10. “The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied, “so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead.”
11. So Isaiah the prophet asked the lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!
12. Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick.
13. Hezekiah received the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
14. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?”Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”
15. “What did they see in your palace?” Isaiah asked.“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own—all my royal treasuries.”