Isaiah 38
38
Hezekiah’s Illness
1At that time Hezekiah became very sick. He was almost dead. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him. Isaiah told him, “This is what the Lord says: You are going to die. So you should give your last orders to everyone. You will not get well.”
2Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3He said, “Lord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you. I have done what you said was right.” And Hezekiah cried loudly.
4Then the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: 5“Go to Hezekiah and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer. And I have seen your tears. I will add 15 years to your life. 6I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.’”
21# These verses are generally found at the end of chapter 38. But the same story in 2 Kings 20:6–9 shows the events happened in this order. Then Isaiah said, “Make a paste from figs. Put it on Hezekiah’s boil. Then he will get well.”
22Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign? What will show that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord?”
7Isaiah said, “The Lord will do what he says. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: 8The sun has made a shadow go down the stairway of Ahaz. I will make it go back ten steps.” So the shadow made by the sun went back up the ten steps it had gone down.
9After Hezekiah king of Judah got well, he wrote this song:
10I said, “I am in the middle of my life.
Do I have to go through the gates where the dead are now?
Will I have the rest of my life taken away from me?”
11I said, “I will not see the Lord
in the land of the living again.
I will not again see the people
who live on the earth.
12Like a shepherd’s tent,
my home has been pulled down and taken from me.
I am finished like the cloth
a weaver rolls up and cuts from the loom.
In one day you brought me to this end.
13All night I cried loudly.
Like a lion, he crushed all my bones.
In one day you brought me to this end.
14I cried like a bird.
I moaned like a dove.
My eyes became tired as I looked to the heavens.
Lord, I have troubles. Please help me.”
15What can I say?
The Lord told me what would happen and then made it happen.
I have had these troubles in my soul.
So now I will be humble all my life.
16Lord, because of you, men live.
Because of you, my spirit also lives.
You made me well and let me live.
17It was for my own good
that I had such troubles.
Because you love me very much,
you did not let me die.
You threw my sins
far away.
18People in the place where the dead are cannot praise you.
Those who have died cannot sing praises to you.
Those who die don’t trust you
to help them.
19The people who are alive are the ones who praise you.
They praise you as I praise you today.
A father should tell his children
that you provide help.
20The Lord saved me.
So we will sing and play songs.
We will make music in the Temple of the Lord
all the days of our lives.
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Isaiah 38: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Isaiah 38
38
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
1In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill.#2Kg 20:1–6,9–11; 2Ch 32:24 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order,#2Sm 17:23 for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”#38:1 Lit live
2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3He said, “Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly,#Gn 17:1; 1Kg 2:4; 3:6; 8:23; 2Kg 18:5–6; Ps 26:3 and have done what pleases you.”#Dt 6:18 And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add fifteen years to your life.#38:5 Lit days, also in v. 10#2Kg 18:2,13 6And I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria; I will defend this city.#Is 31:5; 37:35 7This is the sign to you#Is 37:30 from the Lord that he will do what he has promised: 8I am going to make the sun’s shadow that goes down on the stairway of Ahaz go back by ten steps.’”#Jos 10:12–14 So the sun’s shadow#38:8 Lit And the sun went back the ten steps it had descended.
9A poem by King Hezekiah of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:
10I said: In the prime#38:10 Lit quiet of my life#Ps 102:24
I must go to the gates of Sheol;#Ps 107:18
I am deprived of the rest of my years.
11I said: I will never see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;#Ps 27:13; 116:9
I will not look on humanity any longer
with the inhabitants of what is passing away.#38:11 Some Hb mss, Tg read of the world
12My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.#2Co 5:1,4; 2Pt 1:13–14
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;#Jb 7:6; Heb 1:12
he cuts me off from the loom.#Jb 6:9
By nightfall#38:12 Lit From day until night, also in v. 13 you make an end of me.#Jb 4:20; Ps 73:14
13I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion.
By nightfall you make an end of me.
14I chirp like a swallow or a crane;
I moan like a dove.#Is 59:11; Ezk 7:16; Nah 2:7
My eyes grow weak looking upward.
Lord, I am oppressed; support me.#Jb 17:3; Ps 119:122
15What can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk along slowly all my years#1Kg 21:27
because of the bitterness of my soul.#1Sm 1:10; Ezk 27:31; Jb 3:20; 7:11; 10:1
16Lord, by such things people live,#Ps 119:71,75
and in every one of them my spirit finds life;
you have restored me to health#Ps 39:13
and let me live.#Ps 119:25
17Indeed, it was for my own well-being
that I had such intense bitterness;#Heb 12:11
but your love has delivered me
from the Pit of destruction,#Jb 33:18,30; Ps 103:4; 106:23; Ezk 20:17; Jnh 2:6
for you have thrown all my sins behind your back.#Is 43:25; Jr 31:34; Mc 7:19
18For Sheol cannot thank you;
Death cannot praise you.#Ps 6:5; 30:9; 88:10–12; 115:17
Those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19The living, only the living can thank you,
as I do today;
a father will make your faithfulness known to children.#Dt 6:7; 11:19; Ps 78:5–7
20The Lord is ready to save me;
we will play stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
at the house of the Lord.#Ps 23:6; 116:17–19
21Now Isaiah#2Kg 20:7–8 had said, “Let them take a lump of pressed figs and apply it to his infected skin, so that he may recover.” 22And Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”
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