Ezechias being sick, is told by Isaias that he shall die; but praying to God, he obtaineth longer life, and in confirmation thereof receiveth a sign by the sun’s returning back. He sheweth all his treasures to the ambassadors of the king of Babylon: Isaias reproving him for it, foretelleth the Babylonish captivity.
Ezechias being sick is told by Isaias that he shal die: but praying to God obtayneth fiftenne yeares longer life, 8. and in confirmation therof receiueth a signe in Achaz dial, returning back tenne lines. 12. To the A•yrians bringing him presents, he sheweth al his treasures. 16. which Isaias reprouing prophecieth the captiuitie of Iuda. 20. Ezechias dieth, and his sonne Manasses reigneth.
1In those days Ezechias was sick unto death: and Isaias, the son of Amos, the prophet, came and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God: Give charge concerning thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live.In quel tempo Ezechia si ammalò fino a morte: e Isaia profeta, figliuolo di Amos, andò a vederlo, e gli disse: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Metti ordine alle cose di tua casa: perocché tu morrai, e non viverai.IN those dayes Ezechias was sick euen to death: and Isaie the sonne of Amos the prophete, came and sayd to him: Thus sayth our Lord God: Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and shalt not liue.In diebus illis ægrotavit Ezechias usque ad mortem: et venit ad eum Isaias filius Amos propheta, dixitque ei: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Præcipe domui tuæ: morieris enim tu, et non vives. 2And he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying:Ed egli volse la faccia verso la muraglia, e fece preghiera al Signore, e disse:Who turned his face to the wal, and prayed our Lord, saying:Qui convertit faciem suam ad parietem, et oravit Dominum, dicens: 3I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is pleasing before thee. And Ezechias wept with much weeping.Io ti prego, o Signore, ricordati di grazia, come io ho camminato dinanzi a te nella verità, e con cuor sincero, e ho fatto quello, che era accetto negli occhi tuoi. E versò Ezechia gran copia di lagrime.I besech thee Lord, remember I pray thee how I haue walked before thee in truth, and in a perfect hart, and haue done that which is liked before thee. Ezechias therfore wept with great weeping.Obsecro, Domine: memento, quæso, quomodo ambulaverim coram te in veritate, et in corde perfecto, et quod placitum est coram te fecerim. Flevit itaque Ezechias fletu magno. 4And before Isaias was gone out of the middle of the court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying:E prima che Isaia avesse passata la metà dell'atrio, il Signore parlò a lui, e disse:And before Isaie was gone out of the middes of the court, the word of our Lord came to him, saying:Et antequam egrederetur Isaias mediam partem atrii, factus est sermo Domini ad eum, dicens: 5Go back, and tell Ezechias, the captain of my people: Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: and behold I have healed thee: on the third day thou shalt go up to the temple of the Lord.Torna indietro, e di ad Ezechia capo del popol mio: Queste cose dice il Signore, il Dio di Davidde tuo padre: Ho udita la tua orazione, e ho vedute le tue lagrime; ed ecco, che io ti ho risanato: fra tre giorni andrai al tempio del Signore.Returne, and tel Ezechias the prince of my people: Thus sayth our Lord the God of Dauid thy father: I haue heard thy prayer, and seene thy teares: and behold I haue healed thee, the third day thou shalt goe vp to the temple of the Lord.Revertere, et dic Ezechiæ duci populi mei: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus David patris tui: Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrimas tuas, et ecce sanavi te: die tertio ascendes templum Domini.
