2nd Kings Chapter 20 verse 4 Holy Bible
And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Jehovah came to him, saying,
read chapter 20 in ASV
Now before Isaiah had gone out of the middle of the town, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
read chapter 20 in BBE
And it came to pass before Isaiah had gone out into the middle city that the word of Jehovah came to him saying,
read chapter 20 in DARBY
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
read chapter 20 in KJV
And it came to pass, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
read chapter 20 in WBT
It happened, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Yahweh came to him, saying,
read chapter 20 in WEB
And it cometh to pass -- Isaiah hath not gone out to the middle court -- that the word of Jehovah hath been unto him, saying,
read chapter 20 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 4. - And it same to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court. The narrative in Isaiah 38:4 does not contain this touch, which is very graphic, and indicative of the eye-witness. "The middle court" is probably the second or intermediate court of the royal palace. Isaiah had not gone further than this, when he was arrested in his course by a Divine communication. That the word of the Lord came to him, saying. How the word of the Lord came to the prophets is an inscrutable mystery. Sometimes, no doubt, it came in vision, which to a certain extent we can understand. But how, when the prophet was secularly engaged, as in this instance, walking across a court, he knew that the thought which occurred to him was a Divine message, it is almost impossible to conceive. Still, we cannot doubt that if God determines to communicate his will to man, he must be able, with the message, to impart an absolute certainty of its source, an assured conviction that it is his word, which precludes all question, hesitation, or dubiety. Isaiah, in the middle of his walk, finds his steps arrested, anew injunction laid upon him, with a necessity of immediately obeying it.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(4) Into the middle court.--This is the reading of some Heb. MSS., and of all the versions. The Hebrew text (city; see margin) is wrong. Before Isaiah had left the precincts of the palace, he was bidden to return. (Keil says that here, as in 2Kings 10:25, the word rendered "city" denotes "castle," i.e., the royal residence.)
