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peace and you have chosen my soul, you have snatched it from them, that is, "from the gates of death," so that it might not perish with the perdition of the soul, and this you did, not because I was worthy of these things; for I myself was full of many sins, but by your mercy and your love for mankind these things came to be. Wherefore you have cast my sins far behind you and deemed me worthy of these things, "having rescued me from the death of the soul," so that it might not perish, being deprived of "the land of the living with you," but being dragged down to the depth of Hades and numbered with the souls of the impious. For those in Hades will not praise you, nor will those in Hades hope for your mercy; for this is a place of the impious. Therefore, with my soul having been freed from it, I joyfully give thanks to God. "But the land of those living with God" will also receive those who praise; where I too believe I will hereafter be, your grace having granted this to me. But if even before succession "from my kindred" had failed, yet now, trusting in your mercy, I believe that from this day I will beget children, who will declare your righteousness, wherefore I will not cease blessing you all the days of my life. and this I will do before the house of God, attending upon you always and becoming inseparable from your sanctuary. These things then "the writing of Hezekiah" contained, after which, when seven years had passed, a son, Manasseh, is born to him. And this is clear from the fact that "fifteen years were added" to his life after the illness, and that when he died, his son, being eight years old, succeeded him, as the book of the Histories contains. After this, when another ailment, as I think, happened to Hezekiah in his body—and it was a localized boil, so that one might not ask everything, even the smallest things, from God—the prophet advises to use a cake of figs and to apply it as a poultice on the boil, teaching that the things devised by men for the healing of the body should not ever be completely rejected. And there are times when these must be used, as the prophet also advised to do this. And all the others also called the thing healed by the cake of figs a boil, but the first was not a boil, but a sickness and "an infirmity unto death," wherefore for that one, weeping and prayers and God's visitation were employed; but for the localized boil, a physical therapy, which the prophet suggested. But the king, at least, does not want the cake of figs to be a sign of healing for him, but rather: "This," he says, "will be a sign of salvation for me: to go up into the house of God." For it is enough for me to be able to go up and worship my savior, entering into his house; for this will be better for me than any good, and the matter of the boil is indifferent, unless it should become an obstacle for me to enter the house of God. 2.15 As we were examining and investigating together the matters concerning the present passages, the teacher of the Jews said that Hezekiah had fallen ill because he had not spoken a song of thanksgiving to God for the fall of the Assyrians, as Moses sang for the destruction of the Egyptians, and as Deborah for the destruction of Sisera, and as Hannah for the birth of Samuel; that Hezekiah, not having done this, fell into the sickness; and that the Babylonian had learned of his recovery from the sickness and had sent men to him not without reason, but because it happened that that day on which the sign of the sun's retrocession occurred had become of double hours; for this did not escape the notice of the Babylonians, who were skilled in the observation of the stars. And since, deifying the sun, they perceived that it was carried backward by a greater power; for this reason they sought the cause of this. Then, when after much inquiry they learned that the God of the Hebrews was great, the creator even of the whole cosmos, and about the sickness of King Hezekiah, on account of which the miracle also happened, reasonably being astonished at what was established

