2 Kings 20:1-6

Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery

1 ¹In those days ²Hezekiah 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, ³'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, ⁴please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and ⁵with a whole heart, ⁶and have done what is good in your sight."⁷And 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 ⁸the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: ⁹I have heard your prayer; ¹⁰I 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, ¹¹and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."

2 Kings 20:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 1-11, see Isaiah 38:1-22
• 2. 2 Chronicles 32:24
• 3. [2 Samuel 17:23]
• 4. [Nehemiah 5:19; Nehemiah 13:14, 22, 31]
• 5. See 1 Kings 8:61
• 6. 2 Kings 18:3
• 7. [Psalms 39:12, 13]
• 8. 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 10:1
• 9. 2 Kings 19:20; [Psalms 65:2]
• 10. Psalms 39:12; Psalms 56:8
• 11. 2 Kings 19:34