2 Kings 20:11 (ASV)

Passage

And 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.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 20:9 And 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?

2 Kings 20:10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.

2 Kings 20:11 And 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.

2 Kings 20:12 At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

2 Kings 20:13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "isaiah", "prophet", "cried", "jehovah", "brought", "shadow", "steps", and "backward". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "isaiah" and "prophet", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "And Hezekiah answered It is a light..." into verse 12's "At that time Berodach-baladan the son of...", so "isaiah" and "prophet" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "isaiah" and "prophet" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.