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
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.