2 Kings 20:2 (LSB)

Passage

Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying,

Nearby Context

2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

2 Kings 20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying,

2 Kings 20:3 “Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly.

2 Kings 20:4 Now it happened that Isaiah had not gone out of the middle court, and the word of Yahweh came to him, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turned", "face", "wall", "prayed", "yahweh", 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 became ill to..." into verse 3's "Remember now O Yahweh I beseech You...", 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.