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2 Kings 20:4

in 2 Kings 20

Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Jehovah came to him, saying,

KJV

And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

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This verse in 2 Kings 20

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
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, 1Ki 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.

This site's exposition

Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard

on 2 Kings 20:4-6

The word reaches Isaiah before he has left the middle courtyard and reverses the first message. The LORD says "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears," and adds fifteen years to his life. Hezekiah is called "the leader of My people," the title Scripture gives David himself.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Cyril of Jerusalem

Catechetical Lecture 2:15 · Written before 386.

Would you know the power of repentance? Would you understand this strong weapon of salvation and the might of confession? By confession Hezekiah routed 185,000 of the enemy. That was important, but it was little compared with what shall be told. The same king's repentance won the repeal of the sentence God had passed on him. For when he was sick, Isaiah said to him, "Give charge concerning your house, for you shall die and not live." What expectation was left? What hope of recovery was there, when the prophet said, "For you shall die"?

A commentator

John Cassian

CONFERENCE 17.25 · Written before 435.

proposed

Now let us rise to still higher instances. When king Hezekiah was lying on his bed and afflicted with grievous sickness, the prophet Isaiah addressed him in the person of God, and said: "Thus says the Lord: set your house in order for will die and not live. And Hezekiah," it says, "turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord and said: I beseech you, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and how I have done what was right in your sight. And Hezekiah wept much." After which it was again said to Isaiah: "Go, return, and speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: Thus says the Lord God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add to your life fifteen years, and I will deliver you out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will defend this city for your sake and for my servant David's sake." What can be clearer than this proof that out of consideration for mercy and goodness the Lord would rather break his word and instead of the appointed sentence of death extend the life of him who prayed for fifteen years, rather than be found inexorable because of an unchangeable decree?

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Prayers that have much life and affection in them are in a special manner pleasing to God. God exceeds his prayers; he only begged that God would remember his integrity, but God here promises (1.) To restore him from his illness: I will heal thee. Diseases are his servants; as they go where he sends them, so they come when he remands them.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.
The middle court - i. e., of the royal palace. This is preferable to the marginal reading.

The words behind it

11 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיְהִ֣יand it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּIsaiah

    yesha'yahuH3470 →39 times

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יָצָ֔אhe had gone out

    yatza'H3318 →1067 times

  • חָצֵ֖ר[the] court

    hairH2691 →191 times

  • הַתִּֽיכֹנָ֑ה<the> middle

    hatikhonahH8484 →

  • וּדְבַר־and [the] word of

    udevar-H1697 →1440 times

  • יְהוָ֔הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • הָיָ֥הit came

    hayahH1961 →3559 times

  • אֵלָ֖יוto him

    ʾelavH413 →5510 times

  • לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Kings 7:8

    And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 8:11

      Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king…

    • 1 Kings 3:1

      Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the…

    • 1 Kings 9:24

      As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.

  • Through

    2 Kings 22:14

    So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived…

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 34:22

      So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in…

    • Judges 4:4

      Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

    • 2 Kings 10:22

      And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out garments for them.

    • Luke 2:36

      There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,

    • Micah 6:4

      For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

Jews Mourning in Exile, Eduard Bendemann, 1832, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Public domain.
Jews Mourning in Exile, Eduard Bendemann, 1832, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Public domain.
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2:15; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 17.25; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Kings 20 →