6And I will add to thy days fifteen years: and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect this city for my own sake, and for David, my servant’s sake.E prolungherò la tua vita di quindici anni; e di più salverò dalle mani del re degli Assiri te, e questa città, e la proteggerò per amor mio, e per amore di Davidde mio servo.And I wil adde to thy daies fiftene yeares: yea & out of the hand of the king of Assyrians I wil deliuer thee, and this citie, & I wil protect this citie for my sake, and for Dauid my seruant.Et addam diebus tuis quindecim annos: sed et de manu regis Assyriorum liberabo te, et civitatem hanc: et protegam urbem istam propter me, et propter David servum meum. 7And Isaias said: Bring me a lump of figs. And when they had brought it, and laid it upon his boil, he was healed.E Isaia disse: Portatemi una manciata di fichi. E portata che fu, e messa sopra l'ulcera del re, egli fu guarito.And Isaie said: Fetch me a bunch of figges. Which when they had brought, and had layd it vpon his sore, he was cured.Dixitque Isaias: Afferte massam ficorum. Quam cum attulissent, et posuissent super ulcus ejus, curatus est. 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?Or Ezechia avea detto ad Isaia: Qual sarà il segno della sanità, che darammi il Signore, e dell'andare, che io farò al tempio del Signore di qui a tre giorni?And Ezechias had sayd to Isaie: What signe shal there be, that our Lord wil heale me, and that I shal goe vp the third day to the temple of our Lord?Dixerat autem Ezechias ad Isaiam: Quod erit signum, quia Dominus me sanabit, et quia ascensurus sum die tertia templum Domini ? 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?E Isaia gli disse: Ecco il segno, che darà il Signore dell'adempimento di sua parola: Vuoi tu, che l'ombra salga per dieci linee, ovvero torni indietro per altrettanti gradi?To whom Isaie sayd: This shal be the signe from our Lord, that our lord wil doe the word, which he hath spoken: Wilt thou that the shadow goe forward ten lines, or that it goe backe soe many degrees.Cui ait Isaias: Hoc erit signum a Domino quod facturus sit Dominus sermonem quem locutus est: vis ut ascendat umbra decem lineis, an ut revertatur totidem gradibus ?
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.Ed Ezechia disse: È cosa facile, che l'ombra salga dieci linee: né questo voglio io. che si faccia, ma che torni indietro dieci gradi.And Ezechias sayd: It is an easie matter for the shadow to goe forward ten lines, neither wil I that this be done, but that it returne back ten degrees.Et ait Ezechias: Facile est umbram crescere decem lineis: nec hoc volo ut fiat, sed ut revertatur retrorsum decem gradibus. 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.E Isaia profeta invocò il Signore, e fece di linea in linea tornare indietro l'ombra pe' dieci gradi, che ella avea già scorsi nell'oriuolo di Achaz.Isaie therfore the prophet inuocated our Lord, and brought backe the shadow by the lines, by the which it was now gone downe in the dial of Achaz, backward ten degrees.Invocavit itaque Isaias propheta Dominum, et reduxit umbram per lineas quibus jam descenderat in horologio Achaz, retrorsum decem gradibus. 12At that time Berodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of the Babylonians, sent letters and presents to Ezechias: for he had heard that Ezechias had been sick.In quel tempo Berodach Baladan, figliuolo di Baladan, re di Babilonia, mandò lettere, e doni ad Ezechia, avendo saputo com' egli era stato ammalato.In that time Berodach Baladan, the sonne of Baladan, the king of the Babilonians sent letters and giftes to Ezechias: for he had heard that Ezechias had bene sicke.In tempore illo misit Berodach Baladan, filius Baladan, rex Babyloniorum, litteras et munera ad Ezechiam: audierat enim quod ægrotasset Ezechias. 13And Ezechias rejoiced at their coming, and he shewed them the house of his aromatical spices, and the gold, and the silver, and divers precious odours, and ointments, and the house of his vessels, and all that he had in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominions, that Ezechias shewed them not.Ed Ezechia ebbe gran piacere di lor venuta, e fece loro vedere la casa de' profumi, e l'oro, e l'argento, e i vari aromi, e unguenti, e le stanze de' suoi vasi, e tutto quel, che poteva avere ne' suoi tesori. Non vi fu cosa nella sua casa, e di sua proprietà, che Ezechia non facesse loro vedere.And Ezechias reioysed in their coming, and he shewed them the house of aromatical spices, and gold and siluer, and diuerse precious, odours, oyntementes also, and the house of his vessels, and al that he had in his treasures. There was not any thing which Ezechias shewed them not in his house, and in al his powere.Lætatus est autem in adventu eorum Ezechias, et ostendit eis domum aromatum, et aurum et argentum, et pigmenta varia, unguenta quoque, et domum vasorum suorum, et omnia quæ habere poterat in thesauris suis. Non fuit quod non monstraret eis Ezechias in domo sua, et in omni potestate sua.
