2 Kings 20:10
New International Version
“It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

New Living Translation
“The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied, “so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead.”

English Standard Version
And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.”

Berean Standard Bible
“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”

King James Bible
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

New King James Version
And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”

New American Standard Bible
So Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

NASB 1995
So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

NASB 1977
So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

Legacy Standard Bible
So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to stretch forward ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

Amplified Bible
Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. No, let the shadow go back ten steps.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps.”

American Standard Version
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.

Contemporary English Version
"It's normal for the sun to go forward," Hezekiah answered. "But how can it go back?"

English Revised Version
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Hezekiah replied, "It's easy for the shadow to extend ten [more] steps forward. No, let it come back ten steps."

Good News Translation
Hezekiah answered, "It's easy to have the shadow go forward ten steps! Have it go back ten steps."

International Standard Version
Hezekiah answered, "It's an easy thing for a shadow to lengthen ten steps. So let the shadow go backward ten steps."

Majority Standard Bible
“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”

NET Bible
Hezekiah answered, "It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it to go back ten steps."

New Heart English Bible
Hezekiah answered, "It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten steps. Nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten degrees: no, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

World English Bible
Hezekiah answered, “It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten steps. No, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Hezekiah says, “It has been light for the shadow to incline ten degrees; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Hezekiah saith, 'It hath been light for the shadow to incline ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And Hezekiah will say, A light thing to the shadow to bow ten steps: nay, for the shadow shall turn backwards ten steps.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Ezechias said: It is an easy matter for the shadow to go forward ten lines: and I do not desire that this be done, but let it return back ten degrees.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And Hezekiah said: “It is an easy for the shadow to increase for ten lines. And so I do not wish that this be done. Instead, let it turn back for ten degrees.”

New American Bible
“It is easy for the shadow to advance ten steps,” Hezekiah answered. “Rather, let it go back ten steps.”

New Revised Standard Version
Hezekiah answered, “It is normal for the shadow to lengthen ten intervals; rather let the shadow retreat ten intervals.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Hezekiah answered, It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; not so, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Hezekiah said: “This is little that the shadow would walk ten degrees; not so, but let the shadow return behind itself ten degrees!”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And Hezekiah answered: 'It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten degrees; nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Ezekias said, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return ten degrees backward on the dial.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery
9And Isaiah had replied, “This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised: Would you like the shadow to go forward ten steps, or back ten steps?” 10“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.” 11So 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.…

Cross References
Isaiah 38:8
I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.

Joshua 10:12-14
On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” / So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” / There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel.

2 Kings 19:29-31
And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. / And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above. / For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

2 Chronicles 32:24-26
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. So he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign. / But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. / Then Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart—he and the people of Jerusalem—so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. / And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. / God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well. ...

Psalm 74:16-17
The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun. / You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.

Psalm 136:7-9
He made the great lights—His loving devotion endures forever. / the sun to rule the day, His loving devotion endures forever. / the moon and stars to govern the night. His loving devotion endures forever.

Job 9:7
He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.

Jeremiah 33:20-21
“This is what the LORD says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night cease to occupy their appointed time, / then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant and with My ministers the Levites who are priests, so that David will not have a son to reign on his throne.

Amos 5:8
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD is His name—

Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Mark 13:24-25
But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; / the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Luke 21:25
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.

Acts 2:19-20
I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. / The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

Revelation 6:12-14
And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, / and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. / The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.


Treasury of Scripture

And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: no, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

2 Kings 2:10
And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

2 Kings 3:18
And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

Isaiah 49:6
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

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Backward Decline Degrees Easy Forward Hezekiah Hezeki'ah Incline Light Matter Rather Shadow Simple Steps Ten Turn
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2 Kings 20
1. Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened.
8. The sun goes ten degrees backward for a sign of that promise.
12. Berodach-baladan sending to visit Hezekiah has notice of his treasures.
14. Isaiah understanding thereof, foretells the Babylonian captivity.
20. Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah.














Hezekiah answered
The name "Hezekiah" means "Yahweh strengthens" in Hebrew, reflecting his reliance on God throughout his reign. As a king of Judah, Hezekiah is known for his faithfulness and reforms, which included the removal of idolatry and the restoration of temple worship. His response here is a direct communication with the prophet Isaiah, showcasing his active engagement with God's message and his desire for a sign that would confirm God's promise of healing.

It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps
The "shadow" refers to the sundial or steps of Ahaz, a timekeeping device of the period. In ancient times, the movement of shadows was a natural occurrence as the sun moved across the sky. Hezekiah's statement acknowledges the natural progression of time, where shadows lengthen as the day progresses. This reflects his understanding of the natural order and his desire for a miraculous sign that defies this order, demonstrating God's power over creation.

no, let it retreat ten steps
Here, Hezekiah requests a supernatural sign, asking for the shadow to move backward, which would be a reversal of the natural order. This request signifies his faith in God's ability to perform miracles and intervene in the natural world. The retreat of the shadow would serve as a powerful confirmation of God's promise to extend Hezekiah's life and protect Jerusalem. This miraculous event is a testament to God's sovereignty and His willingness to provide assurance to His faithful servant.

(10) It is a light thing for the shadow to go down.--Because that was the ordinary course of things. As a natural phenomenon, of course, the sudden extension of the shadow would have been as wonderful as its retrogression; but what is in any way a familiar occurrence must needs seem easier than what has never fallen under observation.

To go down.--Rather, to spread. The LXX. has ??????, another use of the Hebrew verb. The Targum, Syriac, and Arabic render "to go forward" (march).

Verse 10. - And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees. Hezekiah views it as a comparatively easy thing for the shadow, which is already descending the steps, to accelerate its pace and rapidly descend fifteen degrees instead of slowly traversing them; and therefore accepts Isaiah's other offer. Nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. Let it, i.e., change its direction, and having descended a certain distance, suddenly return and ascend again. This will be no "light thing," but a great marvel, which will thoroughly convince him. The thought was natural, though perhaps not strictly logical.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“It is easy
נָקֵ֣ל (nā·qêl)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7043: To be slight, swift or trifling

for the shadow
לַצֵּ֔ל (laṣ·ṣêl)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6738: A shadow

to lengthen
לִנְט֖וֹת (lin·ṭō·wṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5186: To stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend

ten
עֶ֣שֶׂר (‘e·śer)
Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6235: Ten

steps,”
מַעֲל֑וֹת (ma·‘ă·lō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4609: Elevation, the act, the condition, a climactic progression

answered
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Hezekiah,
יְחִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ (yə·ḥiz·qî·yā·hū)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2396: Hezekiah -- 'Yah has strengthened', a king of Judah, also several other Israelites

“but not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

for it
הַצֵּ֛ל (haṣ·ṣêl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6738: A shadow

to go
יָשׁ֥וּב (yā·šūḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

back
אֲחֹרַנִּ֖ית (’ă·ḥō·ran·nîṯ)
Adverb
Strong's 322: Backwards

ten
עֶ֥שֶׂר (‘e·śer)
Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6235: Ten

steps.”
מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ (ma·‘ă·lō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4609: Elevation, the act, the condition, a climactic progression


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OT History: 2 Kings 20:10 Hezekiah answered It is a light thing (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 20:9
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