2 Kings 20:10 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

Hezekiah replied, 'It would be easy for the shadow to move forward ten steps. Instead, make the shadow go backward ten steps.'

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

Hezekiah is asking for a more impressive miracle - for the shadow on a sundial to move backward instead of forward - to prove God's promise.

📚 Historical Context

In the biblical narrative, King Hezekiah of Judah was gravely ill and facing death, when the prophet Isaiah delivered a message from God promising to heal him and add 15 years to his life. As a sign to confirm this divine promise, Isaiah offered to make the shadow on a sundial move either forward or backward ten degrees. Hezekiah, seeking the more miraculous confirmation, specifically asked for the shadow to go backward, demonstrating his faith in God's power over nature.

Explore Similar Verses

Isaiah 38:8

Look, I will make the shadow on Ahaz's sundial move backward ten steps from where it has moved forward. So the sun's shadow moved backward ten steps on the sundial.

Isaiah 39:3

Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, 'What did those men say to you? And where did they come from?' Hezekiah answered, 'They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon.'

2 Kings 20:14

Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, 'What did those men say to you? And where did they come from?' Hezekiah answered, 'They came from a distant country, from Babylon.'

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