Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageHezekiah answered, 'It is easy enough for the shadow to move forward ten steps. Let it turn back ten steps instead.'
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GHizkiyahu answered, 'It is easy for the shadow to advance ten steps. No — let the shadow go back ten steps.'
KJV
King James VersionAnd Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.
BSB
Berean Standard Bible“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”
Footnotes
Hezekiah's choice of the harder sign is itself an act of faith — he recognises that turning time backward is the greater display of divine sovereignty. The choice also carries symbolic weight: if YHWH can reverse the shadow's descent, He can reverse a death decree. The word *kal* ('easy') acknowledges the natural direction of time; choosing against it is a statement that YHWH is not bound by the natural order He Himself established.