Isaiah 38:2

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

Isaiah 38:2 in Other Translations

KJV
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
ESV
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
NLT
2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
MSG
2 Hezekiah turned away from Isaiah and, facing the wall, prayed to God:
CSB
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.

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 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, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah:
5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.
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