Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 19:29

"And this shall be the sign unto thee: Ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof." — 2 Kings 19:29 (ASV)

And this shall be a sign unto thee. —The prophet now addresses Hezekiah.

A sign. —Rather, the sign; namely, of the truth of this prophetic word. “The sign consists in the foretelling of natural and nearer events, which serve to accredit the proper prediction. Its purport is that this and the next year the country will still be occupied by the enemy, so that people cannot sow and reap as usual, but must live on what grows without sowing. In the third year, they will again be able to cultivate their fields and vineyards, and reap their fruits” (Keil). The prophecy was probably uttered in the autumn, so that only one full year from that time would be lost to husbandry.

Ye shall eat. —Or, eat.

Such things as grow of themselves. —The Hebrew is a single word, sâphîah, “the after-growth” (Cheyne; see Leviticus 25:5; Leviticus 25:11).

That which springeth of the same. —Again one word in the Hebrew, sâhîsh, or as in Isaiah, shâhîs, probably synonymous with the preceding term, “after-shoot,” i.e., the growth from old roots left in the ground.