Isaiah 38 2

Isaiah 38:2 kjv

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,

Isaiah 38:2 nkjv

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD,

Isaiah 38:2 niv

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

Isaiah 38:2 esv

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

Isaiah 38:2 nlt

When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

Isaiah 38 verses

Isaiah 38 2 Meaning

Isaiah 38:2 describes King Hezekiah's immediate, intense, and private reaction upon receiving the prophetic message of his impending death. He physically turned his face toward the wall, withdrawing from any distractions or human presence, and then poured out a fervent, personal prayer directly to the LORD. This act signifies his complete surrender and ultimate reliance on God as his sole source of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation, humbly and desperately appealing to the sovereign Giver of life.

Isaiah 38 2 Context

The chapter opens with the prophet Isaiah delivering a grim message to King Hezekiah: "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live" (Isa 38:1). This divine pronouncement comes at a critical juncture, likely after Judah's miraculous deliverance from the Assyrian army under Sennacherib (detailed in Isaiah 36-37) or during that tumultuous period. Hezekiah is facing not only national threat but now also a personal confrontation with mortality. The immediate family implications are significant as he apparently had no direct heir at this time, posing a severe crisis for the continuity of the Davidic covenant and Judah's future. The entire narrative in Isaiah 38-39 (paralleled in 2 Kings 20) chronicles Hezekiah's despair, his heartfelt prayer for mercy, God's astonishing answer to extend his life by fifteen years, and the confirming sign. The king's turning toward the wall marks the pivotal moment of his decision to appeal directly to the ultimate authority over life and death.

Isaiah 38 2 Word analysis

• וַיַּסֵּב (vayyassēḇ) – "Then he turned": The opening waw-consecutive signals an immediate and direct action in response to Isaiah's message. The verb stems from the Hebrew root סבב (sāḇaḇ), meaning "to turn," "to go around." The Hiphil conjugation indicates a causative action, meaning "he caused his face to turn," emphasizing Hezekiah's deliberate and decisive choice.

• חִזְקִיָּהוּ (Ḥizqiyyahu) – "Hezekiah": Refers to the righteous king of Judah. His name, meaning "Yahweh is my strength" or "Yahweh strengthens," is powerfully ironic in this moment of extreme physical weakness, as he turns to the very source his name proclaims.

• פָּנָיו (pānāw) – "his face": The plural form typically translated "face." It signifies not just a physical turning, but also a redirection of his entire person, his attention, and his presence. This act is deeply personal and focuses his being entirely on the forthcoming prayer.

• אֶל־הַקִּיר (el-haqqîr) – "toward the wall": The preposition אֶל (el) denotes direction "to" or "towards," and הַקִּיר (haqqîr) means "the wall." This physical action is profoundly symbolic. It suggests a deliberate effort to withdraw from his attendants and worldly distractions, creating a zone of intense privacy and solemnity for his prayer. It also symbolizes an emptying of self, a profound humility, turning away from any earthly source of help to confront God directly, with nothing else visible but an inert wall. Some interpret it as symbolically turning towards the Temple in Jerusalem.

• וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל (vayyitpallēl) – "and prayed": The waw-consecutive connects this spiritual action directly to the preceding physical one. The verb is in the Hitpa'el stem of the root פלל (pālal), meaning "to intercede, judge, or pray." The Hitpa'el is a reflexive and intensive conjugation, conveying an earnest, deeply personal, and often distressed act of supplication, almost like wrestling or pleading on one's own behalf. It emphasizes a fervent and heartfelt engagement with God.

• אֶל־יְהוָה (el-YHWH) – "to the LORD": This signifies the direct and exclusive address of Hezekiah's prayer to YHWH, the personal covenant name of God. It underlines his profound faith in the one true God as the ultimate sovereign over life and death, reinforcing that his entire hope rested solely on divine intervention.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall": This phrase marks a pivotal moment of radical redirection. It illustrates the king's deep internal response to the prophecy of death, leading to a deliberate physical act of isolation and concentration. He turns away from the world's claims and the presence of men to prepare himself for direct encounter with the divine, a powerful expression of his singular focus.
  • "and prayed to the LORD": This second part reveals the spiritual core of Hezekiah's action. The physical turning finds its purpose in spiritual engagement. The use of the intensive Hitpa'el for "prayed" highlights the deep earnestness, personal agony, and the fervent, pleading nature of his appeal to the only one who could reverse his death sentence. It is a testament to his immediate and complete reliance on God's mercy.

Isaiah 38 2 Bonus section

• The "towards the wall" posture has been interpreted as a deep act of penitence and profound humility, symbolizing Hezekiah literally abasing himself before the Almighty. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, prostration and specific bodily postures were common expressions of worship, supplication, and utter dependency, emphasizing the worshiper's smallness before the deity.
• The Hitpa'el stem of vayyitpallēl can imply a "contending" or "struggling" in prayer. Hezekiah was not simply reciting a formal prayer but earnestly wrestling with God concerning his life, highlighting the personal anguish and intense petition involved.
• The theological significance of Hezekiah's prayer extends beyond his personal health. His subsequent recovery ensures the continuity of the Davidic line through which the Messiah would eventually come. His sickness and recovery are therefore embedded within God's larger redemptive plan, underscoring God's meticulous care for His covenants even in the personal crises of His chosen vessels.

Isaiah 38 2 Commentary

Isaiah 38:2 concisely encapsulates King Hezekiah's immediate and desperate faith-response to a divine death sentence. Facing utter personal ruin, Hezekiah performed a deliberate act: he turned away from all human help and distraction ("towards the wall") and poured out his heart to the LORD ("prayed to the LORD"). This is not merely an act of privacy but a profound spiritual and physical disengagement from earthly realities to fully engage with the divine. The Hebrew vayyitpallēl powerfully conveys his fervent, self-pleading, and deeply emotional supplication. It exemplifies humility and complete reliance on God's sovereignty when human solutions cease to exist. His action serves as an enduring model for believers in crisis, demonstrating that when all seems lost, direct, fervent prayer to the God of covenant and mercy is the ultimate, and often the only, recourse. This verse shows a righteous man confronting his mortality, not in despair or rebellion, but in desperate hope anchored in the character of his God.