Isaiah 38
38
Sickness and Recovery of Hezekiah. 1#38:1–39:8] The events of this section—sickness and recovery of Hezekiah, embassy of Merodach-baladan—anticipate the rise of Babylon (chaps. 40–66). They occurred prior to the events of 36:1–37:38, which point back to Assyria (1:1–35:10). In those days,#In those days: before the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. when Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover.”#2 Kgs 20:1. 2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord:
3“Ah, Lord, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly I conducted myself in your presence, doing what was good in your sight!” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.#2 Kgs 18:5–6.
4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5Go, tell Hezekiah:#Since Hezekiah died in 687 B.C., his sickness may have occurred in 702 B.C., that is, fifteen years before. Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Now I will add fifteen years to your life. 6I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; I will be a shield to this city.#Is 37:35.
7This will be the sign for you from the Lord that the Lord will carry out the word he has spoken: 8See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz#Stairway to the terrace of Ahaz: this interpretation is based on a reading of the Hebrew text revised according to the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah; cf. 2 Kgs 23:12. Many translate the phrase as “steps of Ahaz” and understand this as referring to a sundial. go back the ten steps it has advanced. So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.#2 Kgs 20:9–11.
Hezekiah’s Hymn of Thanksgiving. 9The song of Hezekiah, king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:
10In the noontime of life#In the noontime of life: long before the end of a full span of life; cf. Ps 55:24; 102:25. I said,
I must depart!
To the gates of Sheol I have been consigned
for the rest of my years.#Jb 17:11–13; Ps 102:25.
11I said, I shall see the Lord#See the Lord: go to the Temple and take part in its service. no more
in the land of the living.
Nor look on any mortals
among those who dwell in the world.
12My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs me from the last thread.#These two metaphors emphasize the suddenness and finality of death. #Jb 7:6.
From morning to night you make an end of me;
13I cry out even until the dawn.
Like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from morning to night you make an end of me.#Jb 23:14.
14Like a swallow I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weary looking heavenward:
Lord, I am overwhelmed; go security for me!
15#The Hebrew text is very problematic and its meaning uncertain. What am I to say or tell him?
He is the one who has done it!
All my sleep has fled,
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16Those live whom the Lord protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and restored my life!
17Peace in place of bitterness!
You have preserved my life
from the pit of destruction;
Behind your back
you cast all my sins.#Behind your back you cast all my sins: figurative language to express the divine forgiveness of sins, as if God no longer saw or cared about them.
18#See note on Ps 6:6. For it is not Sheol that gives you thanks,
nor death that praises you;
Neither do those who go down into the pit
await your kindness.#Ps 6:6; 88:11–13.
19The living, the living give you thanks,
as I do today.
Parents declare to their children,
O God, your faithfulness.
20The Lord is there to save us.
We shall play our music
In the house of the Lord
all the days of our life.
21#These verses are clearly out of place. Logically they should come after v. 6, as they do in the parallel account in 2 Kgs 20, but the two accounts are not identical, and it appears that the version in Isaiah is abbreviated from that in Kings. If that is so, Is 38:21–22 would be a secondary addition from Kings, inserted by a later reader who thought the account incomplete. Then Isaiah said, “Bring a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil for his recovery.” 22Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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