14And Isaias, the prophet, came to king Ezechias, and said to him: What said these men? or from whence came they to thee? And Ezechias said to him: From a far country, they came to me out of Babylon.Ma Isaia profeta andò a trovare il re Ezechia, e gli disse: Che hanno detto costoro? e donde son ei venuti a te? Ed Ezechia gli disse: Son venuti a me da lontan paese, da Babilonia.And Isaie the prophete came to king Ezechias, and sayd to him: What sayd these men? or from whence came they to thee? To whom Ezechias said: From a far countrie they came to me out of Babylon.Venit autem Isaias propheta ad regem Ezechiam, dixitque ei: Quid dixerunt viri isti ? aut unde venerunt ad te ? Cui ait Ezechias: De terra longinqua venerunt ad me, de Babylone. 15And he said: What did they see in thy house? Ezechias said: They saw all the things that are in my house: There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.Ma quegli rispose: Che hann'eglino veduto in tua casa? Ezechia disse: Hanno veduto tutto quello, che si trova in casa mia: io ho fatto ad essi vedere tutto quello, che ho ne' miei tesori.But he answered: What saw they in thy house? Ezechias sayd: They saw al things whatsoeuer are in my house: there is nothing that I haue not shewed them in my treasures.At ille respondit: Quid viderunt in domo tua ? Ait Ezechias: Omnia quæcumque sunt in domo mea, viderunt: nihil est quod non monstraverim eis in thesauris meis. 16And Isaias said to Ezechias: Hear the word of the Lord.E disse allor Isaia ad Ezechia: Ascolta la parola del Signore:Isaie therfore said to Ezechias, heare the word of our Lord:Dixit itaque Isaias Ezechiæ: Audi sermonem Domini: 17Behold the days shall come, that all that is in thy house, and that thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.Sappi, che tempo verrà, quando tutte le cose, che sono in tua casa, e tutto quello, che hanno accumulato i padri tuoi sino a questo dì, sarà portato a Babilonia: nulla ci resterà, dice il Signore.Behold the daies shal come, & al things shal be taken away, that are in thy house, and that thy fathers haue layd vp vntil this day, into Babylon: there shal not anie thing remayne, sayth our Lord.Ecce dies venient, et auferentur omnia quæ sunt in domo tua, et quæ condiderunt patres tui usque in diem hanc, in Babylonem: non remanebit quidquam, ait Dominus. 18And of thy sons also that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, they shall take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.Anzi de' tuoi figliuoli, che nasceranno, e saran generati da te, ne saranno condotti via, e saranno eunuchi nel palazzo del re di Babilonia.Yea of the children also that come forth of thee, whom thou shalt beget shalbe taken away, and they shal be eunuches in the palace of the king of Babylon.Sed et de filiis tuis qui egredientur ex te, quos generabis, tollentur, et erunt eunuchi in palatio regis Babylonis.
19Ezechias said to Isaias: The word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken, is good: let peace and truth be in my days.Disse Ezechia ad Isaia: La parola del Signore, pronunziata da te, è giusta; regni la pace, e la verità, vivente me.Ezechias said to Isaie: The word of our Lord which thou hast spoken is good: be there peace and truth in my daies.Dixit Ezechias ad Isaiam: Bonus sermo Domini quem locutus es: sit pax et veritas in diebus meis. 20And the rest of the acts of Ezechias, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought waters into the city, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?Il resto poi delle azioni di Ezechia, e la sua gran fortezza, e come egli fecela piscina, e l'acquidotto, e condusse le acque nella città, non è egli scritto nel diario de' fatti dei re di Giuda?But the rest of the wordes of Ezechias, and al his strength, and how he made a poole, and a conduite, and brought waters in to the citie, are not these things writen in the Booke of the wordes of the daies of the kinges of Iuda?Reliqua autem sermonum Ezechiæ, et omnis fortitudo ejus, et quomodo fecerit piscinam et aquæductum, et introduxerit aquas in civitatem, nonne hæc scripta sunt in libro sermonum dierum regum Juda ? 21And Ezechias slept with his fathers, and Manasses, his son reigned in his stead.Ed Ezechia si addormento co' padri suoi, e Manasse suo figliuolo gli succedette nel regno.And Ezechias slept with his fathers, and Manasses his sonne reigned for him.Dormivitque Ezechias cum patribus suis, et regnavit Manasses filius ejus pro eo.
20:1
Year of the World 3291, Year before Christ 713.
