Chapter 7

¹ And the Scripture says: And the king said to Ashpenaz the chief eunuch to bring in some of the sons of the captivity of Israel, and of the royal seed, and of the Parthommin, young men in whom there was no blemish, fair in appearance and understanding in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and capable of discernment, and in whom there was the strength to stand in the king’s house, and to teach them the letters and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king assigned them a daily portion, day by day, from the king’s table and from the wine of his drink, and to nourish them for three years; and after this they were to stand before the king. And among them, from the sons of Judah, were Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

² Now those who love learning ought not to read these things in passing, but to fix their mind upon what lies before them. For the divine Scriptures proclaim nothing to us in vain, but for our own admonition, for the blessedness of these prophets, and as a demonstration of all that has been spoken by them.

³ For when Hezekiah, king of Judah, was sick unto death, then Isaiah the prophet came to him and said to him: Set in order your affairs concerning your sons and your daughters and the house of your father; for you shall die and shall not live.

⁴ Grieved at this word, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying: Lord, remember me, how I have walked before you in truth and in faith and with a full heart, and have done what is pleasing in your sight. And Hezekiah wept with great weeping.

⁵ When this had happened, Isaiah was sent to him a second time and said to him: Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. Behold, I am adding fifteen years of life to your days, and I will deliver you from the hand of the king of the Assyrians. And this shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform this word which he has spoken. Behold, I turn back the shadow of the steps of your father’s house, the ten steps down which the sun has gone, by which the shadow has descended, so that that day becomes thirty-two hours long.

⁶ For when the sun had run its course and reached the tenth hour, and the shadow had come down upon the ten steps of the house of the temple, the sun returned again the ten steps backward, according to the word of the Lord, and there were twenty hours; and again, circling its own course in its proper order, the sun went on toward the west; thus there came to be thirty-two hours.