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
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.