Calmet
Days, before the destruction of Sennacherib's army; (ver. 6.; Menochius) though some suppose that Ezechias was afflicted with sickness, because he had not shewn sufficient gratitude for his deliverance, 2 Paralipomenon 32:24. (Eusebius and St. Jerome, in Isaias xxxix. (Calmet)
Menochius
But it might be sent only to purify him the more, etc. (Menochius)
Haydock
He fell ill the same year that the Assyrian invaded his dominions, ver. 6., and 4 Kings 18:13. The nature of his disorder in not fully known. (It was probably an abscess, (Calmet) brought on by a fever; or an ulcer, for which the things which promote suppuration, are always proper. Thus God teaches us to make use of natural remedies, yet so as to place our whole confidence in him. (Haydock)
Calmet
Others think it was a pleurisy, (John xxi. Thesaur. 26.) or a quinsey, (Barthol.) or the pestilence, etc. (Calmet)
Unto death, of an illness, which would naturally have proved mortal; as that of Benadad was the reverse, 4 Kings 8:10.
Haydock
Not live, very shortly; though he does not express the time. We should always bear in mind this awful warning. (Haydock)
Estius
The prediction was conditional, like that of Jonas 3:4.; Calmet) otherwise it would have been sinful to strive to render it ineffectual. (Estius)
20:2
Wall, towards the temple; (Chaldean, etc.) or that he might be less distracted, and indulge his grief without restraint.
20:3
Calmet
Before thee. The saints of the old law frequently mention their good works, (Psalm 7:9., etc., and 2 Esdras 13:14.) which is less common in those of the new. When God rewards our good works, he only crowns his own gifts. (Calmet)
Haydock
Ezechias had sincerely desired to please God, though he might have given way to some imperfections, ver. 1. (Haydock)
St. Jerome
Weeping; because he thought that the Messias would not be one of his posterity, as he had yet no children, 4 Kings 21:1. (St. Jerome)
Haydock
The saints of the Old Testament could only be received into Abraham's bosom. We may be with Christ immediately after death; so that it is far less terrible, Philippians 1:23. (Haydock)
20:4
Calmet
Court. Hebrew her, "city:" but in the margin, (Calmet) etsor. Septuagint aule, "hall," or court, is retained, and followed by the Chaldean. (Calmet)
Haydock
Protestants, "the middle court." (Haydock)
20:5
Tostat
Day, dating from the time when Isaias spoke. (Tostat)
Tirinus
This shewed that the cure was miraculous, and not effected by natural remedies only. (Tirinus)
20:6
Assyrians. It is commonly supposed that this alludes to Sennacherib. But it might refer to his son, who was sending an army, Isaias 20:1. We ought not to alter the scriptural order of the transactions, without cogent reasons.
20:7
Aldrov. ii
Figs; dried. They are very serviceable in various disorders of the throat, to mollify, etc. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 23:3.) (Aldrov. ii.)
Menochius
St. Jerome (in Isaias xxxviii.) acknowledges that they might help to removed the disorder. Grotius is of a contrary opinion; (Calmet) and this would enhance the miracle. See Vales. xxxix. (Menochius)
Calmet
At any rate, the discovery of this remedy to the prophet, and its sudden efficacy, were miraculous. (Calmet)
20:8
Haydock
Sign. He is not incredulous, but gives the prophet an occasion of declaring by what authority he spoke thus. (Haydock)
20:10
Haydock
Lines, according to the usual course of the sun. An instantaneous motion of this kind would, in reality, be as difficult, as the retrogradation. But it might not strike the people so much. (Haydock)
Calmet
Some take the lines to designate hours. But the sun is never up twenty hours in that country; and it must have been at such a height, as that it might appear visibly to recede, or to go forward, ten lines. We may therefore suppose, that they consisted only of half hours, (Tirinus) or less. (Calmet)
Tirinus
If the retrograde motion were instantaneous, as Cajetan believes, the day would only be five hours longer than usual; (Menochius) but if otherwise, it would be ten; as the sun would occupy five hours in going back, and as many to regain its former station. (Tirinus)
Haydock
Usher supposes that the night was as much shortened, that so astronomical observations may still be verified without any confusion. But that would introduce a fresh miracle. Some assert that only the shadow went back, without any derangement in the heavenly bodies. Spinosa laughs at the ignorance of those people, who mistook the effects of a parhelion for a miracle. This author may boast of his superior knowledge. But how came the sages of Babylon (ver. 12.) to be unacquainted with such a natural cause? How came it so opportunely (Calmet) at the time appointed by the prophet? What improbable explanations are not those forced to admit, who deny to the Almighty the power of changing his own works! (Haydock)
Calmet
The silence of profane historians respecting this miracle, is of little consequence. Herodotus (II. 142.) seems to hint at it, as well as at that under Josue; (x.) being informed "by the Egyptians, that during 10340 years, the sun had risen four times in an extraordinary manner. It had risen twice where it ought naturally to set, and had set as often where it should rise." He might have said more simply, that the sun had twice gone back. See Solin, 45. (Calmet)
St. Dion. Areop. ep. 7. ad Polycarp.
