2 Kings 20:2
in 2 Kings 20Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, saying,
KJV
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,
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This verse in 2 Kings 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He turned his face to the wall - Contrast 1Ki 21:4. Ahab turned in sullenness, because he was too angry to converse; Hezekiah in devotion, because he wished to pray undisturbed.
This site's exposition
Set thine house in order
on 2 Kings 20:1-3
Hezekiah's illness falls, by the commentators' reckoning, in the same year as Sennacherib's invasion, so the narrator has told the deliverance of chapters eighteen and nineteen before turning back to the sickness that most likely came first. His prayer asks the Lord to remember how he has walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart, the same appeal David makes in Psalm 7 and Psalm 18, proper rather than proud under a covenant that tied length of days to righteousness. Isaiah's opening word gives no room for treatment: set thine house in order, and only tears and prayer stand between the sentence and its reversal.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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"?
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
Hezekiah had found, as recorded in the foregoing chapter, that it was not in vain to wait upon God, but that the prayers of faith bring in answers of peace; therefore will he call upon God as long as he lives. Happy experiences of the prevalency of prayer are engagements and encouragements to continue instant in prayer.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּסֵּ֥ב | vaiyasev | and he turned around | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פָּנָ֖יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַקִּ֑יר | hakir | the wall | H7023 → | 75 times |
| וַיִּ֨תְפַּלֵּ֔ל | vaiyitpalel | and he prayed | H6419 → | 84 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיַּסֵּ֥בand he turned around
vaiyasevH5437 →161 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פָּנָ֖יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַקִּ֑ירthe wall
hakirH7023 →75 times
וַיִּ֨תְפַּלֵּ֔לand he prayed
vaiyitpalelH6419 →84 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Matthew 6:6But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 4:33
So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
- Matthew 14:23
After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- 2 Kings 4:33
Through
Psalms 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
it leads to
- Psalms 107:28
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Psalms 34:3–4
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Psalms 107:19
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
- Psalms 107:28
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2:15; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 17.25 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.