II Kings 20:8-11 · Bible study
2 Kings 20:8-11 Commentary: Seeking Signs
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore why Hezekiah asked for a sign after God's promise of healing, and what this teaches about faith, prayer, and God's miraculous power.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Hezekiah requests and receives a supernatural sign to confirm God's promise of healing; God answers with a visible reversal of nature that strengthens faith and testifies to His power.
- Key words: ot (sign, miraculous token), ma'alot (steps, likely a staircase sundial), shuv (return, go back, used of the shadow)
- Main debate: Whether the shadow's reversal was a literal astronomical miracle (sun moved backward) or a local atmospheric refraction (Clarke's view).
- Theological theme: The appropriateness of seeking confirmatory signs from God when done in faith, not in unbelief.
- Best use: Preaching or teaching on prayer, faith, and God's willingness to meet our need for assurance without condemning the request.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
8Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
9And 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?”
10“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”
11So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.
WEB World English Bible 2000
8Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I will go up to Yahweh’s house the third day?”
9Isaiah said, “This will be the sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that he has spoken: should the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?”
10Hezekiah answered, “It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten steps. No, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.”
11Isaiah the prophet cried to Yahweh; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.
KJV King James Version 1769
8And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?
9And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
11And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
8And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that Jehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house of Jehovah the third day?
9And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?
10And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.
11And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Jehovah; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
8And Hezekiah saith unto Isaiah, `What is the sign that Jehovah doth give healing to me, that I have gone up on the third day to the house of Jehovah?'
9And Isaiah saith, `This is to thee the sign from Jehovah, that Jehovah doth the thing that He hath spoken--The shadow hath gone on ten degrees, or it doth turn back ten degrees?'
10And Hezekiah saith, `It hath been light for the shadow to incline ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow turn backward ten degrees.'
11And Isaiah the prophet calleth unto Jehovah, and He bringeth back the shadow by the degrees that it had gone down in the degrees of Ahaz--backward ten degrees.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
8And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that Jehovah will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah the third day?
9And Isaiah said, This [shall be] the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
10And Hezekiah said, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: no, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
11And Isaiah the prophet cried to Jehovah, and he brought the shadow back on the degrees by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
8And Ezechias had said to Isaias: What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord the third day?
9And Isaias said to him: This shall be the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do the word which he hath spoken: Wilt thou that the shadow go forward ten lines, or that it go back so many degrees?
10And Ezechias said: It is an easy matter for the shadow to go forward ten lines: and I do not desire that this be done, but let it return back ten degrees.
11And Isaias, the prophet, called upon the Lord, and he brought the shadow ten degrees backwards by the lines, by which it had already gone down on the dial of Achaz.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Kings 20:8
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Hezekiah's request for a sign was not an act of disbelief but a legitimate means of strengthening faith. Barnes, Gill, and the Cambridge Bible note that the king sought confirmation that the healing promise would indeed be fulfilled. The sign offered, the shadow going forward or backward ten steps, was left to Hezekiah's choice, and he chose the harder miracle: the shadow retreating. Wesley and Clarke observe that a forward advance, though instantaneous, would still follow the sun's natural direction, making the miracle less striking. Hezekiah wanted a reversal of nature itself, so that God's power would be unmistakable. The miracle itself, as Clarke suggests, may have been achieved through atmospheric refraction rather than a literal reversal of the earth's rotation, though the text does not specify the mechanism. All agree the sign was given and Hezekiah's faith confirmed, setting the stage for the visit of the Babylonian envoys that follows.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal astronomical reversal: The text says the shadow returned backward, which implies a change in the sun's apparent motion; Wesley and Barnes consider this a direct miracle on the sun itself.
- Atmospheric refraction: Clarke suggests the miracle was achieved through a dense medium that bent sunlight, similar to how horizontal refraction makes the sun appear above the horizon when it is actually below.
- Symbolic interpretation: Some readings emphasize the narrative function—the sign points to God's sovereignty over history and His commitment to the Davidic line—rather than the physical mechanism.
