God’s Word Translation
2 Kings 20:9
9Isaiah said, “This is your sign from the Lord that he will do what he promises. Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps or come back ten steps?”
2 Kings 20:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
- New International Version (NIV)Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Isaiah said, "This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)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?”
Context of 2 Kings 20:9
7Then Isaiah said, “Get a fig cake, and put it on the boil so that the king will get well.” 8Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I’ll go to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?” Isaiah said, “This is your sign from the Lord that he will do what he promises. Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps or come back ten steps?” 10Hezekiah replied, “It’s easy for the shadow to extend ten ⌞more⌟ steps forward. No, let it come back ten steps.” 11Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow that had gone down on Ahaz’s stairway go back up ten steps.
Read all of 2 Kings 202 Kings 20:9 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְשַׁעְיָ֗הוּ זֶה־לְּךָ֤ הָאוֹת֙ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֚י יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה אֶת־הַדָּבָ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֵּ֑ר הָלַ֤ךְ הַצֵּל֙ עֶ֣שֶׂר מַֽעֲל֔וֹת אִם־יָשׁ֖וּב עֶ֥שֶׂר מַעֲלֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Isaiahיְשַׁעְיָ֫הוּyesha‛yâh yesha‛yâhû · IsaiahH3470
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- This signאוֹת'ôth · sign: miraculousH226
- shalt thou have of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- will doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- the thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
- that he hath spokenדָבַרdâbar · to speak: promiseH1696
- shall the shadowצֵלtsêl · shadowH6738
- go forwardהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- tenעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
- degreesמַעֲלָהma‛ălâh · stepH4609
- or go backשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
Cross-references for 2 Kings 20:9
- Isaiah 38:7⌞Isaiah said,⌟ “This is your sign from the Lord that he will do what he promises.
- Matthew 16:1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. So they asked him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven.
- Mark 8:11The Pharisees went to Jesus and began to argue with him. They tested him by demanding that he perform a miraculous sign from heaven.
- Luke 11:29As the people were gathering around him, Jesus said, “The people living today are evil. They look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will get is the sign of Jonah.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 20:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Ten degrees - literally, “ten steps.” It is not, perhaps, altogether certain whether the “dial of Ahaz” 2 Kings 20:11 was really a dial with a gnomon in the center, and “degrees” marked round it, or a construction fur marking time by means of “steps.” Sundials proper had been invented by the Babylonians before the time of Herodotus; but the instrument here was probably an instrument consisting of a set of steps, or stairs, with an obelisk at the top, the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-19In those days: This phrase gives a general time reference. It shows that the events are grouped by theme, not by strict order of time. The story about Merodach-baladan (2 Kings 20:12–19), who Sennacherib had expelled from Babylon before 701 BC, occurred before the events in chapters 18–19 but after Hezekiah's illness (2 Kings 20:12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-118-11. Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What will be the sign that the Lord shall heal me--His recovery in the course of nature was so unlooked for, that the king asked for some token to justify his reliance on the truth of the prophet's communication; and the sign he specified was granted to him. The shadow of the sun went back upon the dial of Ahaz the ten degrees it had gone down. Various conjectures have been formed as to this dial. The word in the original…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 20:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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