It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps …: King Hezekiah’s answer shows quite clearly that the question of the previous verse had presented him with a choice. He responds, quite naturally, that there would be nothing unusual in the shadow getting longer (since that is what is observed every day). Compare New Living Translation “The shadow always moves forward.” Instead he asks, in effect, for a miracle—for the reversal of what would normally be expected to happen.

The translation of the word steps in this verse will, of course, depend on how the same term has been understood in the previous verse.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .