| 章 |
| 20:1 |
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover."
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| 20:2 |
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:
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| 20:3 |
"Remember now, O LORD, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." Hezekiah wept bitterly.
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| 20:4 |
Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him:
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| 20:5 |
"Turn back, and say to Hezekiah prince of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; indeed, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.
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| 20:6 |
I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."
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| 20:7 |
Then Isaiah said, "Bring a lump of figs. Let them take it and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover."
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| 20:8 |
Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?"
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| 20:9 |
Isaiah said, "This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: the shadow has now advanced ten intervals; shall it retreat ten intervals?"
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| 20:10 |
Hezekiah answered, "It is normal for the shadow to lengthen ten intervals; rather let the shadow retreat ten intervals."
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| 20:11 |
The prophet Isaiah cried to the LORD; and he brought the shadow back the ten intervals, by which the sun had declined on the dial of Ahaz.
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| 20:12 |
At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
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| 20:13 |
Hezekiah welcomed them; he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
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| 20:14 |
Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? From where did they come to you?" Hezekiah answered, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon."
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| 20:15 |
He said, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them."
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| 20:16 |
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD:
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| 20:17 |
Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD.
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| 20:18 |
Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
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| 20:19 |
Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?"
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| 20:20 |
The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah, all his power, how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
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| 20:21 |
Hezekiah slept with his ancestors; and his son Manasseh succeeded him.
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| 20:22 |
Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, "Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do; for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you."
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| 20:23 |
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
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| 20:24 |
Also do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in place of them;
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| 20:25 |
and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they." He heeded their voice, and did so.
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| 20:26 |
In the spring Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
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| 20:27 |
After the Israelites had been mustered and provisioned, they went out to engage them; the people of Israel encamped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the country.
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| 20:28 |
A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the LORD: Because the Arameans have said, 'The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,' therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD."
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| 20:29 |
They encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle began; the Israelites killed one hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in one day.
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| 20:30 |
The rest fled into the city of Aphek; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men that were left. Ben-hadad also fled, and entered the city to hide.
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| 20:31 |
His servants said to him, "Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life."
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| 20:32 |
So they tied sackcloth around their waists, put ropes on their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please let me live.'" And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."
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| 20:33 |
Now the men were watching for an omen; they quickly took it up from him and said, "Yes, Ben-hadad is your brother." Then he said, "Go and bring him." So Ben-hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot.
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| 20:34 |
Ben-hadad said to him, "I will restore the towns that my father took from your father; and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." The king of Israel responded, "I will let you go on those terms." So he made a treaty with him and let him go.
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| 20:35 |
At the command of the LORD a certain member of a company of prophets said to another, "Strike me!" But the man refused to strike him.
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| 20:36 |
Then he said to him, "Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you." And when he had left him, a lion met him and killed him.
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| 20:37 |
Then he found another man and said, "Strike me!" So the man hit him, striking and wounding him.
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| 20:38 |
Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king along the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
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| 20:39 |
As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the thick of the battle; then a soldier turned and brought a man to me, and said, 'Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.'
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| 20:40 |
While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." The king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it."
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| 20:41 |
Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
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| 20:42 |
Then he said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.'"
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| 20:43 |
The king of Israel set out toward home, resentful and sullen, and came to Samaria.
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