Worthington
This last author thinks that this day was twenty hours longer than usual, supposing that the lines designate so many hours, and that the sun kept going back for ten hours. (Worthington)
20:11
Usher
Dial. Hebrew also, "steps." St. Jerome confesses that he followed Symmachus in Isaias 38:7. Whether this dial resembled one of ours, (Grotius) or was made in the form of steps, (St. Cyril, hom. 3, in Isaias, etc.) or rather of a half globe, (Calmet) after the Babylonian fashion, (Vitruvius 9:9.) is not clear. Some have asserted that hours were not known to the Hebrews, before the captivity. (Usher, the year of the world 3291.)
But Tobias 12:22 who wrote at Nineve, under the reign of Manasses, clearly speaks of them. The Egyptians pretend that they invented water hour-glasses. But the invention of dials is attributed to the Chaldeans, from whom Anaximander introduced them among the Greeks, under the reign of Cyrus. He died in the year of the world 3457.
Calmet
Achaz had much to do with Theglathphalasar; (chap. 17:8.) and probably obtained this curiosity from the same country. In more ancient times, people measured time by the length of their shadow, and were invited to a feast at such a foot, in the same manner as we should invite for such an hour. (Palladius, Rustic. xii.) (Calmet)
Till the year of Rome 595, when Nasica dedicated the first water hour-glass, the Romans knew not how the time passed on cloudy days. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 7:60.) (Vitruvius 9:9.)
Du Hamel
Grotius supposes that the dial of Achaz was a concave semicircular gnomon, in which a globe was placed, the shadow of which fell on twenty-eight lines. (Du Hamel)
20:12
Calmet
Berodach, or Merodac Baladan, Isaias 39:1. (Calmet)
Du Hamel
The latter was his father; the famous Nabonassar. (Du Hamel)
Letters, or books, Isaias.
Haydock
Sick. They came to congratulate him on his recovery, and also (Menochius) to inquire of the wonder that had happened upon the earth. God left him that he might be tempted, and all things might be made known that were in his heart, 2 Paralipomenon 32:31. (Haydock)
Calmet
If this embassage took place after the fall of Sennacherib, the king of Babylon might thank Ezechias for having stopped the career of that ambitious monarch, from whom the former had every thing to fear. (Calmet)
20:13
Tirinus
Rejoiced, at being honoured by so great a prince, (Menochius) who afterwards defeated Asarhaddon. (Tirinus)
Hebrew, "hearkened unto them." But the sense of the Vulgate is preferable, and the construction of the original seems to require it, as it is also understood by the Septuagint and Syriac, and by Isaias 39:2.
Vatable
Spices. Hebrew, "precious things," (Montanus) "treasures," (Chaldean; Syriac) "cabinet" of jewels, etc. (Vatable)
Calmet
Vessels, or armour, and all this fine furniture. St. Jerome says, that Ezechias also displayed before them the treasures of the temple, which chiefly drew upon him God's displeasure. (Calmet)
Du Hamel
He might be guilty only of a venial sin of vanity and of ingratitude: (Menochius) and God took occasion, from this offence to admonish the king of the impending ruin. (Du Hamel)
20:17
Babylon, under the last kings of Juda. It cannot be explained of Sennacherib, 4 Kings 18:15.
20:18
Calmet
Eunuchs; servants, Daniel 1:3. We only read of Manasses, who was taken to Babylon. (Calmet)
Haydock
But he might have many brothers, who might be reduced to a menial condition; (Salien) as the text seems to refer to the immediate sons of Ezechias. (Haydock)
It may, however, be explained of his descendants. (Menochius) (Chap. 24:12.)
