Passage

2 Kings 20.20

Book: 2 Kings · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"18. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19. 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?"

"20. Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

"21. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers; and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead." (2 Kings 20:18-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"18. ‘They will take away some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will father; and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 19. Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “Isn’t it so, if peace and truth will be in my days?”"

"20. Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

"21. Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place." (2 Kings 20:18-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"18. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19. 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? ^{Is it: or, Shall there not be peace and truth, etc}"

"20. And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

"21. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead." (2 Kings 20:18-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"18. and of thy sons who go out from thee, whom thou begettest, they take away, and they have been eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' 19. 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?'"

"20. And the rest of the matters of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and bringeth in the waters to the city, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?"

"21. And Hezekiah lieth with his fathers, and reign doth Manasseh his son in his stead." (2 Kings 20:18-21, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: narrator (anonymous; deuteronomistic-school)
Audience: exilic Israel
Location: Israel + Judah through the exiles
Time period: events c. 850-560 BC; composed c. 560-540 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H1697 - dabar, dabar (Strong's H1697). Also appears in: Genesis 11, Genesis 12, Genesis 15.1.
H6213 - asah, asah (Strong's H6213). Also appears in: Genesis 1.14-19, Genesis 1.24-28, Genesis 1.26.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.