Hezekiah’s Illness

38:1–8pp—2Ki 20:1–11; 2Ch 32:24–26

38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amozk went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order,l because you are going to die; you will not recover.”m

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walkedn before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotiono and have done what is good in your eyes.p” And Hezekiah weptq bitterly.

4 Then the wordr of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David,s says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears;t I will add fifteen yearsu to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defendv this city.

7 “ ‘This is the Lord’s signw to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.x