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| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
II Kings 20-21
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Hezekiah, you don't have to die after all (II Kings 20:1-11)
(Click here to see the summary on Isaiah's version of this story in Isaiah 38:1-21)
II King 20 |
Isaiah 38 |
| 1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ” 2 ¶ Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 ¶ And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ” 7 ¶ Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 ¶ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD the third day?” 9 ¶ Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?” 10 ¶ And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.” 11 ¶ So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. |
1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ” 2 ¶ Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ’ 7 And this is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. 9 ¶ This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10 I said, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” 11 I said, “I shall not see YAH, The LORD in the land of the living; I shall observe man no more among the inhabitants of the world. 12 My life span is gone, Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me. 13 I have considered until morning— Like a lion, So He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O LORD, I am oppressed; Undertake for me! 15 “What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it. I shall walk carefully all my years In the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live. 17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18 For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. 19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children. 20 “The LORD was ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life, in the house of the LORD.” 21 ¶ Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” 22 ¶ And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?” |
Hezekiah's sick - real sick - almost dead! We see in verse 7 that Hezekiah had some sort of a boil. The Hebrew word translated "boil" there is used 13 times in the Old Testament ("boil" 11 times and "botch" 2 times in KJV). The skin disease of boils was one of the ten plagues brought by the Lord on Egypt (Exodus 9:9–11, see notes). The Lord threatened boils if Israel chose not to obey him (Deuteronomy 28:27, 35; see notes). We see these boils associated with leprosy in Leviticus 13 (see notes), and Job 2:7 (see notes) tells us that Job was covered with boils inflicted upon him by Satan.
Isaiah tells Hezekiah that he's not gonna make it, but Hezekiah prays - prays hard. Notice how Hezekiah lays out his credentials before God in verse 3 as the basis for feeling a little short changed on life expectancy. He had, in fact, been an exemplary King of Judah (see notes on II Chronicles 29-30), but he's dying at 39 years of age. As a result, God gives him 15 more years added to his life and promises him safety from Assyria - well worth the effort, I'd say.
After Isaiah prescribes a lump of figs for the boil, Hezekiah wants a sign that God will keep his promise. How about a miracle with the sun? After a little negotiation with God regarding which way he wanted the sun to abnormally move, backward or forward, Hezekiah decides he'd like to go look at his Dad's (Ahaz) sun dial and see the sun's shadow move back 10 degrees (some specific unit of measurement) on the dial. Since we don't have the details of the construction of this sun dial, we don't know exactly how it was marked. Therefore, it is impossible to tell exactly how much of the day's sunlight was repeated on this occasion. Here's what we do know; God gave a sign of his promise to Hezekiah on the sun dial that was definitive.
Hezekiah tells everything he knows to the Babylonians (II Kings 20:12-21)
(Click here to see the summary on Isaiah's version of this story in Isaiah 39)
II Kings 20 |
Isaiah 39 |
| 12 ¶ At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 ¶ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” ¶ So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 ¶ And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” ¶ So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 16 ¶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17 “Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 18 “And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” 19 ¶ So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?” 20 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21 So Hezekiah rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place. |
1 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 ¶ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” ¶ So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 ¶ And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” ¶ So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5 ¶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 “Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 7 “And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” 8 ¶ So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.” |
Hezekiah was a trusting guy. When the Babylonians send envoys with we're-glad-you're-well gifts, Hezekiah is just as pleased as can be over how well known he is back in Babylon. He shows them his whole operation - all his gold, silver - everything of value in Jerusalem. When Isaiah discovers that Hezekiah had shown the chicken farm to the foxes (so to speak), he breaks the news to Hezekiah, "You shouldn't have told them all that; they will one day come and take all your riches along with your people and your own descendants." Hezekiah isn't phased though - says it's a good prophecy; "Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?" he concludes. That seems a little short sighted to me. He was a great King of Judah though, and verse 20 points out one of his major municipal-improvement projects - running water to Jerusalem.
Evil Manasseh: where did his Daddy go wrong? (II Kings 21:1-18)
Manasseh's life is also detailed in II Chronicles 33 (see notes).
II King 21 |
II Chronicles 33 |
| 1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8 and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 ¶ And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), 12 therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, 15 because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ ” 16 ¶ Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. 17 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh—all that he did, and the sin that he committed—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 18 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. |
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” 9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. 11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God. 14 ¶ After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. 16 He also repaired the altar of the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. 17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the LORD their God. 18 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. 19 Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai. 20 So Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. |
How could such a righteous king like Hezekiah have such a rotten son? He was really, really rotten - rebuilt all the pagan altars once again including altars to Baal and the Phoenician gods too. He even erected these pagan altars right there in the temple. Wait, there's more; he burned to death his own son on the pagan altars he erected. Manasseh was into fortune tellers, wizards and mediums. He started reigning when he was 12 and reigned for 55 years - all bad all the time. How bad was he? Verse 9 says, "Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel." That's pretty bad! Then come the prophets to prophesy against him. God is going to turn Jerusalem upside down and deliver them into the hands of their enemies - all because Manasseh led Jerusalem into such wickedness. He dies...finally!
Ezra, in writing to the exiles, adds an addendum to the life of Manasseh. He got second a chance in life, but failed to make the most out of it. Click here to the summary on Manasseh from II Chronicles 33:10-20. It is most interesting that Manasseh's repentance is not reported by the author of II Kings. Perhaps it is because the evil Manasseh had done prior to his capture by the Assyrians made it impossible for significant changes to take effect in Judah after his release.
A Summary of King #14 from 695 to 642 over Judah: Manasseh |
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| References | The Good | The Bad |
II Kings 21:1-18 |
In the last years of his life, he turned to God. This took place after his capture and release by the Assyrians. II Chronicles 33 |
II Kings 21 II Chronicles 33 |
Evil King Amon - like father, like son (II Kings 21:19-26)
II King 21 |
II Chronicles 33 |
| 19 ¶ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. 21 So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. 22 He forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 23 ¶ Then the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. 24 But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. 25 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place. |
21 ¶ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. 24 ¶ Then his servants conspired against him, and killed him in his own house. 25 But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. |
He was Manasseh's son and only reigned two years - rotten too! His servants killed him. Then the people killed the servants and put his 8-year-old son, Josiah, on the throne as King of Judah. Have you noticed that while Israel's kings came from a half dozen or more different family lines before the Northern Kingdom fell, Judah's kings all came from the same family - from the line of David? That's one principle of prophecy the people of Judah adhered to faithfully...maintaining the line of David.
A Summary of King #15 from 642 to 640 over Judah: Amon |
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| References | The Good | The Bad |
I Kings 21:19-26 |
Not specified - he was evil | II Kings 21 II Chronicles 33 |