The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Around this time, Hizkiyahu became ill to the point of death. Yesha'yahu the prophet, the son of Amotz, came and said to him, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not live.'"
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In those days Hezekiah was ill and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, The Lord says, Put your house in order, for your death is near.
2 Hizkiyahu turned his face toward the wall and prayed to ADONAI:
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Then, turning his face to the wall, he made his prayer to the Lord, saying,
3 "I plead with you, ADONAI, remember now how I have lived before you truly and wholeheartedly, and how I have done what you see as good." And he cried bitter tears.
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O Lord, keep in mind how I have been true to you with all my heart, and have done what is good in your eyes. And Hezekiah gave way to bitter weeping.
4 Before Yesha'yahu had left the city's middle courtyard, the word of ADONAI came to him:
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Now before Isaiah had gone out of the middle of the town, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
5 "Go back, and tell Hizkiyahu the prince of my people, that this is what ADONAI, the God of David your ancestor, says: 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, and I will heal you. On the third day, you are to go up to the house of ADONAI.
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Go back and say to Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, The Lord, the God of David your father, says, Your prayer has come to my ears, and I have seen your weeping; see, I will make you well: on the third day you will go up to the house of the Lord.
6 I will add fifteen years to your life. Also I will rescue you and this city from the power of the king of Ashur; I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.'"
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I will give you fifteen more years of life; and I will keep you and this town safe from the hands of the king of Assyria; I will keep this town safe, for my honour, and for the honour of my servant David.
7 Then Yesha'yahu said, "Prepare a fig-plaster." They brought it and laid it on the inflammation, so that he would recover.
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Then Isaiah said, Take a cake of figs. So they took it and put it on his wound, and he got better.
8 Hizkiyahu said to Yesha'yahu, "What sign will there be that ADONAI will heal me and that I will be able to go up to the house of ADONAI on the third day?"
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And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What is to be the sign that the Lord will make me well, and that I will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?
9 Yesha'yahu said, "Here is the sign for you from ADONAI that ADONAI will do what he said: do you want the shadow [of the sundial] to go forward ten intervals or backward ten intervals?
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And Isaiah said, This is the sign the Lord will give you, that he will do what he has said; will the shade go forward ten degrees or back?
10 Hizkiyahu answered, "It's easy for the shadow to go down ten intervals. No, let the shadow return backward ten intervals."
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And Hezekiah said in answer, It is a simple thing for the shade to go forward; but let it go back ten degrees.
11 Yesha'yahu called out to ADONAI, and he brought the shadow on the sundial of Achaz ten intervals backward after it had gone down that far.
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Then Isaiah the prophet made prayer to the Lord, and he made the shade go back ten degrees from its position on the steps of Ahaz.
12 B'rodakh-Bal'adan the son of Bal'adan, king of Bavel, heard that Hizkiyahu had been ill, so he sent a letter and a gift to him.
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At that time, Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters with an offering to Hezekiah, because he had news that Hezekiah had been ill.
13 Hizkiyahu listened to [the messengers] and showed them the building where he kept his treasures, including the silver, gold, spices and precious oils; also the building where he kept his armor; and everything in his treasury - there was nothing in his palace or in his entire domain that Hizkiyahu did not show them.
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And Hezekiah was glad at their coming and let them see all his store of wealth, the silver and the gold and the spices and the oil of great price, and the house of his arms, and everything there was in his stores; there was nothing in all his house or his kingdom which Hezekiah did not let them see.
14 Then Yesha'yahu the prophet came to King Hizkiyahu and asked him, "What did these men say? Where did they come from?" Hizkiyahu answered, "They came from a distant country, Bavel."
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Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say and where did they come from? And Hezekiah said, They came from a far country, even from Babylon.
15 Yesha'yahu asked, "What have they seen in your palace?" "They have seen everything in my palace," said Hizkiyahu. "There isn't a thing among my treasures that I haven't shown them."
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And he said, What have they seen in your house? And Hezekiah said in answer, They saw everything in my house: there is nothing among my stores which I did not let them see.
16 Yesha'yahu said to Hizkiyahu, "Hear what ADONAI says:
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And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Give ear to the word of the Lord.
17 'The day will come when everything in your palace, along with everything your ancestors stored up until today, will be carried off to Bavel. Nothing will be left,' says ADONAI.
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Truly, days are coming when everything in your house, and whatever your fathers have put in store till this day, will be taken away to Babylon: all will be gone, says the Lord.
18 'They will carry off some of your descendants, your own offspring; and they will be made eunuchs serving in the palace of the king of Bavel.'"
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And your sons, the offspring of your body, they will take away to be unsexed servants in the house of the king of Babylon.
19 Hizkiyahu said to Yesha'yahu, "The word of ADONAI which you have just told me is good." He thought, "Isn't it, though, if peace and truth continue at least through my lifetime?"
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Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which you have said. Then he said, ... if in my time there is peace and righteousness?
20 Other activities of Hizkiyahu, his power and how he built the pool and aqueduct to bring water into the city are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y'hudah.
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Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his power, and how he made the pool and the stream, to take water into the town, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?
21 Then Hizkiyahu slept with his ancestors, and M'nasheh his son took his place as king.
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And Hezekiah went to rest with his fathers; and Manasseh his son became king in his place.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.