Isaiah 38
38
Hezekiah’s Illness
2Ki 20:1–11; 2Ch 32:24–26
1#2Sa 17:23; 2Ch 32:24In those days Hezekiah was mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: 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, 3#1Ch 29:19; Ne 13:14and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying: 5#2Ki 18:2“Go, and say to 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. 6#Isa 37:35I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.
7#Jdg 6:37–39; Isa 37:30“This shall be a sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: 8#Jos 10:12–14I will cause the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow returned ten steps on the sundial by which it had gone down.
9This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10#2Co 1:9; Ps 102:24 I said: In the middle of my days,
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.
11#Ps 27:13 I said, I shall not see the Lord,
even the Lord, in the land of the living;
I shall see man no more
with the inhabitants of the world.
12#Ps 73:14; 2Co 5:1 My dwelling is pulled up
and removed from me as a shepherd’s tent;
I rolled up my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
from day even to night You make an end of me.
13#Ps 51:8; Da 6:24 I composed my soul until morning,
like a lion, so He breaks all my bones;
from day even to night You make an end of me.
14#Isa 59:11; Job 30:29 Like a crane or a swallow, so I twitter;
I mourn as a dove;
my eyes look wistfully upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
15#1Ki 21:27; Job 7:11 What shall I say?
For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it.
I shall wander about all my years
in the bitterness of my soul.
16#Dt 8:3 O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these things is the life of my spirit;
O restore me to health
and make me live!
17#Ps 30:3; Isa 43:25 Surely it was for my own peace
that I had great bitterness;
but You have kept my soul
from the pit of corruption,
for You have cast all my sins
behind Your back.
18#Ecc 9:10; Ps 6:5 For Sheol cannot thank You,
death cannot praise You;
those who go down into the pit
cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19#Dt 6:7; 4:9 It is the living who give thanks to You,
as I do this day;
a father explains to his sons
about Your faithfulness.
20The Lord shall surely save me;
therefore, we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the house of the Lord.
21For Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and lay it on the boil, and he shall recover.”
22Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
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Isaiah 38: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Isaiah 38
38
Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery
1About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”
2When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3“Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.
4Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5“Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.
7“‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: 8I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial#38:8 Hebrew the steps. of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.
Hezekiah’s Poem of Praise
9When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem:
10I said, “In the prime of my life,
must I now enter the place of the dead?#38:10 Hebrew enter the gates of Sheol?
Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?”
11I said, “Never again will I see the Lord God
while still in the land of the living.
Never again will I see my friends
or be with those who live in this world.
12My life has been blown away
like a shepherd’s tent in a storm.
It has been cut short,
as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom.
Suddenly, my life was over.
13I waited patiently all night,
but I was torn apart as though by lions.
Suddenly, my life was over.
14Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane,
and then I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help.
I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”
15But what could I say?
For he himself sent this sickness.
Now I will walk humbly throughout my years
because of this anguish I have felt.
16Lord, your discipline is good,
for it leads to life and health.
You restore my health
and allow me to live!
17Yes, this anguish was good for me,
for you have rescued me from death
and forgiven all my sins.
18For the dead#38:18 Hebrew Sheol. cannot praise you;
they cannot raise their voices in praise.
Those who go down to the grave
can no longer hope in your faithfulness.
19Only the living can praise you as I do today.
Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next.
20Think of it—the Lord is ready to heal me!
I will sing his praises with instruments
every day of my life
in the Temple of the Lord.
21Isaiah had said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover.”
22And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the Lord?”
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