20:19
Calmet
Let. Hebrew, "and he added, let," etc. (Calmet)
Haydock
Protestants, "he said, is it not good, if peace and truth (or a solid and desirable peace) be in my days?" He is not indifferent about his family, as the Jews would insinuate (Eusebiuis and St. Jerome, in Isaias 39:7, 8.) from the prophet's adding, Be comforted....my people; (Isaias 40:1.; Haydock) but he submits with resignation to God's decrees, (St. Ambrose) and begs that God would be pleased to suffer him to die in peace, as the sentence did not seem to affect his person. (Haydock)
Josephus insinuates that he was exceedingly grieved at the distress which hung over his posterity, (Antiquities 10:3.) and we are assured the Ezechias and the people entered into sentiments of humility and penance, which for a time averted the wrath of God, 2 Paralipomenon 32:26.
20:20
City. Probably before it was besieged by Sennacherib, 2 Paralipomenon 32:4.
Calmet
Juda, and in the works of Isaias, 2 Paralipomenon 32:32., and Isaias xxxvii., xxxviii., and xxxix. The prophet gives us the canticle of this pious king, who shone with so great splendour, and did so much for the good of his people, 4 Kings 18:4, 5., and Ecclesiasticus 48:19. (Calmet)
Haydock
He generously opposed the reign of vice, and though threatened with the most imminent dangers, came off with victory. Thus Jesus Christ declared war against idolatry and all vice, and established his Church in the midst of persecution. (Haydock)
Calmet
Ezechias was conducted to the gates of death, and brought back; Christ rose victorious from the grave, as the holy king seems to have foreseen, Isaias 38:19. (Calmet)
20:21
Year of the World 3306, Year before Christ 698.
20:11
If these tenne lines importe so manie houses, then the dial going forwardes againe, by like degrees, this day was increased by twentie houres, and soe was longer then that in which Iosue procured stay of the sunne the space of one day, to witte of twelue houres. Iosue. 10. as S. Dyonise thinketh. Epist: ad Pole carp: See Glossa erd: in Iosue.
20:1
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 2.15
… A great thing verily was this, but still small in comparison with what remains to be told: the same king by repentance obtained the recall of a divine sentence which had already gone forth. For when he had fallen sick, Esaias said to him, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 18.29
… To me this seems no less remarkable than the miracle in the case of Hezekiah,
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 2
2 Kings xx. 1, 5 . Hezekiah wept when death was at hand, and recovered through special mercy.
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 17.25
… “Go, return, and speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: and behold, I will add to thy days fifteen years: and I will deliver thee out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will defend this city for thy sake and for my servant David’s sake.”
20:3
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.11
… To none other than Him is it suitable, who is also “the Father of mercies,” and (in the prophets) has been described as “full of compassion, and gracious, and plenteous in mercy.” In Jonah you find the signal act of His mercy, which He showed to the praying Ninevites. How inflexible was He at the tears of Hezekiah!
20:6
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 3
… How and in what way? By praying and entreating others to make prayers for them, by continually giving to the poor on their behalf. This deed hath some consolation; for hear the words of God Himself, when He says, “I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.” (
20:7
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 10.5
The vine, and that not in a few places, refers to the Lord Himself, and the fig-tree to the Holy Spirit, as the Lord “maketh glad the hearts of men,” and the Spirit healeth them. And therefore Hezekiah is commanded
20:12
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.23
… The shadow went before, but now the reality is come. You indeed may speak in all simplicity, and from motives of amiability may treat with courtesy the veriest strangers, but unchaste eyes see nothing aright. They fail to appreciate the beauty of the soul, and only value that of the body. Hezekiah showed God’s treasure to the Assyrians,
20:13
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 2
13, 17 . But he sinned in receiving the Babylonian envoys.