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εἰρήνην καὶ εἵλου τὴν ψυχήν μου ἡρπάσας αὐτὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἤδη «τῶν τοῦ θανάτου πυλῶν», ἵνα μὴ ἀπόληται τὴν ψυχῆς ἀπώλειαν, καὶ τοῦτ' ἔπραξας, οὐχ ὅτι τούτων ἄξιος ἤμην ἐγώ· πολλῶν γὰρ μεστὸς ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτὸς ὑπῆρχον, ἀλλὰ τῷ σῷ ἐλέῳ καὶ τῇ σῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ ταῦτα παρέστη. διὸ μακρὰν καὶ ὀπίσω τὰς ἐμὰς ἀπέρριψας ἁμαρτίας καὶ τούτων με κατηξίωσας «ἐκ τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς θανάτου ῥυσάμενός με», ἵνα μὴ ἀπόληται στερηθεῖσα μὲν «τῆς παρά σοι χώρας τῶν ζώντων», κατασυρεῖσα δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ ᾅδου βυθὸν καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἀσεβῶν ψυχαῖς συγκαταλεγεῖσα. οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἐν ᾅδου αἰνέσουσί σε, οὐδὲ ἐλπιοῦσιν οἱ ἐν ᾅδου τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην σου· χωρίον γάρ ἐστιν ἀσεβῶν τοῦτο. διὸ τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐλευθερωθεὶς ἐξ αὐτοῦ χαίρων ἀποδίδωμι τῷ θεῷ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν. «ἡ δὲ χώρα τῶν παρὰ θεῷ ζώντων» καὶ τοὺς αἰνοῦντας ὑποδέξεται· ἔνθα καὶ αὐτὸς λοιπὸν γενήσεσθαι πιστεύω τοῦτό μοι τῆς σῆς δωρησαμένης χάριτος. Εἰ δὲ καὶ πρότερον ἐκλελοίπει «ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας μου» διαδοχή, ἀλλὰ νῦν θαρσῶν τῷ σῷ ἐλέῳ πιστεύω, ὅτι ἀπὸ τῆς σήμερον παιδία ποιήσω, ἃ ἀναγγελοῦσι τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου, διὸ οὐ παύσομαι εὐλογῶν σε πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς μου. καὶ τοῦτο πράξω κατέναντι τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ σοὶ προσεδρεύων διὰ παντὸς καὶ ἀχώριστος γινόμενος τοῦ σοῦ ἁγιάσματος. ταῦτα μὲν «ἡ τοῦ Ἑζεκίου» περιεῖχε «γραφή», μεθ' ἣν ἑπτὰ διαγενομένων ἐτῶν υἱὸς αὐτῷ γίνεται Μανασσῆς. τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον ἀπὸ τοῦ «πέντε καὶ δέκα μὲν ἔτη προστεθῆναι» αὐτοῦ τῇ ζωῇ μετὰ τὴν ἀρρωστίαν τελευτήσαντα δ' αὐτὸν διαδέξασθαι τὸν υἱὸν ὀκταετῆ ὄντα ὡς ἡ τῶν Ἱστοριῶν περιέχει βίβλος. Μετὰ ταῦτα ἑτέρου τινὸς ὡς οἶμαι πάθους ἐπισυμβάντος τῷ Ἑζεκίᾳ περὶ τὸ σῶμα· ἕλκος δὲ ἦν μερικόν, ὡς ἂν μὴ πάντα τις καὶ τὰ βραχύτατα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ αἰτοίη, συμβουλεύει ὁ προφήτης παλάθῃ ἐκ σύκων χρήσασθαι καὶ καταπλάσαι τὸ ἕλκος διδάσκων, ὡς οὐ πάμπαν ἀπόβλητα γένοιτ' ἄν ποτε καὶ τὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις πρὸς θεραπείαν τοῦ σώματος ἐπινοούμενα. ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ τούτοις χρηστέον ὡς καὶ τοῦ προφήτου τοῦτο πρᾶξαι παραινέσαντος. καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ πάντες ἕλκος ὠνόμασαν τὸ διὰ τῆς παλάθης θεραπευθέν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἕλκος ἦν τὸ πρῶτον, ἀρρωστία δὲ καὶ «μαλακία πρὸς θάνατον», διὸ ἐπ' ἐκείνης μὲν κλαυθμοὶ καὶ προσευχαὶ καὶ θεοῦ ἐπισκοπὴ παρελαμβάνοντο· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ μερικοῦ ἕλκους σωματικὴ θεραπεία, ἣν ὁ προφήτης ὑποβέβληκεν. ὁ δέ γε βασιλεὺς οὐ τὴν παλάθην βούλεται σημεῖον αὐτῷ θεραπείας γενέσθαι, ἀλλά· Τοῦτό φησιν ἐμοὶ σημεῖον ἔσται σωτηρίας τὸ ἀναβῆναι εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀπαρκεῖ γάρ μοι τὸ δύνασθαι ἀνιέναι καὶ προσκυνεῖν τὸν ἐμὸν σωτῆρα, ἔνδον εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ παριόντα· τοῦτο γάρ μοι παντὸς ἔσται ἀγαθοῦ κρεῖττον, τὸ δὲ τοῦ ἕλκους ἀδιάφορον, εἰ μή μοι γίγνοιτο ἐμποδὼν τῆς εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ παρόδου. 2.15 Συνεξετάζουσιν ἡμῖν καὶ διερευνωμένοις τὰ κατὰ τοὺς παρόντας τόπους ὁ τῶν Ἰουδαίων διδάσκαλος ἔλεγε νενοσηκέναι μὲν τὸν Ἑζεκίαν, ἐπεὶ μὴ εἰρήκει ᾠδὴν εἰς τὸν θεὸν εὐχαριστήριον ἐπὶ τῇ πτώσει τῶν Ἀσσυρίων, ὡς Μωσῆς ᾖσεν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων καὶ ὡς ∆εββώρα ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ τοῦ Σισάρα καὶ ὡς Ἅννα ἐπὶ τῇ γενέσει τοῦ Σαμουήλ· ὅπερ μὴ ποιήσαντα τὸν Ἑζεκίαν τῇ νόσῳ περιπεσεῖν· τὸν δὲ Βαβυλώνιον ἐγνωκέναι τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νόσου ῥῶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπεσταλκέναι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἄνδρας οὐκ ἀργῶς, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ συνέβη τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, καθ' ἣν τὸ σημεῖον τῆς τοῦ ἡλίου ἀναδρομῆς ὡρῶν γεγενῆσθαι διπλασιόνων· μὴ γὰρ λαθεῖν τοῦτο τοὺς Βαβυλωνίους δεινοὺς ὄντας περὶ τὴν τῶν ἄστρων θεωρίαν. καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸν ἥλιον θεοποιοῦντες συνεῖδον, ὡς ὑπὸ κρείττονος περιηνέχθη εἰς τοὐπίσω δυνάμεως· τούτου χάριν ζητῆσαι τὸ τούτου αἴτιον. εἶτ' ἐπειδὴ πολυπραγμονήσαντες ἔμαθον τὸν τῶν Ἑβραίων θεὸν μέγαν εἶναι, τὸν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου δημιουργόν· τοῦ τε βασιλέως Ἑζεκίου τὴν ἀρρωστίαν, δι' ἣν καὶ τὸ θαῦμα γέγονεν, εἰκότως καταπλαγέντα τὸ πεπαγμένον