King Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery
(Isaiah 38.1-8Isaiah 21Isaiah 222 Chronicles 32.24-26)1 About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, “The Lord tells you that you are to put everything in order, because you will not recover. Get ready to die.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed: 3 “Remember, Lord, that I have served you faithfully and loyally and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to.” And he began to cry bitterly.
4 Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him 5 to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord's people, and say to him, “I, the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the Temple. 6 I will let you live fifteen years longer. I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria. I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David.”
7 Then Isaiah told the king's attendants to put on his boil a paste made of figs, and he would get well. 8 King Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign to prove that the Lord will heal me and that three days later I will be able to go to the Temple?”
9 Isaiah replied, “The Lord will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. Now, would you prefer to have the shadow on the stairway go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It's easy to have the shadow go forward ten steps! Have it go back ten steps.”
11 Isaiah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairway set up by King Ahaz.
Messengers from Babylonia
(Isaiah 39.1-8)12 About that same time the king of Babylonia, Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, heard that King Hezekiah had been sick, so he sent him a letter and a present. 13 Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them his wealth—his silver and gold, his spices and perfumes, and all his military equipment. There was nothing in his storerooms or anywhere in his kingdom that he did not show them. 14 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”
Hezekiah answered, “They came from a very distant country, from Babylonia.”
15 “What did they see in the palace?”
“They saw everything. There is nothing in the storerooms that I didn't show them.”
16 Isaiah then told the king, “The Lord Almighty says that 17 a time is coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylonia. Nothing will be left. 18 Some of your own direct descendants will be taken away and made eunuchs to serve in the palace of the king of Babylonia.”
19 King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, “The message you have given me from the Lord is good.”
The End of Hezekiah's Reign
(2 Chronicles 32.322 33)20 Everything else that King Hezekiah did, his brave deeds, and an account of how he built a reservoir and dug a tunnel to bring water into the city, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. 21 Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh succeeded him as king.
مرض حزقيّا وشفاؤه
(2أخ 32:24، اش 38:1-8)1 وفي تِلكَ الأيّامِ مَرِضَ حَزَقيَّا وأشرَفَ على الموتِ، فجاءَهُ إشعيا بنُ آموصَ النَّبـيُّ وقالَ لَه: «هذا ما يقولُ الرّبُّ: ضَعْ وَصيَّتَكَ لأهلِ بَيتِكَ لأنَّكَ ستموتُ». 2 فأدارَ حَزَقيَّا وجهَهُ إلى الحائِطِ وصلَّى إلى الرّبِّ 3 قالَ: «أُذكُرْ يا ربُّ أنِّي أمامَكَ سِرْتُ بِالحَقِّ وبِسلامةِ القلبِ، وأنِّي عَمِلْتُ الخيرَ أمامَكَ». وبكى حَزَقيَّا بُكاءً مُرًّا.
4 وما إنْ خرَجَ إشعيا مِنْ الدَّارِ الوُسطى حتّى قالَ لَه الرّبُّ: 5 «إرجِـعْ إلى حَزَقيَّا رئيسِ شعبـي وقُلْ لَه: هذا ما يقولُ لكَ الرّبُّ إلهُ داوُدَ جَدِّكَ: سَمِعْتُ صلاتَكَ ورَأيتُ دُموعَكَ، وها أنا أشفيكَ، وبَعدَ غدٍ تَصعَدُ إلى هَيكلِ الرّبِّ. 6 وسأُطيلُ عُمرَكَ خمسَ عَشْرَةَ سنَةً، وأُنقِذُكَ مِنْ يَدِ مَلِكِ أشُّورَ وأحمي هذِهِ المدينةَ مِنْ أجلي ومِنْ أجلِ داوُدَ عبدي».
7 فعادَ إشعيا إلى المَلِكِ وقالَ: «خُذوا قُرْصَ تينٍ وضَعوهُ على القُرْحِ ليَشفى». 8 وقالَ حَزَقيَّا لإشعيا: «ما العلامةُ أنَّ الرّبَّ سيَشْفيني، فأصعَدُ بَعدَ غدٍ إلى هَيكلِ الرّبِّ؟» 9 فقالَ إشعيا: «هذِهِ هيَ العلامةُ أنَّ الرّبَّ يُحَقِّقُ ما قالهُ: ما تختارُ أنْ يتَقَدَّمَ الظِلُّ عَشْرَ دَرَجاتٍ أم يَرجِـعُ عَشْرَ دَرَجاتٍ؟» 10 فأجابَ حَزَقيَّا: «مِنَ السَّهلِ أنْ يتَقَدَّمَ الظِلُّ عَشْرَ دَرَجاتٍ، فدَعْهُ يَرجِـعُ عَشْرَ دَرَجاتٍ». 11 فصلَّى إشعيا إلى الرّبِّ فتَراجَعَ الظِلُّ إلى الوراءِ عَشْرَ دَرجاتٍ على الدَّرَجِ الّذي بَناهُ المَلِكُ آحازُ.
رسل ملك بابل
(اش 39)12 وحينَ سَمِعَ مَرودَخُ بَلادانُ بنُ بَلادانَ مَلِكُ بابِلَ بِمَرَضِ حَزَقيَّا، بعَثَ إليهِ برِسَائِلَ وهَدايا. 13 ففَرِحَ حَزَقيَّا بِها وأرى الوَفدَ الّذي حمَلَها إليهِ خزائِنَ نَفائِسِه مِنْ فضَّةٍ وذهَبٍ وأطيابٍ وزيتِ طيـبٍ وأسلِحةٍ وما إلى ذلِكَ مِمَّا في مُستَودَعِهِ. لم يَترُكْ شيئا إلاَّ أراهُم إيَّاهُ في قصرِهِ وفي سائِرِ مَملكَتِهِ.
14 فأقبَلَ إشعيا على المَلِكِ حَزَقيَّا وسألَهُ: «ماذا قالَ لكَ هَؤلاءِ القَومُ ومِنْ أينَ جاؤوا؟» فأجابَ حَزَقيَّا: «جاؤوا مِنْ أرضٍ بعيدةٍ، مِنْ بابِلَ». 15 فسألَه إشعيا: «ماذا رَأوا في قصرِكَ؟» فأجابَ: «كُلَّ شيءٍ، لا شيءَ في قصري وخزائني إلاَّ أرَيتُهُم إيَّاهُ».
16 فقالَ إشعيا لِحَزَقيَّا: «إسمَع قولَ الرّبِّ: 17 ستَأتي أيّامٌ يُؤخَذُ فيها إلى بابِلَ كُلُّ ما في قصرِكَ مِمَّا ادَّخَرَهُ آباؤُكَ إلى هذا اليومِ ولا يَبقى شيءٌ. 18 ومِنْ بَنيكَ يُؤخَذُ الّذينَ تَلِدُهُم مِنْ صُلْبِكَ. فيكونونَ خِصيانا في قصرِ مَلِكِ بابِلَ».
19 فقالَ حَزَقيَّا لإشعيا: «أقبَلُ حُكْمَ الرّبِّ الّذي أعلَنْتَ». وأضافَ: «ما دامَ لي سلامٌ وأمْنٌ في أيّامي».
20 وما بَقيَ مِنْ أخبارِ حَزَقيَّا وبَسالَتِهِ، وإنشائِهِ البِرَكةَ والقناةَ، وإدخالِهِ الماءَ إلى المدينةِ، مُدَوَّنٌ في سِفرِ أخبارِ الأيّامِ لِمُلوكِ يَهوذا. 21 وماتَ حَزَقيَّا، ومَلَكَ منَسَّى ابنُهُ مكانَهُ.