2 Kings 20:11

11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow^[a] back the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz's stairway.^[b][c]

2 Kings 20:11 Meaning and Commentary

And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord,.... Or prayed, as the Targum; and was very earnest in prayer, that what Hezekiah had desired might be granted:

and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz; Ben Gersom understands it not of the sun itself, but of the shadow of it only; See Gill on "Isa 38:8."

2 Kings 20:11 In-Context

9 Isaiah said, "This is the sign to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?"

10 Then Hezekiah answered, "It's easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps."

11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow back the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz's stairway.

12 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13 Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house-the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil-and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit shadow on the steps
• [b]. Tg, Vg, Isa 38:8 DSS read on the steps of Ahaz's roof chamber
• [c]. Isa 38:1-8