Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “You say the Lord will heal me. You say that I’ll go up to his temple on the third day from now. What will the sign be to prove he’ll really do that?”
The Lord said, “Hezekiah, here is a miraculous sign for you. “This year you will eat what grows by itself. In the second year you will eat what grows from that. But in the third year you will plant your crops and gather them in. You will plant your grapevines and eat their fruit.
“Go back and speak to Hezekiah. He is the ruler of my people. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of King David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. And I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to my temple.
Then Isaiah said, “Press some figs together. Spread them on a piece of cloth.” So that’s what they did. Then they applied it to Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well again.
Isaiah answered, “The Lord will do what he has promised. Here is his sign to you. Do you want the shadow the sun makes to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”
When Hezekiah was sick, Isaiah had said, “Press some figs together. Spread them on a piece of cloth. Apply them to Hezekiah’s boil. Then he’ll get well again.”
At that time Hezekiah had asked, “What will the sign be to prove I’ll go up to the Lord’s temple?” That’s when the Lord had made the shadow go back ten steps.