Isaiah 38:2

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh,

Isaiah 38:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 38:2

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall
Not figuratively to the wall of his heart, as Jerom; but literally, either to the wall of his bedchamber where he lay sick, that his tears might not be seen, and his prayers interrupted, and that he might deliver them with more privacy, freedom, and fervency; or else to the wall of the temple, as the Targum, towards which good men used to look when they prayed, ( 1 Kings 8:38 ) ( Daniel 6:10 ) , which was a type of Christ, to whom we should have respect in all our petitions, as being the only Mediator between God and man: and prayed unto the Lord; as follows:

Isaiah 38:2 In-Context

1 In those days, Hezekiah became sick to death, and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Order your house, for you [are] about to die, and you shall not recover.'"

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh,

3 and he said, "O Yahweh, please remember how I have walked before your {presence} in faithfulness with a whole heart, and I have done the good in your eyes!" And Hezekiah wept [with] great weeping.

4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying,

5 "Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your ancestor: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. {Look, I am going to} add fifteen years to your days.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "And"