2 Kingschapter 20
21 verses · Jeremiah, by tradition · 6th century BC · History
Original Language
2 Kings 20— Hebrew word study · with the Hebrew tradition
In Jewish life
Jewish practice and Jewish teaching both have something to say about 2 Kings 20. Three things follow: where it is read, what is done because of it, and how the rabbis have taught it. The purpose is to inform a Christian reader what Jews believe and how Judaism was and is practised.
The reading
The yearly cycle does not read 2 Kings 20. The Haftarah is drawn from the Prophets a passage at a time rather than continuously, so most chapters of most prophetic books are never read in the service, and this is one of them.
The verse numbers here are the ones a Hebrew Bible carries, which differ from an English Bible by a verse or two in several places. The Sephardi reading is named only where this site records a difference; communities vary beyond what is listed. What these books are, and how a Christian reader meets them →
Where the rabbis cite this chapter
4 rows sit beside their verses in the text, on 4 verses of this chapter. No row that speaks to the chapter as a whole is recorded. Every quote links to its full source.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria (sefaria.org); excerpts follow each version’s license, and every passage opens at its source.
How to read a word below: the Hebrewword, then how it sounds, then what it means, then its number in Strong’s concordance, a widely used lookup this site follows (H for Hebrew and Aramaic, G for Greek). Square brackets hold a word the English supplies that the Hebrew does not, angle brackets mark the Hebrew’s own grammatical elements that English renders as separate words, and the mark ס or פ is where the Hebrew manuscripts end a paragraph.
Fifteen years added, and the shadow goes back ten steps1
2 Kings 20:1· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on II Kings 20:1
In those days. [This occurred] three days before Sancheiriv's downfall. 1 Alternatively, the entire episode is stated in chronological order, and it occurred after Sancheiriv's downfall. The assurance Chizkiyohu requested that he will be saved from Ashur mentioned here refers to future attacks.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
2 Kings 20:2· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:3· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:4· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:5· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:6· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:7· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:8· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:9· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:10· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on II Kings 20:10
And Chizkiyohu said, ”It is easier for the shade to advance ten steps.” It is easy [for the shade] to remain in its place, and stay for ten steps, it is not something that is so conspicuous.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
2 Kings 20:11· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Nothing hidden from Babylon's envoys — a costly boast12
2 Kings 20:12· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on II Kings 20:12
For he heard that Chizkiyohu was ill. And until that day no person who had ever been ill, had become well. Now, how did he hear?
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
2 Kings 20:13· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:14· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
Rashi on II Kings 20:14
”They came from a distant land.” This is one of the three [men] whom the Holy One, Blessed Is He, tested and found them to be a pot of muddy water: [The three are,] Kayin, Chizkiyohu and Bilam.
Read it in full at Sefaria · The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
2 Kings 20:15· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:16· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:17· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:18· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:19· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
The pool and the conduit that brought water into the city20
2 Kings 20:20· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible
2 Kings 20:21· Hebrew and glosses: STEP Bible