Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD: When Hezekiah heard the terrible news about his imminent death, he faced the wall and prayed to Yahweh. He probably was lying in bed since he was very sick, but this should not be made explicit, except where unavoidable. It is not clear why he faced the wall, but he may have done so to express his dismay. The Targum (ancient Aramaic translation) suggests that the king turned to face the Temple, but this is not in the Hebrew text.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .