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
(2 Kings 20:1–11; 2 Chronicles 32:24–31)
1In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3saying, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5“Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.#38:6 MT and LXX; DSS includes for My sake and for the sake of My servant David; see 2 Kings 20:6. 7This will be a sign to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: 8I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’”
So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.
Hezekiah’s Song of Thanksgiving
9This is a writing by Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10I said, “In the prime #38:10 Or In the quiet or In the middle of my life
I must go through the gates of Sheol
and be deprived of the remainder of my years.”
11I said, “I will never again see the Lord,
even the Lord, in the land of the living;
I will no longer look on mankind
with those who dwell in this world.
12My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;
He cuts me off from the loom;
from day until night You make an end of me.
13I composed myself #38:13 Or I cried out; see Targum Yonaton. until the morning.
Like a lion He breaks all my bones;
from day until night You make an end of me.
14I chirp like a swallow or crane;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weak as I look upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
15What can I say?
He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this.
I will walk slowly all my years
because of the anguish of my soul.
16O Lord, by such things men live,
and in all of them my spirit finds life.
You have restored me to health
and have let me live.
17Surely for my own welfare
I had such great anguish;
but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion,
for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18For Sheol cannot thank You;
Death cannot praise You.
Those who descend to the Pit
cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19The living, only the living, can thank You,
as I do today;
fathers will tell their children
about Your faithfulness.
20The Lord will save me;
we will play songs on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the house of the Lord.
21Now Isaiah had said, “Prepare a lump of pressed figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
22And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?”
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.