2 Kings 20

In those days Hezekiah was sick and dying. Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “The LORD says, ‘Set your house in order; for you will die, and not live.’”

Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying,

“Remember now, LORD, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Before Isaiah had gone out into the middle part of the city, the LORD’s word came to him, saying,

“Turn back, and tell Hezekiah the prince of my people, ‘The LORD, the God of David your father, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day, you will go up to the LORD’s house.

I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”’”

Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” They took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I will go up to the LORD’s house the third day?”

Isaiah said, “This will be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has spoken: should the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?”

Hezekiah answered, “It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten steps. No, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.”

Isaiah the prophet cried to the LORD; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.

At that time Berodach Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all the storehouse of his precious things—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, or in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn’t show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.”

He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”

Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the LORD’s word.

‘Behold, the days come that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store to this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the LORD.

‘They will take away some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will father; and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The LORD’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “Isn’t it so, if peace and truth will be in my days?”

Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter records the pivotal events of King Hezekiah’s illness, miraculous healing, and the subsequent pride that undermines his faithfulness, culminating in a prophetic announcement of future exile to Babylon. It portrays both divine mercy in response to prayer and the persistent danger of human pride, setting the stage for Judah’s coming judgment.

Flow.

Hezekiah receives a death sentence from the Lord through Isaiah but is granted fifteen additional years after weeping and praying for mercy.
A miraculous sign—the shadow moving backward on the sundial of Ahaz—confirms God’s promise to heal him.
Despite this grace, Hezekiah proudly displays his wealth to Babylonian envoys, prompting Isaiah’s oracle of future plunder and exile.
Hezekiah accepts the impending judgment with complacency, relieved only that it will not occur in his lifetime.

Connections.
Following chapter 19, where God delivers Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat through miraculous intervention, chapter 20 continues the focus on Hezekiah’s interaction with divine salvation and sovereignty. But where chapter 19 emphasizes trust and deliverance, chapter 20 reveals the fragility of human faithfulness in the face of blessing. The Babylonian envoys’ arrival introduces a new geopolitical threat that will replace Assyria, which chapter 24 and 25 will tragically fulfill in the exile. The theological tension between God’s faithfulness and Judah’s failure, introduced here, runs through the book’s conclusion.

What it teaches.
God is merciful to the repentant and hears the prayers of those who call on him (WCF 17.3; HC LD 11), raising up Hezekiah as an example of one preserved by grace. Yet this chapter also warns that even after great deliverance, the heart remains prone to pride and self-reliance (WCF 6.1; Canons of Dort 3/4.9). The prophecy of Babylonian exile underscores that national judgment may be delayed but not indefinitely postponed when covenant unfaithfulness persists (WCF 19.5; BC Art. 37). God’s commitment to David’s line remains, as seen in the preservation of Jerusalem for David’s sake (; WCF 7.3), though future judgment will come.

Apply.
Deliverance from crisis does not secure the heart against pride, but only continual reliance on God’s grace preserves us from spiritual complacency.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.