Isaiah 38:22
ESV
Hezekiah also had said, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?"
NIV
Hezekiah had asked, "What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?"
NASB
Then Hezekiah had said, 'What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?'
CSB
And Hezekiah had asked, "What is the sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?"
NLT
And Hezekiah had asked, 'What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the Lord?'
KJV
Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
NKJV
And Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
What does Isaiah 38:22 mean?
When Gabriel approached Mary to announce her impending pregnancy (Luke 1:31), she asked how the event would happen (Luke 1:34). Her perspective was expectation, not doubt. Hezekiah reacted to news that his fatal disease would be cured (Isaiah 38:1–4) with the same attitude. Both reacted to the news by saying, "God will do what He said, I wonder how He will do it!" Others, such as Hezekiah's father (Isaiah 7:10–12), didn't want to bother with a sign. Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, couldn't overcome his doubt (Luke 1:18–20). Hezekiah's question doesn't push back against God's prediction but rather seeks to know what the Lord has in mind.The signal God chose was a supernatural sign involving the sun's shadow (Isaiah 38:7–8). He allowed Hezekiah to choose whether the shadow would move forwards or backwards. The "stair of Ahaz" or "Dial of Ahaz" was a spot where sunlight cast a shadow that moved during the day. Each step, or marking, would indicate a segment of time. Hezekiah's impending cure was announced by his choice that the shadow would move backwards ten steps: making it look as if time were being reversed.
