2 Kings 20:10 (GNV)

Passage

And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadowe to passe forward ten degrees: not so then, but let ye shadow go backe ten degrees.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 20:8 For Hezekiah had saide vnto Isaiah, What shalbe the signe that the Lord will heale me, and that I shall goe vp into the house of the Lord the thirde day?

2 Kings 20:9 And Isaiah answered, This signe shalt thou haue of the Lord, that the Lord will doe that he hath spoken, Wilt thou that the shadowe goe forwarde ten degrees, or go backe ten degrees?

2 Kings 20:10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadowe to passe forward ten degrees: not so then, but let ye shadow go backe ten degrees.

2 Kings 20:11 And Isaiah the Prophet called vnto the Lord, and he brought againe the shadowe ten degrees backe by the degrees whereby it had gone downe in the diall of Ahaz.

2 Kings 20:12 The same season Berodach Baladan the sonne of Baladan King of Babel, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard howe that Hezekiah was sicke.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "hezekiah", "answered", "shadowe", "passe", "forward", and "degrees". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "hezekiah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "And Isaiah answered This signe shalt thou..." into verse 11's "And Isaiah the Prophet called vnto the...", so "light" and "hezekiah" 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 "light" and "hezekiah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.