Isaiah 38
38
Hezekiah’s Life Extended
1In #2 Kin. 20:1–6, 9–11; 2 Chr. 32:24; Is. 38:1–8those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: #2 Sam. 17:23‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3and said, #Neh. 13:14“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your #2 Kin. 18:5, 6; Ps. 26:3sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and #2 Kin. 19:35–37; 2 Chr. 32:21; Is. 31:5; 37:35I will defend this city.” ’ 7And this is #Judg. 6:17, 21, 36–40; 2 Kin. 20:8; Is. 7:11the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8“Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
9This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10I said,
“In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”
11I said,
“I shall not see Yah,
The Lord #Ps. 27:13; 116:9in the land of the living;
I shall observe man no more among the inhabitants of the world.
12#Job 7:6My life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.
13I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.
14Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;
#Is. 59:11; Ezek. 7:16; Nah. 2:7I mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed;
Undertake for me!
15“What shall I say?
He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
#Job 7:11; 10:1; Is. 38:17In the bitterness of my soul.
16O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.
17Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18For #Ps. 6:5; 30:9; 88:11; 115:17; (Eccl. 9:10)Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
19The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
#Deut. 4:9; 6:7; Ps. 78:3, 4The father shall make known Your truth to the children.
20“The Lord was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”
21Now #2 Kin. 20:7Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
22And #2 Kin. 20:8Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
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Isaiah 38: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 38
38
King Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery
(2 Kgs 20.1–11; 2 Chr 32.24–26)
1About this time King Hezekiah fell ill and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, “The LORD tells you that you are to put everything in order because you will not recover. Get ready to die.”
2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed: 3“Remember, LORD, that I have served you faithfully and loyally, and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to.” And he began to cry bitterly.
4Then the LORD commanded Isaiah 5to go back to Hezekiah and say to him, “I, the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will let you live fifteen years longer. 6I will rescue you and this city of Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria, and I will continue to protect the city.”
21 # 38.21 Verses 21–22 are moved here from the end of the chapter (see 2 Kgs 20.6–9). Isaiah told the king to put a paste made of figs on his boil, and he would get well. 22Then King Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign to prove that I will be able to go to the Temple?”
7Isaiah replied, “The LORD will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. 8On the stairway built by King Ahaz, the LORD will make the shadow go back ten steps.” And the shadow moved back ten steps.#38.8 stairway… ten steps… steps; or sundial… ten degrees… degrees (see 2 Kgs 20.9–11).
9After Hezekiah recovered from his illness, he wrote this song of praise:
10I thought that in the prime of life
I was going to the world of the dead,
Never to live out my life.
11I thought that in this world of the living
I would never again see the LORD
Or any living person.
12My life was cut off and ended,
Like a tent that is taken down,
Like cloth that is cut from a loom.
I thought that God was ending my life.#38.12 I thought… my life; Hebrew unclear.
13All night I cried out with pain,
As if a lion were breaking my bones.
I thought that God was ending my life.#38.13 Verse 13 in Hebrew is unclear.
14My voice was thin and weak,
And I moaned like a dove.
My eyes grew tired from looking to heaven.
Lord, rescue me from all this trouble.
15What can I say? The LORD has done this.
My heart is bitter, and I cannot sleep.
16Lord, I will live for you, for you alone;
Heal me and let me live.#38.16 Verses 15–16 in Hebrew are unclear.
17My bitterness will turn into peace.
You save#38.17 Some ancient translations save; Hebrew love. my life from all danger;
You forgive all my sins.
18No one in the world of the dead can praise you;
The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness.
19It is the living who praise you,
As I praise you now.
Parents tell their children how faithful you are.
20 LORD, you have healed me.
We will play harps and sing your praise,
Sing praise in your Temple as long as we live.#38.20 Verses 21–22 are placed after verse 6.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.