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 1.4
… so that, being estranged from the business of self-examination, it does not even consider the losses it is suffering, or know how great they are. For neither did Hezekiah believe himself to be sinning (
20:18
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 5.7
… And if thou gloriest in thy children, they shall be led away from thee to the Beast, as the children of King Hezekiah were led away, and became eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.14.4
… Thus Hezekiah, as it is written in Isaiah, said in his prayer, ‘From this day I will make children, who shall declare Thy righteousness, O God of my salvation .’ He then said, ‘I will make;’ but the Prophet in that very book and the Fourth of Kings, thus speaks, ‘And the sons who shall come forth of thee
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.25
… since it is the rule of Scripture when holy men fail, to praise women to the reproach of men. And it is superfluous to speak of Daniel, for the Hebrews to the present day affirm that the three youths were eunuchs, in accordance with the declaration of God which Isaiah utters to Hezekiah:
20:19
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 21.16
… and because Jesus suffered, the sun was darkened from its light. The enemies of Hezekiah became dead corpses; and Jesus, His enemies shall be cast down beneath His feet. Hezekiah was of the family of the house of David; and Jesus was, in the flesh, the son of David. Hezekiah said:— Peace and truth shall be in my days ;
20:12
12. AT THAT TIME BERODACH BALADAN, THE SON OF BALADAN, SENT. "Baladan" was the first prince of the Babylonians: for we have not heard their name until now, but only that of the Assyrians. Wherefore it appears that Baladan, the prefect of Babylon, or rather his son Merodach Baladan, seeing Sennacherib (to whom he himself was subject and tributary) and the forces of the Assyrians slain by an Angel in Judaea, and his strength worn down, cast off the yoke, and made himself an absolute prince and king of the Babylonians, and indeed deprived Esarhaddon of his kingdom and life in the twenty-sixth year of Hezekiah, as Salianus wishes; and then the kingdom of the Assyrians failed: whence thereafter in Scripture no kings of the Assyrians are named, but all of the Babylonians, of whom Baladan was the first. Whence "Baladan" in Hebrew is the same as without the Lord, says Pagninus. Moreover, that Baladan was not the father Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, as Genebrardus wishes, but Nabonassar, who is placed by Ptolemy in the Almagest as the first prince of the Babylonians, is held by Eusebius, Berossus, Josephus, Scaliger, Serarius, Bellarmine, Torniellus, Salianus in the Chronology; whence from him was established the era of Nabonassar, from which the Babylonians and others reckon their years thereafter, just as the Persians from Cyrus, the Greeks from Alexander, the Romans from Augustus. Hence in Chaldean it was called Baladan from Bal and Haddon. For Bal or Bel and Baal was Nimrod or Jupiter, Belus, the first after the flood, the builder of the tower of Babel. Again, the son of Baladan, or Nabonassar, was this "Merodach" or Berodach, who first called himself king of Babylon and sent ambassadors to Hezekiah. To Merodach succeeded his son Ben Merodach; they assign to Baladan 27 years, to Merodach 52, to Ben Merodach 44, which conflated into one make 123. Moreover, many with Ptolemy assign the first year of Nabonassar to the first or second year of the eighth Olympiad, or the thirtieth year from the beginning of the Olympiads, which Torniellus contends to be the thirteenth year of king Ahaz; but the sixth year from the founding of Rome, Scaliger and Serarius wish to be the ninth year of Ahaz, Salianus the fourteenth year of Ahaz; others prefer it to be the ninth year of Jotham. For nothing certain can be established in a matter so uncertain. Again, Ptolemy numbers from the first year of Nabonassar 123 years, up to the first year of Nabopolassar, whom Eusebius, Berossus, Josephus, Scaliger, Salianus and others hold to be the elder Nebuchadnezzar. Others, however, hold it to be the younger, who was surnamed the Great, and who led the Jews into Babylon. For it does not seem that Ptolemy would have omitted a monarch so powerful. For it is difficult and sometimes impossible to adapt pagan historians, and to make them agree in all respects with the history of sacred Scripture, yet I shall presently make them agree with it. Moreover, Merodach, beginning his reign over Babylon, sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, because he had heard that he too had cast off the yoke of the king of the Assyrians, which he himself had cast off, so that he might make a covenant with him, and that with their forces joined together they might resist the Assyrian. Finally, these limits of chronology, and as it were canons, are established and fixed from Ptolemy and others by Scaliger, Serarius, Salianus and others. First, the first year of Nabonassar falls in the first year of the eighth Olympiad, or in the twenty-ninth year from the beginning of the Olympiads. This is evident from the fact that Ptolemy asserts that Alexander the Great died in the year 424 of Nabonassar. But it is established that Alexander died in the first year of the 114th