2 Kings 20:2

Authorized King James Version (1611)

Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,

ℹ️

About this Translation

Authorized King James Version (1611)

Formal EquivalenceBest for: Liturgical reading in traditional settings

🎯 Translation Approach

A formal, word-for-word oriented translation produced by committee in Early Modern English, emphasizing dignified, literary style and consistency with original-language forms.

Word-for-word

4/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Early Modern English register: Uses archaic pronouns and verb endings (thee, thou, -eth, -est) and classical syntax.
Supplied-words italics: Words added for English clarity are often italicized to signal they are not directly in the source text.
Textual basis: Primarily translated from the Masoretic Hebrew Text (OT) and the Textus Receptus Greek (NT), reflecting the scholarship of its time.
Literary influence: Profound impact on English literature, rhetoric, and idiom for over four centuries.
Public domain status: Generally available for unrestricted use and distribution (with some exceptions in the UK Crown copyright context).

✅ Strengths

Literary beauty and poetic cadence
Historical and cultural influence
Consistency of phrasing helpful for memorization
Formal translation approach preserves structure
Widely used in traditional liturgy

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic vocabulary and syntax can hinder comprehension
Textual base (Masoretic Text and Textus Receptus) differs from many modern critical editions
Obsolete pronouns and verb endings (thee, thou, -eth, -est)
Non-contemporary idioms may obscure meaning for modern readers
Limited gender-inclusive language

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Readers who prefer traditional, poetic language
Liturgical traditions that use the KJV
Memorization and recitation
Students of English literature and history
Comparative translation study

Consider alternatives for

First-time Bible readers seeking modern language
Children and young readers
English language learners
Readers seeking gender-inclusive language or modern idiom

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 50:15 : 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Isa 38:2-3 : 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done [that which is] good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Matt 6:6 : 6 ‹But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.›
1 Kgs 8:30 : 30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Isa 38:1-5
5 verses
94%
1 ¶ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done [that which is] good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,
5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
Isa 37:14-15
2 verses
84%
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying,
2 Kgs 20:3-5
3 verses
84%
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done [that which is] good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
2 Kgs 20:1
79%
1 ¶ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Chr 32:20
79%
20 And for this [cause] Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.
2 Chr 32:24
77%
24 ¶ In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign.
Isa 37:20-21
2 verses
77%
20 Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou [art] the LORD, [even] thou only.
21 ¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:
2 Kgs 19:14-16
3 verses
75%
14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.
15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou art the God, [even] thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
16 LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
2 Kgs 19:19-20
2 verses
75%
19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou [art] the LORD God, [even] thou only.
20 ¶ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [That] which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
2 Kgs 19:1
74%
1 ¶ And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard [it], that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
2 Kgs 20:8
74%
8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
2 Kgs 20:16
74%
16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.
Isa 37:1
73%
1 ¶ And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard [it], that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
2 Chr 30:20
73%
20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
2 Chr 29:20
72%
20 ¶ Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.
Neh 2:4
71%
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
2 Chr 6:19
71%
19 Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
Isa 39:5
71%
5 ¶ Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
2 Kgs 4:33
71%
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
2 Kgs 20:19
71%
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?
Deut 3:23
71%
23 And I besought the LORD at that time, saying,
2 Chr 33:12
71%
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
2 Kgs 19:4-5
2 verses
70%
4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that are left.
5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
1 Kgs 8:28
70%
28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
Isa 38:22
70%
22 Hezekiah also had said, What [is] the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?
Dan 9:3
70%
3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Jer 26:19
70%
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
Isa 37:4-5
2 verses
70%
4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that is left.
5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
Dan 9:20
70%
20 ¶ And whiles I [was] speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
Ps 27:8
70%
8 [When thou saidst], Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
1 Kgs 8:38
70%
38 What prayer and supplication soever be [made] by any man, [or] by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
Isa 38:9
69%
9 ¶ The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:
2 Kgs 20:11
69%
11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
Ps 30:8
69%
8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
Isa 37:17
69%
17 Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.
Jer 42:9
69%
9 And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;
2 Chr 32:26
69%
26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, [both] he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.