Isaiah 38
Legacy Standard Bible
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
38 (A)In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And (B)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘(C)Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh 3 and said, “(D)Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have (E)walked before You in truth and with a (F)whole heart and (G)have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah (H)wept [a]greatly.
4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add (I)fifteen years to your [b]life. 6 And I will (J)deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’
7 “Now this shall be the (K)sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do this word that He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will (L)cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the (M)sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and [c]recovery:
10 I said, “(N)In the middle of my [d]life
I am to enter the (O)gates of Sheol;
I am to be (P)deprived of the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will not see Yah,
Yah (Q)in the land of the living;
I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world.
12 Like a shepherd’s (R)tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;
As a (S)weaver I (T)rolled up my life.
He (U)cuts me off from the loom;
From (V)day until night You make an end of me.
13 I soothed my soul until morning.
(W)Like a lion—so He (X)shatters all my bones;
From (Y)day until night You make an end of me.
14 (Z)Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirped;
I (AA)moan like a dove;
My (AB)eyes look wistfully to the heights;
O Lord, I am oppressed, be my (AC)security.
15 “(AD)What shall I say?
[e]Indeed, He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will (AE)wander about all my years because of the (AF)bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, (AG)by these things men live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
[f](AH)O restore me to health and (AI)let me live!
17 Behold, for my own well-being I had great bitterness;
But it is You who has [g](AJ)held back my soul from the pit of [h]nothingness,
For You have (AK)cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 For (AL)Sheol cannot thank You;
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down (AM)to the pit cannot keep watch for Your truth.
19 It is the (AN)living, the living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A (AO)father makes known to his sons about Your truth.
20 Yahweh is here to save me;
So we will (AP)play my songs on stringed instruments
(AQ)All the days of our life (AR)at the house of Yahweh.”
21 Now (AS)Isaiah had said, “Let them take up a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may live.” 22 Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the (AT)sign that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh?”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:3 Lit great weeping
- Isaiah 38:5 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:9 Lit he lived after his illness
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:15 DSS and Targum And what shall I say for He
- Isaiah 38:16 Lit You will
- Isaiah 38:17 As in some versions; Heb loved
- Isaiah 38:17 Or destruction
Isaiah 38
American Standard Version
38 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, 3 and said, Remember now, O Jehovah, 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. 4 Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah, saying, 5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, 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. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be the sign unto thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do this thing that he hath spoken: 8 behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the [a]dial of Ahaz [b]with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps [c]on the dial whereon it was gone down.
9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.
10 I said, In the [d]noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of Sheol:
I am deprived of the residue of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see [e]Jehovah, even [f]Jehovah in the land of the living:
I shall behold man no more [g]with the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling 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 [h]loom:
From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
13 [i]I 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.
14 Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter;
I did moan as a dove; mine eyes fail with looking upward:
O Lord, I am oppressed, be thou my surety.
15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it:
I shall go [j]softly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And wholly therein is the life of my spirit:
[k]Wherefore recover thou me, and make me to live.
17 Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness:
But [l]thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of [m]corruption;
For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18 For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee:
They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day:
The father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20 Jehovah is ready to save me:
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.
21 Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. 22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:8 Hebrew steps.
- Isaiah 38:8 Or, by
- Isaiah 38:8 Or, by which steps it etc.
- Isaiah 38:10 Or, tranquility
- Isaiah 38:11 Hebrew Jah.
- Isaiah 38:11 Hebrew Jah.
- Isaiah 38:11 Or, when I am among them that have ceased to be
- Isaiah 38:12 Hebrew thrum.
- Isaiah 38:13 Or, I thought until morning, As a lion, so will he break etc.
- Isaiah 38:15 Or, as in solemn procession. See Ps. 42:4.
- Isaiah 38:16 Or, So wilt thou recover me
- Isaiah 38:17 Hebrew thou hast loved my soul from the pit.
- Isaiah 38:17 Or, nothingness
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