John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 8. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah , etc.] Or “had said”, before the plaster of figs was directed to, or, however, laid on, and as soon as he was told he should be healed: what shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day ? not that he disbelieved the promise of God, or doubted of a cure, but this he requested for the confirmation of his faith; which good men sometimes asked, when they doubted not, as Gideon; and Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, was bid to ask a sign for the like purpose, and it was resented in him that he did not, (see Judges 6:17,36 Isaiah 7:11-13).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-11 - Hezekiah was sick unto death, in the same year in which the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem. A warning to prepare for death was brough to Hezekiah by Isaiah. Prayer is one of the best preparations for death, because by it we fetch in strength and grace from God, to enabl us to finish well. He wept sorely: some gather from hence that he wa unwilling to die; it is in the nature of man to dread the separation of soul and body. There was also something peculiar in Hezekiah's case; he was now in the midst of his usefulness. Let Hezekiah's prayer, see Is 38. interpret his tears; in that is nothing which is like his havin been under that fear of death, which has bondage or torment. Hezekiah' piety made his sick-bed easy. "O Lord, remember now;" he does not spea as if God needed to be put in mind of any thing by us; nor, as if the reward might be demanded as due; it is Christ's righteousness only tha is the purchase of mercy and grace. Hezekiah does not pray, Lord, spar me; but, Lord, remember me; whether I live or die, let me be thine. God always hears the prayers of the broken in heart, and will give health length of days, and temporal deliverances, as much and as long as it is truly good for them. Means were to be used for Hezekiah's recovery yet, considering to what a height the disease was come, and ho suddenly it was checked, the cure was miraculous. It is our duty, when sick, to use such means as are proper to help nature, else we do no trust God, but tempt him. For the confirmation of his faith, the shado of the sun was carried back, and the light was continued longer tha usual, in a miraculous manner. This work of wonder shows the power of God in heaven as well as on earth, the great notice he takes of prayer and the great favour he bears to his chosen.
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 חזקיהו2396 אל413 ישׁעיהו3470 מה4100 אות226 כי3588 ירפא7495 יהוה3068 לי ועליתי5927 ביום3117 השׁלישׁי7992 בית1004 יהוה׃3068
