Isaiah 38
38
1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was near death. And so, Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet, entered to him, and he said to him: "Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you shall die, and you shall not live."
2 And Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and he prayed to the Lord.
3 And he said: "I beg you, Lord, I beseech you, to remember how I walked before you in truth and with a whole heart, and that I have done what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept with a great weeping.
4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying:
5 "Go and say to Hezekiah: Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your days.
6 And I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect it.
7 And this will be a sign for you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this word, which he has spoken:
8 Behold, I will cause the shadow of the lines, which has now descended on the sundial of Ahaz, to move in reverse for ten lines." And so, the sun moved backward by ten lines, through the degrees by which it had descended.
9 The writing of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, after he had fallen ill and had recovered from his sickness:
10 "I said: In the middle of my days, I will go to the gates of Hell. So I sought the remainder of my years.
11 I said: I will not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I will no longer behold man, nor the habitation of rest.
12 My longevity has been taken away; it has been folded up and taken from me, like the tent of a shepherd. My life has been cut off, as if by a weaver. While I was still beginning, he cut me off. From morning until evening, you have marked out my limits.
13 I hoped, even until morning. Like a lion, so has he crushed all my bones. From morning until evening, you have marked my limits.
14 I will cry out, like a young swallow. I will meditate, like a dove. My eyes have been weakened by gazing upward. O Lord, I suffer violence! Answer in my favor.
15 What can I say, or what would he answer me, since he himself has done this? I will acknowledge to you all my years, in the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, if such is life, and if the life of my spirit is of such a kind, may you correct me and may you cause me to live.
17 Behold, in peace my bitterness is most bitter. But you have rescued my soul, so that it would not perish. You have cast all my sins behind your back.
18 For Hell will not confess to you, and death will not praise you. Those who descend into the pit will not hope for your truth.
19 The living, the living, these will give praise to you, as I also do this day! The father will make the truth known to the sons.
20 O Lord, save me! And we will sing our psalms, all the days of our life, in the house of the Lord."
21 Now Isaiah had ordered them to take a paste of figs, and to spread it like plaster over the wound, so that he would be healed.
22 And Hezekiah said, "What will be the sign that I may go up to the house of the Lord?"
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Isaiah 38: CPDV
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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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