2 Kings 20:2 (DBY)

Passage

And he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Jehovah saying,

Nearby Context

2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah: Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Kings 20:2 And he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Jehovah saying,

2 Kings 20:3 Ah! Jehovah, remember, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done what is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept much.

2 Kings 20:4 And it came to pass before Isaiah had gone out into the middle city that the word of Jehovah came to him saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turned", "face", "wall", "prayed", "jehovah", and "saying". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "turned" and "face", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "In those days Hezekiah was sick unto..." into verse 3's "Ah Jehovah remember I beseech thee how...", so "turned" and "face" 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 "turned" and "face" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.