Isaiah 38
38
1In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3and said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, 5Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7And this shall he the sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken: 8behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial whereon it was gone down.
9The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness. 10I said, In the noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12Mine age is removed, and is carried away from me as a shepherd's tent: I have rolled up like a weaver my life; he will cut me off from the loom: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13I quieted myself until morning; as a lion, so he breaketh all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 14Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward; O LORD, I am oppressed, be thou my surety. 15What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. 16O Lord, by these things men live, and wholly therein is the life of my spirit: wherefore recover thou me, and make me to live. 17Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 20The LORD is ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD. 21Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. 22Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?
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Isaiah 38: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Isaiah 38
38
King Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery
(2 Kgs 20.1–11; 2 Chr 32.24–26)
1About this time King Hezekiah fell ill and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, “The LORD tells you that you are to put everything in order because you will not recover. Get ready to die.”
2Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed: 3“Remember, LORD, that I have served you faithfully and loyally, and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to.” And he began to cry bitterly.
4Then the LORD commanded Isaiah 5to go back to Hezekiah and say to him, “I, the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will let you live fifteen years longer. 6I will rescue you and this city of Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria, and I will continue to protect the city.”
21 # 38.21 Verses 21–22 are moved here from the end of the chapter (see 2 Kgs 20.6–9). Isaiah told the king to put a paste made of figs on his boil, and he would get well. 22Then King Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign to prove that I will be able to go to the Temple?”
7Isaiah replied, “The LORD will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. 8On the stairway built by King Ahaz, the LORD will make the shadow go back ten steps.” And the shadow moved back ten steps.#38.8 stairway… ten steps… steps; or sundial… ten degrees… degrees (see 2 Kgs 20.9–11).
9After Hezekiah recovered from his illness, he wrote this song of praise:
10I thought that in the prime of life
I was going to the world of the dead,
Never to live out my life.
11I thought that in this world of the living
I would never again see the LORD
Or any living person.
12My life was cut off and ended,
Like a tent that is taken down,
Like cloth that is cut from a loom.
I thought that God was ending my life.#38.12 I thought… my life; Hebrew unclear.
13All night I cried out with pain,
As if a lion were breaking my bones.
I thought that God was ending my life.#38.13 Verse 13 in Hebrew is unclear.
14My voice was thin and weak,
And I moaned like a dove.
My eyes grew tired from looking to heaven.
Lord, rescue me from all this trouble.
15What can I say? The LORD has done this.
My heart is bitter, and I cannot sleep.
16Lord, I will live for you, for you alone;
Heal me and let me live.#38.16 Verses 15–16 in Hebrew are unclear.
17My bitterness will turn into peace.
You save#38.17 Some ancient translations save; Hebrew love. my life from all danger;
You forgive all my sins.
18No one in the world of the dead can praise you;
The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness.
19It is the living who praise you,
As I praise you now.
Parents tell their children how faithful you are.
20 LORD, you have healed me.
We will play harps and sing your praise,
Sing praise in your Temple as long as we live.#38.20 Verses 21–22 are placed after verse 6.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.