Then Isaiah said, “Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” They took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
- KJV And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
- BSB Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” So they brought it and applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah recovered.
- NKJV Then Isaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
- NASB Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took it and placed it on the inflamed spot, and he recovered.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Isaiah applies a cake of figs to the boil and Hezekiah recovers. God heals through ordinary means under His sovereign hand.
Overview
The promised healing comes by way of a simple poultice, joining divine power with a natural remedy. God is not bound to means, yet often works through them. This reminds believers that the use of ordinary provisions does not diminish God's grace; rather, He is the giver of both the cure and the recovery.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Isa 38:21Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
- 2 Kgs 2:20–22He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” Then they brought it to him.
- 2 Kgs 4:41But he said, “Then bring meal.” He threw it into the pot; and he said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 20:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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