Isaiah 38:8

Translations

Modern

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.

Traditional

Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

Literal

Behold, I am bringing back the shadow on the stairs, which has gone down on the stairs of Ahaz, with the sun backward ten steps.’” And the sun was turned back ten steps on the steps that it had gone down.

Latin

…ecce ego reverti faciam umbram linearum per quas descenderat in horologio Achaz in sole, retrorsum decem lineis. Et reversus est sol decem lineis per gradus quos descenderat.

Original

Hebrew

English

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.

Notes

Isaiah 38:1–9

The story of Hezekiah’s healing connects two events. It links the extension of Hezekiah’s life with Jerusalem’s rescue from the Assyrians.

These events happened before Jerusalem was saved. However, the book places them in this order because of their theme, not their time sequence. One main theme is the power of prayer (see Isaiah 37:14–20; 38:2–3). The Lord truly listens.

Hezekiah learned to trust God. His father, Ahaz, had refused to trust the Lord. Because Hezekiah trusted God, Judah and Jerusalem were spared complete destruction by the Assyrians.

Still, Hezekiah was not the promised Messiah, the Son of David (Isaiah 7:14; 9:1–7; 11:1–16; 16:5; 32:1; 33:17–22). He was a faithful king, but he was also human and would die. His failures and his sickness (chapters 38–39) prepare the reader for the coming of the true Messiah described in chapters 40–66.

Theme notes and profiles

Hezekiah Isaiah Salvation in Isaiah

Events

Prophecies of Isaiahc. 759 BC

Related verses

2 Kings 20:9–11
And 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?”
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.”
Matthew 16:1
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 Chronicles 32:24
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. So he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign.
2 Chronicles 32:31
And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that He might know all that was in Hezekiah’s heart.

Parallels

2 Kings 20:1–11 2 Chronicles 32:24–31

People

Ahaz: King of Judah, son of Jotham

Glossary

Ahaz (King) Calendars (Ancient and Modern) Hezekiah History of Israel Inscriptions Isaiah, Book of Kings, Books of First and Second Miracle Sundial

Topics

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Sundial of Dial: A Contrivance for Indicating Time by the Sun's Rays Disease of Hezekiah Does the Earth Orbit the Sun? Hezekiah: King of Judah: Prophecies Concerning Hezekiah: King of Judah: Sickness and Restoration of Sun-Dial: General Scriptures Concerning Sun: Shadow of Went Back on the Sun-Dial of Ahaz Symbols and Similitudes: Shadow on Ahaz' Sun-Dial Time: Indicated by a Sun-Dial

Isaiah 38:8

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