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
Hezekiah Gets Sick and Almost Dies
(2 Kings 20.1-11; 2 Chronicles 32.24-26)
1About this time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. So I went in and told him, “The Lord says you won't ever get well. You are going to die, and so you had better start doing what needs to be done.”
2Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed, 3“Don't forget that I have been faithful to you, Lord. I have obeyed you with all my heart, and I do whatever you say is right.” After this, he cried hard.
4Then the Lord sent me 5with this message for Hezekiah:
I am the Lord God, who was worshiped by your ancestor David. I heard you pray, and I saw you cry. I will let you live 15 more years, 6while I protect you and your city from the king of Assyria.
7Now I will prove to you that I will keep my promise. 8Do you see the shadow made by the setting sun on the stairway built for King Ahaz? I will make the shadow go back ten steps.
Then the shadow went back ten steps.#38.8 steps: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 8.
King Hezekiah's Song of Praise
9This is what Hezekiah wrote after he got well:
10I thought I would die
during my best years
and stay as a prisoner forever
in the world of the dead.
11I thought I would never again
see you, my Lord,
or any of the people
who live on this earth.
12My life was taken from me
like the tent that a shepherd
pulls up and moves.
You cut me off like thread
from a weaver's loom;
you make a wreck of me
day and night.
13Until morning came, I thought
you would crush my bones
just like a hungry lion;
both night and day
you make a wreck of me.#38.13 of me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
14I cry like a swallow;
I mourn like a dove.
My eyes are red
from looking to you, Lord.
I am in terrible trouble.
Please come and help me.#38.14 help me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
15There's nothing I can say
in answer to you,
since you are the one
who has done this to me.#38.15 There's … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
My life has turned sour;
I will limp until I die.
16Your words and your deeds
bring life to everyone,
including me.#38.16 Your … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Please make me healthy
and strong again.
17It was for my own good
that I had such hard times.
But your love protected me
from doom in the deep pit,#38.17 deep pit: The world of the dead, as in verse 18.
and you turned your eyes
away from my sins.
18 #
Si 17.27; Ba 2.17. No one in the world of the dead
can thank you or praise you;
none of those in the deep pit
can hope for you
to show them
how faithful you are.
19Only the living can thank you,
as I am doing today.
Each generation tells the next
about your faithfulness.#38.19 about your faithfulness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
20You, Lord, will save me,
and every day that we live
we will sing in your temple
to the music
of stringed instruments.
Isaiah's Advice to Hezekiah
21I had told King Hezekiah's servants to put some mashed figs on the king's open sore, and he would get well. 22Then Hezekiah asked for proof that he would again worship in the Lord's temple.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.