2 Kings 20:11 BSB — MannaFest

2 Kings 20:11

So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Jehovah; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.

KJV

And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

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Commentary

4 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

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.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The most plausible idolatry of the heathen was theirs that worshipped the sun; yet that was hereby convicted of the most egregious folly and absurdity, for by this it appeared that their god was under the check of the God of Israel.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

He brought the shadow ten degrees backward - We cannot suppose that these ten degrees meant ten hours; there were ten divisions of time on this dial: and perhaps it would not be right to suppose that the sun went ten degrees back in the heavens, or that the earth turned back upon its axis from east to west, in a contrary direction to its natural course.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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 is "degrees," or "steps," and hence many commentators have supposed that it was a stair, so artfully contrived, that the shadows on the steps indicated the hours and course of the sun.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּקְרָ֛א	vai.yik.Ra'	and he called out	H7121 →
יְשַׁעְיָ֥הוּ	ye.sha'.Ya.hu	Isaiah	H3470 →
הַנָּבִ֖יא	ha.na.Vi'	the prophet	H5030 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
יְהוָ֑ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
וַיָּ֣שֶׁב	vai.Ya.shev	and he turned back	H7725 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
הַצֵּ֗ל	ha.Tzel	the shadow	H6738 →
בַּֽ֠מַּעֲלוֹת	Ba.ma.'a.lot	on the steps	H4609 →
אֲשֶׁ֨ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
יָרְדָ֜ה	ya.re.Dah	it had gone down	H3381 →
בְּמַעֲל֥וֹת	be.ma.'a.Lot	on [the] steps of	H4609 →
אָחָ֛ז	'a.Chaz	Ahaz	H271 →
אֲחֹֽרַנִּ֖ית	'a.cho.ra.Nit	backwards	H322 →
עֶ֥שֶׂר	'E.ser	ten	H6235 →
מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ פ	ma.'a.Lot	steps	H4609 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
2 Chronicles 32:31
And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that He might…
leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:24
  In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. So he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 8:2
  Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your…
- Proverbs 17:3
  A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- John 15:5
  I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
- Genesis 22:1
  Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
Through
2 Chronicles 32:24
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. So he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign.
leads to
- Isaiah 38:1–8
  In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to…
- 2 Kings 20:1–11
  In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to…
Through
Acts 9:40
Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
leads to
- Matthew 9:25
  After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.