2 Kings 20:10

20:10 Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it ¹  to go back ten steps.”

2 Kings 20:1

Hezekiah is Healed

20:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ²  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” ³ 

2 Kings 16:1

Ahaz’s Reign over Judah

16:1 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah.

Isaiah 7:13

7:13 So Isaiah replied, ⁴  “Pay attention, ⁵  family ⁶  of David. ⁷  Do you consider it too insignificant to try the patience of men? Is that why you are also trying the patience of my God?

Isaiah 49:6

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant ⁸  of Israel? ⁹ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ¹⁰ 

so you can bring ¹¹  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Ezekiel 8:17

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ¹² 

[20:10]  ¹ tn Heb “the shadow.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:1]  ² tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”

[20:1]  ³ tn Heb “will not live.”

[7:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he said.” The subject is unexpressed, but the reference to “my God” at the end of the verse indicates the prophet is speaking.

[7:13]  ⁵ tn The verb is second plural in form, because the prophet addresses the whole family of David. He continues to use the plural in v. 14 (with one exception, see the notes on that verse), but then switches back to the second singular (addressing Ahaz specifically) in vv. 16-17.

[7:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.” See the note at v. 2.

[7:13]  ⁷ sn The address to the “house of David” is designed to remind Ahaz and his royal court of the protection promised to them through the Davidic covenant. The king’s refusal to claim God’s promise magnifies his lack of faith.

[49:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ⁹ sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

[49:6]  ¹⁰ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[8:17]  ¹² tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”