Isaiah 38
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?”
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 38
Common English Bible
Hezekiah’s illness
38 At about that time Hezekiah became deathly sick. The prophet Isaiah, Amoz’s son, came to him and said: “The Lord God says this: Put your affairs in order because you are about to die. You won’t survive this.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord: 3 “Please, Lord, remember how I’ve walked before you in truth and sincerity. I’ve done what you consider to be good.” Then Hezekiah cried and cried.
4 Then the Lord’s word came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah: The Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says this: I have heard your prayer and have seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will rescue you and this city from the power of the Assyrian king. I will defend this city. 7 This will be your sign from the Lord that he will do what he promised: 8 once the shadow cast by the sun descends on the steps of Ahaz, I will make it back up ten steps.” And the sun went back ten of the steps that it had already descended.
9 A composition by Judah’s King Hezekiah when he was sick and then recovered from his sickness:
10 I thought, I must depart in the prime of my life;
I have been relegated to the gates of the underworld[a] for the rest of my life.
11 I thought, I won’t see the Lord.
The Lord is in the land of the living.
I won’t look upon humans again
or be with the inhabitants of the world.
12 My lifetime is plucked up
and taken from me like a shepherd’s tent.
My life is shriveled like woven cloth;
God cuts me off from the loom.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
13 I cried out[b] until morning:
“Like a lion God crushes all my bones.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
14 Like a swallow[c] I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes have grown weary looking to heaven.
Lord, I’m overwhelmed; support me!”
15 What can I say?
God has spoken to me;
he himself has acted.
I will wander[d] my whole life
with a bitter spirit.
16 The Lord Most High is the one who gives life to every heart,
who gives life to the spirit![e]
17 Look, he indeed exchanged my bitterness for wholeness.[f]
You yourself have spared[g] my whole being
from the pit of destruction,
because you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 The underworld[h] can’t thank you,
nor can death[i] praise you;
those who go down to the pit
can’t hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living can thank you, as I do today.
Parents will tell children about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord has truly saved me,
and we will make music[j] at the Lord’s house all the days of our lives.
21 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a salve made from figs, put it on the swelling, and he’ll get better.”
22 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What’s the sign that I’ll be able to go up to the Lord’s temple?”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:10 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 38:13 Or I lay down
- Isaiah 38:14 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:15 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:16 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:17 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:17 Cf LXX, Vulg; MT loved
- Isaiah 38:18 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 38:18 Heb Maveth
- Isaiah 38:20 Or my stringed instruments
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible