Isaiah 38
Revised Standard Version
Hezekiah’s Illness
38 In those days Hezeki′ah became sick and was at the point of death. And 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.” 2 Then Hezeki′ah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight.” And Hezeki′ah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezeki′ah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.
7 “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 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.[a]
9 A writing of Hezeki′ah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said, In the noontide 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
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night thou dost bring me to an end;[b]
13 I cry for help[c] until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night thou dost bring me to an end.[d]
14 Like a swallow or a crane[e] I clamor,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be thou my security!
15 But what can I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has fled[f]
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.[g]
Oh, restore me to health and make me live!
17 Lo, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but thou hast held back[h] my life
from the pit of destruction,
for thou hast cast all my sins
behind thy back.
18 For Sheol cannot thank thee,
death cannot praise thee;
those who go down to the pit cannot hope
for thy faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks thee,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
thy faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing to stringed instruments[i]
all the days of our life,
at the house of the Lord.
21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs, and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Hezeki′ah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:8 The Hebrew of this verse is obscure
- Isaiah 38:12 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:13 Cn: Heb obscure
- Isaiah 38:13 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:14 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:15 Cn Compare Syr: Heb I will walk slowly all my years
- Isaiah 38:16 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:17 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb loved
- Isaiah 38:20 Heb my stringed instruments
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
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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