Isaiah 38
38
Chapter 38
Hezekiah becomes ill
1At that time, Hezekiah became very ill. He nearly died. Then Amoz's son, Isaiah the prophet, went to Hezekiah. He said to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You will soon die. You will not get better. So you must tell your family what to do after your death.” ’
2Then Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall and he prayed to the Lord. 3He prayed, ‘Lord, please remember that I have served you well. I have always obeyed you. You could trust me to do the things that you told me to do.’ Hezekiah wept very much.
4Then the Lord said to Isaiah, 5‘Go and say this to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord says, the God that your ancestor David worshipped. I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. So I will let you live for 15 more years. 6I will rescue you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. I will keep Jerusalem safe.” ’
7Isaiah said, ‘The Lord will do what he has promised to do for you. This is how you will know that it will really happen. 8You can see the sun's shadow when it falls on the stairs that King Ahaz built. The Lord will cause the shadow to go back ten steps on these stairs.’ Then the shadow did go back ten steps!
Hezekiah's song
9When Hezekiah became better from his disease, he wrote this song:
10I thought that I might die in the middle of my life.
I thought that I would go into the deep hole of death,
before I had lived all the years of my life.
11I thought, ‘I will not see the Lord again,
while I live in this world.
I will no longer see the people who live in the world.
I will no longer live among them.’
12My home here has gone,
as easily as they pull down a shepherd's tent.
God has cut off my life,
like a piece of cloth that they have just made.
They cut it off and they roll it up.
As quickly as day becomes night,
God brings my life to an end.
13I waited until morning would come.
It seemed like God was breaking all my bones,
like a lion does.
As quickly as day becomes night,
God brings my life to an end.
14I cry like a swallow.
I make a sad noise like a dove.
My eyes are weak as I look up to heaven for help.
Lord God, save me from my trouble!
15I do not know what I can say.
The Lord has told me what must happen.
He has done what he decided to do.
I will live quietly for the rest of my life,
because I am very sad and upset.
16 Lord God, your promises give life to people.
May they give life to my spirit.
Please make me well again and let me live.
17Yes, it was good for me to have this trouble.
You rescued me from the deep hole of death.
You removed my sins,
and you put them behind your back.
18Dead people in their graves cannot praise you.
They cannot sing to thank you.
People who go down into the deep hole of death
cannot trust you to help them.
19It is those people who are alive that can thank you.
And I am doing it today.
Fathers tell their children that they can trust you.
20The Lord will now save me from death.
We will sing to thank the Lord in his temple.
We will sing with happy music every day of our lives.
21Now Isaiah had said this: ‘Take some figs to make a medicine and put it on Hezekiah's boil. Then he will get better.’ 22Hezekiah had asked, ‘What will show me that I will be able to go up to the Lord's temple?’ #38:22 Verses 21-22 may come between verse 6 and verse 7.
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Isaiah 38: EASY
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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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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