidF24Weemse's
Christ. Synagog. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 6. p. 167. See his Exposition of the
Judicial Laws, c. 25. p. 90. &c. to be half hours, and not full ones, since
it is observed the sun shines not twenty full hours on any dial, unless under
the pole; the sun is supposed to have been now at the fifth full hour; the sun
was brought back five whole hours, then came forward five, then came forward
two degrees, or one hour, to the sixth hour; which made sixteen; then it was
six hours to sunset; so that day was prolonged twenty two hours: the ChineseF25Martin.
Sinic. Hist. l. 4. p. 138. relate, that, in the time of Kingcungus, the planet
Mars, for sake of the king, went back three degrees.
2 Kings 20:11 11 So Isaiah the prophet
cried out to the Lord,
and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on
the sundial of Ahaz.
YLT
11And 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.
And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord,.... Or
prayed, as the Targum; and was very earnest in prayer, that what Hezekiah had
desired might be granted:
and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had
gone down in the dial of Ahaz; Ben Gersom understands it not of the sun
itself, but of the shadow of it only; See Gill on Isaiah 38:8.
2 Kings 20:12 12 At that time
Berodach-Baladan[a] the son of
Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard
that Hezekiah had been sick.
YLT
12At 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;
Verses 12-19
At that time Berodachbaladan,.... He is called
Merodachbaladan, Isaiah 39:1, so
here in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; See Gill on Isaiah 39:1; and by
MetasthenesF26Ut supra. (De Judicio Temp. fol. 221. 2.) his father
is called Merodach, and he Ben Merodach, who reigned twenty one years, and his
father fifty two; from hence to the end of 2 Kings 20:12 the
same account is given in the same words as in Isaiah 39:1
throughout, except in 2 Kings 20:13,
where it is, "hearkened unto them", and there, "glad of
them"; heard the letter the ambassadors brought with pleasure; see the
notes there. See Gill on Isaiah 39:1 and
following.
2 Kings 20:13 13 And Hezekiah was attentive
to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold,
the spices and precious ointment, and all[b] his
armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house
or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
YLT
13and 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.
2 Kings 20:14 14 Then Isaiah the prophet
went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where
did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from
Babylon.”
YLT
14And 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.'
2 Kings 20:15 15 And he said, “What have
they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is
in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
YLT
15And 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.'
2 Kings 20:16 16 Then Isaiah said to
Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord:
YLT
16And Isaiah saith unto
Hezekiah, `Hear a word of Jehovah:
2 Kings 20:17 17 ‘Behold, the days are
coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have
accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be
left,’ says the Lord.
YLT
17Lo, 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;
2 Kings 20:18 18 ‘And they shall take away
some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
YLT
18and 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.'
2 Kings 20:19 19 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
“The word of the Lord
which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace
and truth at least in my days?”
YLT
19And 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?'
2 Kings 20:20 20 Now the rest of the acts
of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought
water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Judah?
YLT
20And 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?
And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might,.... Which he
exerted in his wars with his enemies, and in the reformation of religion, and
abolition of idolatry:
and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the
city; at the same time that he cut it off from the enemy without, see 2 Chronicles 32:3,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? a book often referred to in this history, but since lost; many
of his acts are recorded in the canonical book of Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 29:1.
2 Kings 20:21 21 So Hezekiah rested with
his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
YLT
21And Hezekiah lieth with his
fathers, and reign doth Manasseh his son in his stead.
And Hezekiah slept with his fathers,.... Died, as they did;
no mention is here made of the place of his burial, but there is in 2 Chronicles 32:33
where he is said to be buried in the principal part of the sepulchres of the
sons of David, and to have honour done him at his death by the inhabitants of
Judah and Jerusalem, by the vast concourse of people attending his interment,
and by burning spices for him, and making a public mourning on his account a
certain stated time:
and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead; of whose wicked
reign an account is given in the next chapter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)