Isaiah 38-42
New King James Version
Hezekiah’s Life Extended(A)
38 In (B)those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: (C)‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, (D)“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a [a]loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your (E)sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and (F)I will defend this city.” ’ 7 And this is (G)the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said,
“In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”
11 I said,
“I shall not see [b]Yah,
The Lord (H)in the land of the living;
I shall observe man no more [c]among the inhabitants of [d]the world.
12 (I)My life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.
13 I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.
14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;
(J)I mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O [e]Lord, I am oppressed;
[f]Undertake for me!
15 “What shall I say?
[g]He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
(K)In the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.
17 Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 For (L)Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
(M)The father shall make known Your truth to the children.
20 “The Lord was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”
21 Now (N)Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
22 And (O)Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
The Babylonian Envoys(P)
39 At (Q)that time [h]Merodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 (R)And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?”
So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a (S)far country, from Babylon.”
4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”
So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming (T)when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your (U)sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”
8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, (V)“The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.”
God’s People Are Comforted(W)
40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak [i]comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
(X)For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”
3 (Y)The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(Z)“Prepare the way of the Lord;
(AA)Make straight [j]in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
(AB)The crooked places shall be made [k]straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The (AC)glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And [l]he said, “What shall I cry?”
(AD)“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But (AE)the word of our God stands forever.”
9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, the Lord God shall come [m]with a strong hand,
And (AF)His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, (AG)His reward is with Him,
And His [n]work before Him.
11 He will (AH)feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
12 (AI)Who has measured the [o]waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a [p]span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 (AJ)Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And (AK)taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as (AL)nothing,
And (AM)they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you (AN)liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 (AO)The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such [q]a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
(AP)To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 (AQ)Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who (AR)stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a (AS)tent to dwell in.
23 He [r]brings the (AT)princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “To(AU) whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
(AV)He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
27 (AW)Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
(AX)His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who (AY)wait on the Lord
(AZ)Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Israel Assured of God’s Help
41 “Keep (BA)silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us (BB)come near together for judgment.
2 “Who raised up one (BC)from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who (BD)gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed [s]safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4 (BE)Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am (BF)the first;
And with the last I am (BG)He.’ ”
5 The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6 (BH)Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
[t]“Be of good courage!”
7 (BI)So the craftsman encouraged the (BJ)goldsmith;[u]
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, [v]“It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
(BK)That it might not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have (BL)chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My (BM)friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 (BN)Fear not, (BO)for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be (BP)ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them—
[w]Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14 “Fear not, you (BQ)worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, (BR)I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall (BS)winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And (BT)glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not (BU)forsake them.
18 I will open (BV)rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the (BW)wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the (BX)desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 (BY)That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the (BZ)King of Jacob.
22 “Let(CA) them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the (CB)former things, what they were,
That we may [x]consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
23 (CC)Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, (CD)do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed (CE)you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the [y]rising of the sun (CF)he shall call on My name;
(CG)And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26 (CH)Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27 (CI)The first time (CJ)I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28 (CK)For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 (CL)Indeed they are all [z]worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
The Servant of the Lord
42 “Behold! (CM)My Servant whom I uphold,
My [aa]Elect One in whom My soul (CN)delights!
(CO)I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And [ab]smoking flax He will not [ac]quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
(CP)And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
5 Thus says God the Lord,
(CQ)Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
(CR)Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6 “I,(CS) the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You (CT)and give You as a covenant to the people,
As (CU)a light to the Gentiles,
7 (CV)To open blind eyes,
To (CW)bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in (CX)darkness from the prison house.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My (CY)glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Praise to the Lord
10 (CZ)Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
(DA)You who go down to the sea, and [ad]all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, (DB)yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
Promise of the Lord’s Help
14 “I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in [ae]labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17 They shall be (DC)turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
18 “Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 (DD)Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the Lord’s servant?
20 Seeing many things, (DE)but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Israel’s Obstinate Disobedience
21 The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;
All of them are [af]snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the Lord,
He against whom we have sinned?
(DF)For they would not walk in His ways,
Nor were they obedient to His law.
25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
And the strength of battle;
(DG)It has set him on fire all around,
(DH)Yet he did not know;
And it burned him,
Yet he did not take it to (DI)heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:3 whole or peaceful
- Isaiah 38:11 Heb. Yah, Yah
- Isaiah 38:11 LXX omits among the inhabitants of the world
- Isaiah 38:11 So with some Heb. mss.; MT, Vg. rest; Tg. land
- Isaiah 38:14 So with Bg.; MT, DSS Lord
- Isaiah 38:14 Be my surety
- Isaiah 38:15 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Tg. And shall I say to Him; LXX omits first half of this verse
- Isaiah 39:1 Berodach-Baladan, 2 Kin. 20:12
- Isaiah 40:2 Lit. to the heart of
- Isaiah 40:3 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX omits in the desert
- Isaiah 40:4 Or a plain
- Isaiah 40:6 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Vg. I
- Isaiah 40:10 in strength
- Isaiah 40:10 recompense
- Isaiah 40:12 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; DSS adds of the sea; Tg. adds of the world
- Isaiah 40:12 A span .5 cubit, 9 inches; or the width of His hand
- Isaiah 40:20 an offering
- Isaiah 40:23 reduces
- Isaiah 41:3 Lit. in peace
- Isaiah 41:6 Lit. Be strong
- Isaiah 41:7 refiner
- Isaiah 41:7 Or The soldering is good
- Isaiah 41:12 Lit. Men of your strife
- Isaiah 41:22 Lit. set our heart on them
- Isaiah 41:25 East
- Isaiah 41:29 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Syr., Tg. nothing; LXX omits first line
- Isaiah 42:1 Chosen
- Isaiah 42:3 dimly burning
- Isaiah 42:3 extinguish
- Isaiah 42:10 Lit. its fullness
- Isaiah 42:14 childbirth
- Isaiah 42:22 Or trapped in caves
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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