Isaiah 38:2
in Isaiah 38Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah,
KJV
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,
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This verse in Isaiah 38
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 2) And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord. And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, because he could not go to the Temple. To the wall of the Temple, next to which Solomon had built a palace. Or rather, next to Jeremiah, to his heart; who calls the heart a wall, so that with his whole mind he might pray to the Lord.
This site's exposition
Put your house in order
on Isaiah 38:1-3
Isaiah brings a sentence with no condition attached: Put your house in order, for you are about to die. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed, pleading how I have walked before You faithfully. Hezekiah wept bitterly, and the text records his weeping without a word of rebuke.
This site's exposition
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall
Jerome gives two readings of the wall. Hezekiah could not go to the temple, so he turned toward the temple wall beside the palace, or to the wall of his own heart. Both readings send his prayer to the LORD alone.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
773. And Ezechias turned his face toward the wall. Here he sets out his delivery from sickness, and concerning this, he sets out three things: first, the prayer of Ezechias is set out; second, the promise of healing: and the word of the Lord came …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall,....
The answer of peace which God gave to that prayer, assuring him that he should recover, that he should live fifteen years yet, that Jerusalem should be delivered from the king of Assyria, and that, for a sign to confirm his faith herein, the sun should go back ten degrees,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall - The furniture of an eastern divan or chamber, either for the reception of company or for private use, consists chiefly of carpets spread on the floor in the middle; and of sofas, or couches ranged on one or more sides of the room, on a part raised somewhat above the floor. On these they repose themselves in the day, and sleep at night. It is to be observed that the corner of the room is the place of honor.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall - The wall of the room in which he was lying He was probably lying on a couch next the wall of his room. Eastern houses usually have such couches or ottomans running along on the sides of the room on which they recline, and on which they lie when they are sick. Hezekiah probably turned his face to the wall in order that his emotion and his tears might not be seen by the bystanders, or in order that he might compose himself the better for devotion. His prayer he wished, doubtless, to be as secret as possible. The Chaldee renders this, ‘Turned his face to the wall of the house of the sanctuary;’ that is, of the temple, so that it might appear that be prayed toward the temple. Thus Daniel; when in Babylon, is said to have prayed with his windows opened toward Jerusalem Dan 6:10. The Mahometans pray everywhere with their faces turned toward Mecca. But there is no evidence in the Hebrew text that Hezekiah prayed in that manner. The simple idea is, that he turned over on his couch toward the wall of his room, doubtless, for the greater privacy, and to hide his deep emotion.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In those days Three days before Sennacherib’s downfall, Hezekiah became ill, and the third day, when he went up to the house of the Lord, was the day of Sennacherib’s downfall, and it was the first festive day of Passover.
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּסֵּ֧ב | vaiyasev | and he turned | H5437 → | 161 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| פָּנָ֖יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַקִּ֑יר | hakir | the wall | H7023 → | 75 times |
| וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֖ל | vaiyitpalel | and he prayed | H6419 → | 84 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיַּסֵּ֧בand he turned
vaiyasevH5437 →161 times
חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
פָּנָ֖יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַקִּ֑ירthe wall
hakirH7023 →75 times
וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֖לand he prayed
vaiyitpalelH6419 →84 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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
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.
- Psalms 107:19
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
- Psalms 107:28
Through
Psalms 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.