What is clear: God granted Hezekiah a visible, publicly observable sign that confirmed His promise of healing and demonstrated His power over creation.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the sign | God miraculously caused the shadow on Ahaz's dial to move backward ten steps, confirming His promise to Hezekiah. | Some commentators (Clarke) suggest the miracle was accomplished by atmospheric refraction, while others (Barnes, Wesley) hold that the sun itself reversed its motion. The text does not specify the mechanism. |
| Propriety of asking for a sign | Hezekiah's request was not condemned; it was granted by God, indicating it was made in faith. | Reformed traditions often caution against demanding signs, emphasizing trust in God's word alone. Others, reading this passage alongside Gideon (Judg. 6), see room for such requests when made humbly. |
| Meaning of 'ten steps' | Ten incremental units on the sundial of Ahaz, likely representing a measure of time (e.g., half‑hours or hours). | Whether each step corresponds to a fixed time unit (a degree) or simply to a marked division on the staircase is debated. Barnes and Cambridge note the uncertainty. |
| Relationship to the Babylonian envoys (v.12, 13) | The envoys came because they heard of Hezekiah's recovery and the sign; the visit is historically connected to the miracle. | Some see the sign as the primary cause of their interest; others argue the embassy was political, using the miracle as a pretext. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The dial of Ahaz, as Barnes and the Cambridge Bible explain, was likely not a sundial with a center gnomon but a staircase with steps (Hebrew maʿalot). An obelisk at the top cast a shadow that lengthened or shortened as the sun moved. Ten steps probably represented ten units of time, perhaps half‑hours, hours, or simply a set of degrees. The king could see the dial from his sickroom, a public location in the palace courtyard.
Hezekiah's illness, according to Keil and Delitzsch, occurred about the time of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, not after the Assyrian withdrawal. God's promise to add fifteen years and to defend Jerusalem shows that the sign came at a moment of national crisis. The use of a fig poultice (v.7) indicates that God worked through natural means alongside the miraculous sign. His recovery was set for the third day, allowing him to worship at the temple, a mark of his personal piety and the centrality of the house of the Lord.
The Babylonians, as recorded in the following verses, heard of the miracle (2 Chron. 32:31) and sent envoys, leading to Hezekiah's failure in showing them his treasures. This historical sequence links the sign directly to the later exile prophecy, making the miracle a pivot point in Judah's story.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for 2 Kings 20:8, 11. The passage is consistent across Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate). The parallel account in Isaiah 38 omits the dialogue about the shadow's direction and presents the sign as a direct message from God, but the differences are literary, not textual.
Reception History
This passage has been read across Christian traditions as an example of God's responsiveness to earnest prayer for confirmation. The early church saw in the shadow's reversal a type of the resurrection, a reversal of death's course. Medieval commentators, building on Gregory the Great, often used the story to teach that God may grant lesser signs to confirm greater promises. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin both cited Hezekiah's request as evidence that faith can legitimately seek assurance without falling into unbelief. In modern hymnody, the miracle is alluded to in songs about God's power over creation, though no single hymn is universally associated with this specific event. Apologetics works reference the account when discussing biblical miracles that challenge natural law, often noting that the local refraction theory (Clarke) allows for a supernatural event without requiring a global reversal of the earth's rotation.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The request for a sign, Hezekiah asks not because he doubts God, but because he longs for assurance. His faith is active, not passive.
- The choice of a harder miracle, Hezekiah chooses the backward shadow, wanting the most evident display of God's power. He desires glory for God, not just relief.
- The God who answers beyond expectation, The shadow returns ten steps. God exceeds the request, meeting not just the need but the heart's desire for certainty.
Five-point outline
- God's promise given (vv.4, 7), Through Isaiah, God declares healing and deliverance.
- Hezekiah's pursuit of confirmation (v.8), He asks for a confirming sign, a practice seen also in Gideon (Judg. 6:17).
- God's offer of options (v.9), The Lord lets Hezekiah choose: forward or backward, ordinary miracle or extra‑ordinary.
- Hezekiah's bold choice (v.10), He chooses the harder sign, making God's work unmistakable.
- God's powerful answer (v.11), Isaiah prays; the shadow retreats ten steps, confirming the promise and strengthening the king's faith.
