The Meaning of 2 Kings 20:8 Explained

2 Kings 20:8

KJV: And 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?

YLT: And 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?'

Darby: And 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?

ASV: And 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?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And 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? 

What does 2 Kings 20:8 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 20:1-11 - The Shadow Turned Back On Life's Dial
What a contrast between Hezekiah and the Apostle Paul! To the great Christian hero, death seemed infinitely desirable. He was ready to be offered; it would be gain to depart and be with Christ. But Hezekiah, who had walked before God in truth and with a perfect heart, turned his face to the wall and wept sore as the shadow of death fell upon him. Could anything prove more conclusively how much we owe to the Lord Jesus, who abolished death for those who trust Him?
Who does not know what it is to turn the face to the wall in unutterable anguish? There are moments when we are face to face with a blank wall, and only God can open a door in it. But He did for Hezekiah and He will for you. Only have faith and reckon on God's faithfulness. Has the shadow gone down on your dial? Has the day of your earnest zeal for God begun to wane? Have the bright promises of the morning become overcast? Then turn to God with true repentance! Let Him see thy tears of heart-sorrow, and He will restore the years that the cankerworm has eaten. It shall be with thee as in the past. The shadow shall return on the dial and the days of thy youth shall be renewed. There is a sense in which our sun never goes down, but leads our days forward, when the Lord becomes our Everlasting Light. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 20

1  Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened
8  The sun goes ten degrees backward for a sign of that promise
12  Berodach-baladan sending to visit Hezekiah has notice of his treasures
14  Isaiah understanding thereof, foretells the Babylonian captivity
20  Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 20:8 mean?

And said Hezekiah to Isaiah what [is] the sign that will heal Yahweh me that I shall go up the day third to the house of Yahweh
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶֽל־ יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ מָ֣ה א֔וֹת כִּֽי־ יִרְפָּ֥א יְהוָ֖ה לִ֑י וְעָלִ֛יתִי ؟ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖י בֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙  Hezekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חִזְקִיָּה 
Sense: 2th king of Judah, son of Ahaz and Abijah; a good king in that he served Jehovah and did away with idolatrous practices.
יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ  Isaiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְשַׁעְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the days of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah; author of the prophetic book by his name; tradition has it that he was sawn asunder in the trunk of a carob tree by king Manasseh and that this is the incident referred to in Heb :37.
מָ֣ה  what  [is] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
א֔וֹת  the  sign 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֹות  
Sense: sign, signal.
כִּֽי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
יִרְפָּ֥א  will  heal 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָפָא  
Sense: to heal, make healthful.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לִ֑י  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
וְעָלִ֛יתִי  that  I  shall  go  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
؟ בַּיּ֥וֹם  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖י  third 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: שְׁלִישִׁי 
Sense: third, one third, third part, third time.
בֵּ֥ית  to  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יְהוָֽה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.