The Meaning of 2 Kings 20:19 Explained

2 Kings 20:19

KJV: Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

YLT: And Hezekiah saith unto Isaiah, 'Good is the word of Jehovah that thou hast spoken;' and he saith, 'Is it not -- if peace and truth are in my days?'

Darby: And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not so? if only there shall be peace and truth in my days!

ASV: Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, Is it not so, if peace and truth shall be in my days?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then said  Hezekiah  unto Isaiah,  Good  [is] the word  of the LORD  which thou hast spoken.  And he said,  [Is it] not [good], if peace  and truth  be in my days? 

What does 2 Kings 20:19 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 20:12-21 - A Mistake And Its Penalty
God does not always prolong life in answer to prayer, and we should always leave such things submissively to Him, because He may see reasons why it would be far better for us to be removed from this world of temptation and sorrow. If Hezekiah had been taken away by early death, he would never have incurred the terrible sentence of 2 Kings 20:16, etc.
Let us watch against the sin of ostentation. It was a foolish act on the part of the king, because he aroused in these ambassadors desire and greed, which they communicated to their sovereign. There is too much of this spirit in us all. What a solemn inquiry that is, "What have they seen in thy house?" If that inquiry were put to us, we should too often have to confess that our visitors have not seen our piety, our family worship, the decorous behavior of our children, our love and devotion; but that they have seen our dresses and our ornaments, our best linen and our plate. Alas for us, if these are our treasures, and we have nothing behind them of the priceless jewels and wealth of Christian character! At the best we are only caretakers and stewards; we have nothing that we have not received! 1 Corinthians 4:7. Let us remember that at any time the Master of the House may arrive! Matthew 24:44. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 20

1  Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer has his life lengthened
8  The sun goes ten degrees backward for a sign of that promise
12  Berodach-baladan sending to visit Hezekiah has notice of his treasures
14  Isaiah understanding thereof, foretells the Babylonian captivity
20  Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 20:19 mean?

So said Hezekiah to Isaiah [is] good the word of Yahweh which you have spoken For he said will not at least peace and truth there be in my days
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶֽל־ יְשַֽׁעְיָ֔הוּ ט֥וֹב דְּבַר־ יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הֲל֛וֹא אִם־ שָׁל֥וֹם וֶאֱמֶ֖ת יִהְיֶ֥ה ؟ בְיָמָֽי

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  So  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙  Hezekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חִזְקִיָּה 
Sense: 2th king of Judah, son of Ahaz and Abijah; a good king in that he served Jehovah and did away with idolatrous practices.
יְשַֽׁעְיָ֔הוּ  Isaiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְשַׁעְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the days of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah; author of the prophetic book by his name; tradition has it that he was sawn asunder in the trunk of a carob tree by king Manasseh and that this is the incident referred to in Heb :37.
ט֥וֹב  [is]  good 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
דְּבַר־  the  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֖ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ  you  have  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר  For  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הֲל֛וֹא  will  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אִם־  at  least 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
שָׁל֥וֹם  peace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.
וֶאֱמֶ֖ת  and  truth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
יִהְיֶ֥ה  there  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
؟ בְיָמָֽי  in  my  days 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.