Illustration hooks
- A difficult diagnosis and a second opinion, A patient hears good news but asks for a test to confirm. They are not doubting the doctor; they are securing their own peace. So Hezekiah wanted a “test” for his soul.
- Choosing the harder proof, When someone says “I’ll believe it when I see it,” they often mean something easy. Hezekiah asked for something only God could do: reverse the sun's shadow.
- Seeing God in the details, Sometimes we need a specific, tangible answer to a prayer, not just a general blessing. This story shows that God honours specific requests for confirmation when they come from a faithful heart.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it wrong to ask God for a sign when I am facing a big decision?
- How do I know when a “sign” is really from God and not just coincidence?
- What if I ask for a sign and don’t get the answer I want?
Leading a Discussion
Hezekiah had already been told he would recover, yet he asked for a confirming sign. This account invites us to reflect on the role of signs in our own faith. Use the following questions to guide your group discussion.
Discussion questions
- Read 2 Kings 20:5, 7 first. What did God promise Hezekiah before the sign was requested?
- Why do you think Hezekiah still asked for a sign? What does his request reveal about his faith?
- Compare Hezekiah's request with Gideon's request for a sign (Judg. 6:17, 37, 40). How are they similar? How are they different?
- Hezekiah called the shadow going forward “a light thing” (v.10). What does that phrase reveal about his understanding of miracles?
- Why did Hezekiah choose the harder sign, the shadow going backward? What does this choice show about his priorities?
- Isaiah prayed before the sign was given (v.11). How does prayer connect to the miraculous in this story?
- When have you asked God for a confirming sign in your own life? How did you know it was from Him? Share with the group if comfortable.
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Judges 6:17 | He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me. |
| Judges 6:37 | behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I’ll know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.” |
| Judges 6:40 | God did so that night; for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. |
| II Kings 19:29 | “This will be the sign to you: This year, you will eat that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from that; and in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. |
| II Kings 20:5 | “Turn back, and tell Hezekiah the prince of my people, ‘Yahweh, the God of David your father, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day, you will go up to Yahweh’s house. |
| Isaiah 7:11 | “Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.” |
| Isaiah 7:14 | Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. |
| Isaiah 38:22 | Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I will go up to Yahweh’s house?” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes suggests the sign of the shadow moving backward was likely caused by a solar eclipse, not a supernatural reversal of the sun. The miracle consisted in Isaiah's supernatural fore
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary stresses that the sign was a local, visible miracle, not a universal cosmic event. The "dial" refers to a staircase-like structure in the palace court, where the shadow's reversal on the steps was a particular alteration, enough to demonstrate God's power without disrupting the whole natural order.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes observe that Hezekiah chose the shadow moving backward because he considered forward motion too easy or ordinary. For him, only a reversal of nature’s course would truly confirm God’s promise of healing and deliverance.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that Hezekiah asked for a sign not from unbelief but to strengthen his faith, as other faithful men had done. Hezekiah chose the harder miracle, the shadow moving backward, because forward progress would have seemed too ordinary. The request for a return was a deliberate choice for a more evident, supernatural sign.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB focuses on the nature of the dial of Ahaz. He argues it was not a stair but a proper instrument, probably imported from Babylon as a foreign novelty. The sun's shadow moving backward was a temporary, local miracle, confined to Hezekiah's court for his personal assurance.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch places Hezekiah's illness at the start of Sennacherib's invasion, not after the Assyrian retreat, and identifies the Hebrew term for his boil as a carbuncle, not plague. They see the king's prayer as a faithful appeal, not self-righteousness, and treat the prophecy's precise fifteen-year extension as a genuine supernatural promise.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that Hezekiah's acceptance of the prophecy was not a sign of selfish indifference to future suffering. Instead, the king's words express humble submission and pain at the thought of his people's coming disaster. He finds comfort only that peace will last through his own days.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that the sun's motion was natural in kind but miraculously fast, while the shadow's reversal was wholly supernatural. He points out the dial of Ahaz is mentioned because it was visible from the king's chamber, making the miracle verifiable. The Babylonians later took note of this