In these days was Hezekiah sick unto death ,.... Of this sickness of Hezekiah, the message of the prophet Isaiah to him, and his prayer upon it; see Gill on Isaiah 38:1 ; see Gill on Isaiah 38:2 ; see Gill on Isaiah 38:3 . read more
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court ,.... Of the king's palace, which is called the other court within the porch, 1 Kings 7:8 so it is according to the marginal reading, which we follow; but the textual reading is, "the middle city"; Jerusalem was divided into three parts, and this was the middle part Isaiah was entering into: but before he did, so it was: that the word of the Lord came to him, saying ; as follows. read more
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people ,.... The king of them, as the Targum: thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears ; See Gill on Isaiah 38:5 . behold, I will heal thee ; instantly, miraculously; and none but God could heal him, his disease being in its kind mortal, and he had been told from the Lord that he should die: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord : the temple, to give thanks... read more
I beseech thee , O Lord - Hezekiah knew that, although the words of Isaiah were delivered to him in an absolute form, yet they were to be conditionally understood, else he could not have prayed to God to reverse a purpose which he knew to be irrevocable. Even this passage is a key to many prophecies and Divine declarations: see Isaiah 18:1-7 ; of Jeremiah. Hezekiah pleads his uprightness and holy conduct in his own behalf. Was it impious to do so? No; but it certainly did not... read more
Into the middle court - הצר hatstser , the court. This is the reading of the Masoretic Keri: העיר haair , "of the city," is the reading of the text, and of most MSS.; but the versions follow the Keri. read more
Aspects of death. We may look on death from three points of view—that of the natural man, unenlightened by Divine revelation; that of the Israelite under the Law; and that of the Christian. The contemplation will be wholesome, for we are all too apt to turn our thoughts away from any consideration of the grim enemy, who will certainly have to be met and encountered one day. I. DEATH FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE NATURAL MAN . By nature man has an absolute horror of... read more
The illness and recovery of Hezekiah. read more
Hezekiah's sickness. Every changing scene of life is depicted for us in the Bible. Whatever our circumstances may be, we can get some guidance, help, or comfort from that treasure-house of wisdom and experience. We have here— I. A SOLEMN MESSAGE . "Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live." 1. It was a solemn message for Hezekiah . His kingdom seemed now to be securely established. God had helped him against the Philistines, and had overthrown them. He was... read more
Hezekiah's sickness. In order of time, this recovery of King Hezekiah from sickness stands before the destruction of Sennacherib, though in order of narration it comes after it. So with the Babylonian embassy (see on 2 Kings 18:1-13 ). I. WARNING OF DEATH . 1. Unexplained sickness . "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death." His disease was some ulcerous growth, called in the narrative "a boil." We have been accustomed in this history to see troubles of body, and... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 20:1-11
The historian, having shown us blaspheming Sennacherib destroyed in the midst of the prospects of life, here shows us praying Hezekiah delivered in the midst of the prospects of death?the days of the former shortened, of the latter prolonged. I. Here is Hezekiah's sickness. In those days, that is, in the same year in which the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem; for he reigning reigned? in all twenty-nine years, and surviving this fifteen years, this must be in his fourteenth year, and so was... read more