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Isaiah 38-40
English Standard Version
Isaiah 38-40
English Standard Version
Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery
38 (A)In those days Hezekiah became (B)sick and was at the point of death. And (C)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”[a] 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how (D)I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add (E)fifteen years to your life.[b] 6 (F)I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 (G)Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.[c]
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said, (H)In the middle[d] of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord,
the Lord (I)in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
(J)like a shepherd's tent;
(K)like a weaver (L)I have rolled up my life;
(M)he cuts me off from the loom;
(N)from day to night you bring me to an end;
13 (O)I calmed myself[e] until morning;
like a lion (P)he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.
14 Like (Q)a swallow or a crane I chirp;
(R)I moan like a dove.
(S)My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; (T)be my pledge of safety!
15 What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
(U)I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 (V)O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!
17 (W)Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
(X)but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
(Y)for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 (Z)For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
(AA)the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
(AB)at the house of the Lord.
21 (AC)Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
Envoys from Babylon
39 (AD)At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, (AE)sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, (AF)the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. (AG)There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 (AH)Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 (AI)And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, (AJ)“There will be peace and security in my days.”
Comfort for God's People
40 (AK)Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 (AL)Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that (AM)her warfare[f] is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
3 (AN)A voice cries:[g]
(AO)“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
(AP)make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 (AQ)Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 (AR)And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
(AS)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Word of God Stands Forever
6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said,[h] “What shall I cry?”
(AT)All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[i] is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 (AU)The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
The Greatness of God
9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, (AV)herald of good news;[j]
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[k]
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
10 (AW)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
(AX)behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 (AY)He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
(AZ)he will gather the lambs in his arms;
(BA)he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
12 (BB)Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 (BC)Who has measured[l] the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
(BD)Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted (BE)as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up (BF)the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are (BG)its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 (BH)All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 (BI)To whom then will you liken God,
(BJ)or what likeness compare with him?
19 (BK)An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 (BL)He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood[m] that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
21 (BM)Do you not know? Do you not hear?
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 (BN)like grasshoppers;
(BO)who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 (BP)who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
(BQ)and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 (BR)To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
(BS)He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
(BT)“My way is hidden from the Lord,
(BU)and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is (BV)the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
(BW)his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but (BX)they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings (BY)like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:1 Or live; also verses 9, 21
- Isaiah 38:5 Hebrew to your days
- Isaiah 38:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
- Isaiah 38:10 Or In the quiet
- Isaiah 38:13 Or (with Targum) I cried for help
- Isaiah 40:2 Or hardship
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one crying
- Isaiah 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says
- Isaiah 40:6 Or all its constancy
- Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
- Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem
- Isaiah 40:13 Or has directed
- Isaiah 40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood
Isaiah 38-40
New International Version
Isaiah 38-40
New International Version
Hezekiah’s Illness(A)
38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz(B) went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order,(C) because you are going to die; you will not recover.”(D)
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked(E) before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion(F) and have done what is good in your eyes.(G)” And Hezekiah wept(H) bitterly.
4 Then the word(I) of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David,(J) says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears;(K) I will add fifteen years(L) to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend(M) this city.
7 “‘This is the Lord’s sign(N) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.(O)
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10 I said, “In the prime of my life(P)
must I go through the gates of death(Q)
and be robbed of the rest of my years?(R)”
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself(S)
in the land of the living;(T)
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent(U) my house
has been pulled down(V) and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled(W) up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;(X)
day and night(Y) you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently(Z) till dawn,
but like a lion he broke(AA) all my bones;(AB)
day and night(AC) you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.(AD)
My eyes grew weak(AE) as I looked to the heavens.
I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”(AF)
15 But what can I say?(AG)
He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.(AH)
I will walk humbly(AI) all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.(AJ)
16 Lord, by such things people live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
and let me live.(AK)
17 Surely it was for my benefit(AL)
that I suffered such anguish.(AM)
In your love you kept me
from the pit(AN) of destruction;
you have put all my sins(AO)
behind your back.(AP)
18 For the grave(AQ) cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;(AR)
those who go down to the pit(AS)
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise(AT) you,
as I am doing today;
parents tell their children(AU)
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing(AV) with stringed instruments(AW)
all the days of our lives(AX)
in the temple(AY) of the Lord.
21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign(AZ) that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”
Envoys From Babylon(BA)
39 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon(BB) sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys(BC) gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold,(BD) the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures.(BE) There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,(BF)” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word(BG) of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(BH) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.(BI)”
8 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,(BJ)” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.(BK)”
Comfort for God’s People
40 Comfort, comfort(BL) my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly(BM) to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service(BN) has been completed,(BO)
that her sin has been paid for,(BP)
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double(BQ) for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way(BR) for the Lord[a];
make straight(BS) in the desert
a highway for our God.[b](BT)
4 Every valley shall be raised up,(BU)
every mountain and hill(BV) made low;
the rough ground shall become level,(BW)
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory(BX) of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.(BY)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”(BZ)
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,(CA)
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers(CB) and the flowers fall,
because the breath(CC) of the Lord blows(CD) on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers(CE) fall,
but the word(CF) of our God endures(CG) forever.(CH)”
9 You who bring good news(CI) to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c](CJ)
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”(CK)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(CL) with power,(CM)
and he rules(CN) with a mighty arm.(CO)
See, his reward(CP) is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:(CQ)
He gathers the lambs in his arms(CR)
and carries them close to his heart;(CS)
he gently leads(CT) those that have young.(CU)
12 Who has measured the waters(CV) in the hollow of his hand,(CW)
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?(CX)
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?(CY)
13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d](CZ) of the Lord,
or instruct the Lord as his counselor?(DA)
14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,(DB)
or showed him the path of understanding?(DC)
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;(DD)
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(DE)
16 Lebanon(DF) is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals(DG) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(DH) are as nothing;(DI)
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.(DJ)
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(DK)
To what image(DL) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(DM) a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith(DN) overlays it with gold(DO)
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood(DP) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol(DQ) that will not topple.(DR)
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(DS)
Has it not been told(DT) you from the beginning?(DU)
Have you not understood(DV) since the earth was founded?(DW)
22 He sits enthroned(DX) above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.(DY)
He stretches out the heavens(DZ) like a canopy,(EA)
and spreads them out like a tent(EB) to live in.(EC)
23 He brings princes(ED) to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(EE)
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root(EF) in the ground,
than he blows(EG) on them and they wither,(EH)
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(EI)
25 “To whom will you compare me?(EJ)
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.(EK)
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:(EL)
Who created(EM) all these?
He who brings out the starry host(EN) one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,(EO)
not one of them is missing.(EP)
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?(EQ)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?(ER)
The Lord is the everlasting(ES) God,
the Creator(ET) of the ends of the earth.(EU)
He will not grow tired or weary,(EV)
and his understanding no one can fathom.(EW)
29 He gives strength(EX) to the weary(EY)
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men(EZ) stumble and fall;(FA)
31 but those who hope(FB) in the Lord
will renew their strength.(FC)
They will soar on wings like eagles;(FD)
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(FE)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord
- Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God
- Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news
- Isaiah 40:13 Or mind
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.