Isaiah 38:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Hezekiah also had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?"

NIV: Hezekiah had asked, "What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?"

NASB: Then Hezekiah had said, 'What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?'

CSB: And Hezekiah had asked, "What is the sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?"

NLT: And Hezekiah had asked, 'What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the Lord?'

KJV: Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?

NKJV: And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

When Gabriel approached Mary to announce her impending pregnancy (Luke 1:31), she asked how the event would happen (Luke 1:34). Her perspective was expectation, not doubt. Hezekiah reacted to news that his fatal disease would be cured (Isaiah 38:1–4) with the same attitude. Both reacted to the news by saying, "God will do what He said, I wonder how He will do it!" Others, such as Hezekiah's father (Isaiah 7:10–12), didn't want to bother with a sign. Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, couldn't overcome his doubt (Luke 1:18–20). Hezekiah's question doesn't push back against God's prediction but rather seeks to know what the Lord has in mind.

The signal God chose was a supernatural sign involving the sun's shadow (Isaiah 38:7–8). He allowed Hezekiah to choose whether the shadow would move forwards or backwards. The "stair of Ahaz" or "Dial of Ahaz" was a spot where sunlight cast a shadow that moved during the day. Each step, or marking, would indicate a segment of time. Hezekiah's impending cure was announced by his choice that the shadow would move backwards ten steps: making it look as if time were being reversed.

Isaiah 38:21–22 looks back at an early interaction between Isaiah and Hezekiah. Isaiah delivered an updated diagnosis about the king's fatal disease (Isaiah 38:1–7). This came with the promise of a confirming sign. The king seems to have asked what this sign was, and Isaiah explains a sun dial shadow moving backwards (Isaiah 38:7–8). The parallel account (2 Kings 20:1–11) places this exchange earlier in the story.

Hezekiah becomes gravely ill. The only description given mentions a sort of "boil," so this may have been an aggressive tumor. Isaiah tells Hezekiah he will die, so the king prays and weeps. The Lord rewards Hezekiah's faithful dependence with a promise to add fifteen years to his life. God gives a miraculous sign by making the shadow on a staircase-like sundial move backward. After his recovery, Hezekiah writes a psalm describing his grief when he expected death and his joy after the Lord saved him. He commits to worshiping God in the temple for the rest of his life.

The events recorded here most likely happen before the Assyrian invasion described in the previous chapter. Isaiah is arranging his records to smoothly transition into later discussion of the Messiah. The Lord tells King Hezekiah to expect to die from an illness. When the king prays in grief, the Lord grants him fifteen more years and a miraculous sign. Hezekiah responds with a psalm describing both his despair and his renewed praise for the God who saves. Next, Isaiah records a visit from Babylonian messengers and God's prediction that peace will last until after Hezekiah has died.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).