Isaiah 38
38
Hezekiah’s illness
1At about that time Hezekiah became deathly sick. The prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son, came to him and said: “The LORD God says this: Put your affairs in order because you are about to die. You won’t survive this.”
2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD: 3“Please, LORD, remember how I’ve walked before you in truth and sincerity. I’ve done what you consider to be good.” Then Hezekiah cried and cried.
4Then the LORD’s word came to Isaiah: 5“Go and say to Hezekiah: The LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says this: I have heard your prayer and have seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life. 6I will rescue you and this city from the power of the Assyrian king. I will defend this city. 7This will be your sign from the LORD that he will do what he promised: 8once the shadow cast by the sun descends on the steps of Ahaz, I will make it back up ten steps.” And the sun went back ten of the steps that it had already descended.
9A composition by Judah’s King Hezekiah when he was sick and then recovered from his sickness:
10I thought, I must depart in the prime of my life;
I have been relegated to the gates of the underworld#38.10 Heb Sheol for the rest of my life.
11I thought, I won’t see the LORD.
The LORD is in the land of the living.
I won’t look upon humans again
or be with the inhabitants of the world.
12My lifetime is plucked up
and taken from me like a shepherd’s tent.
My life is shriveled like woven cloth;
God cuts me off from the loom.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
13I cried out#38.13 Or I lay down until morning:
“Like a lion God crushes all my bones.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
14Like a swallow#38.14 Heb uncertain I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes have grown weary looking to heaven.
Lord, I’m overwhelmed; support me!”
15What can I say?
God has spoken to me;
he himself has acted.
I will wander#38.15 Heb uncertain my whole life
with a bitter spirit.
16The LORD Most High is the one who gives life to every heart,
who gives life to the spirit!#38.16 Heb uncertain
17Look, he indeed exchanged my bitterness for wholeness.#38.17 Heb uncertain
You yourself have spared#38.17 Cf LXX, Vulg; MT loved my whole being
from the pit of destruction,
because you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18The underworld#38.18 Heb Sheol can’t thank you,
nor can death#38.18 Heb Maveth praise you;
those who go down to the pit
can’t hope for your faithfulness.
19The living, the living can thank you, as I do today.
Parents will tell children about your faithfulness.
20The LORD has truly saved me,
and we will make music#38.20 Or my stringed instruments at the LORD’s house all the days of our lives.
21Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a salve made from figs, put it on the swelling, and he’ll get better.”
22Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What’s the sign that I’ll be able to go up to the LORD’s temple?”
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Isaiah 38: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
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.