Olympiad, from which year, going back to earlier times, the first year of Nabonassar necessarily falls in the first of the eighth Olympiad. For 113 Olympiads make 452 years, from which if you subtract seven Olympiads already completed, that is 28 years, there will remain 424, which flowed from the first of Nabonassar to the death of Alexander. Second, hence it follows that the first year of Nabonassar is the sixth from Rome founded: for Rome was founded at the end of the sixth Olympiad, or in the twenty-third year from the beginning of the Olympiads; but from this beginning the first year of Nabonassar is the 29th; now the 29th year is posterior to the 23rd by six years, as is clear. Third, the year 151 from the beginning of the Olympiads is the first year of Nabopolassar, that is of the elder Nebuchadnezzar, who was the father of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, or the first monarch of the Chaldaeans. Fourth, the year 122 of Nabonassar is the first year of Nabopolassar; thus Scaliger and Serarius; yet Salianus and Torniellus deny this, who assign the first year of Nabonassar to the thirteenth or fourteenth year of Ahaz, but the first year of Nabopolassar to the thirteenth year of Josiah; now from the 14th of Ahaz to the 13th of Josiah there flowed only one hundred and one years, not one hundred and twenty-two. According to these canons, thus the years of all these kings of Judah seem to be assigned and combined to each other, so that we may assign the beginning of the Olympiads to the 40th year of Azariah; the founding of Rome to the 10th or 11th year of Jotham, the first year of Nabonassar, to the 15th year of Jotham, the first year of Nabopolassar or Nebuchadnezzar the elder, to the 18th year of Josiah. For from the 40th year of Uzziah to the tenth of Jotham there are 23 years. From there to the 15th of Jotham are six years, from there to the 18th of Josiah there flowed 122 years, from there to the fifth year after the captivity of Jehoiachin, there are thirty years, when Ezekiel began to prophesy, as he himself says in chapter 1, verse 1. For it appears that Nebuchadnezzar the elder indeed began to establish a kingdom in Babylon in the 13th year of Josiah, but in the 18th year of Josiah reigned absolutely, and then with Cyaxares king of the Medes besieged Nineveh, to overthrow the monarchy of the Assyrians, which a little later Nebuchadnezzar the younger, son of the elder, actually took and overthrew, and thus transferred the monarchy from the Assyrians to himself and the Chaldeans, as I showed in Nahum II, 1.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
20:1
… the Temple and is enthusiastic about it, but the next morning he communicates to him Yahweh's contrary order (2 Sam. 7); Isaiah announces to Hezekiah his imminent death, but immediately afterward returns to communicate to him from Yahweh his recovery (2 Kings 20:1-5). Genius, intuition, profound knowledge of the human heart are gifts that are found more or less everywhere in the history of humanity. …
20:6
1 and 2 (3 and 4) Book of Kings
… recurring formulas, such as: "sin of Jeroboam" (eight times in I Reg. and nine in II Reg.) "to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord" (thirty times in the two books); "for the sake of David my servant" (I Reg. 13, 32, 34; 15, 4; II Reg. 8, 19; 19, 34; 20, 6); "mingens ad parietem" (I Reg. 14, 10; 16, 11; 21, 21; II Reg. 9, 8; elsewhere only in I Sam. 25, 22, 34).
20:12
… His policy of alliances is well known also from Is. 39, 1-8, a passage identical to II Kings 20, 12-19: legation to Hezekiah, king of Judah (721-693).
20:13
… win back to nationalism and Yahwism the remnants of the Samaritans, and attended to the collection of the spiritual and literary heritage of Israel by means of a special commission (Prov. 25:1). Meanwhile he strove to improve the finances of the State (II Kings 20:13), made some military preparations (armaments and fortifications), renewed the installations for the
20:20
… besiegers, was blocked up by Hezekiah (2 Chron. 32:30), who had a deep tunnel excavated which, passing underground through the hill of Ophel, carried the water from the upper G. to the other side of the hill, on the western slope (2 Chron. 32:30; 2 Kings 20:20; Sir. 48:19) into the pool of Siloam (Is. 9:7). There in 1880 was found the inscription - today in the Museum of Constantinople - that describes the completed work.
… This inscription commemorates the excavation of the channel and can be attributed to the era of King Hezekiah (ca. 700 B.C.), on the basis of the biblical accounts of his construction of an aqueduct to bring water to Jerusalem (II Kings 20:20; II Chronicles 32:30).
20:26
… East to those of the West, it was always a favored field of battle, with the memories of the famous victories of Thutmose III, of Barak (Judg. 4:5), of Gideon (Judg. 7:1), of the Philistines against King Saul (1 Sam. 31:7), of Ahab over the Arameans (2 Kings 20:26), of the pharaoh Necho over Josiah (2 Kings 23:29), in modern times of Saladin, of Kléber and Napoleon.
20:34
… IN SYRIA AND ASIA MINOR. - As early as 857 B.C. King Ahab obtained the establishment of commercial "quarters" for the Israelites in Damascus (II Kings 20:34). Many Jews settled in Syria in the Hellenistic period, especially after the founding of Antioch (301 B.C.). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.