Isaiah 38:9-20
Contemporary English Version
King Hezekiah's Song of Praise
9 This is what Hezekiah wrote after he got well:
10 I thought I would die
during my best years
and stay as a prisoner forever
in the world of the dead.
11 I thought I would never again
see you, my Lord,
or any of the people
who live on this earth.
12 My life was taken from me
like the tent that a shepherd
pulls up and moves.
You cut me off like thread
from a weaver's loom;
you make a wreck of me
day and night.
13 Until morning came, I thought
you would crush my bones
just like a hungry lion;
both night and day
you make a wreck of me.[a]
14 I cry like a swallow;
I mourn like a dove.
My eyes are red
from looking to you, Lord.
I am in terrible trouble.
Please come and help me.[b]
15 There's nothing I can say
in answer to you,
since you are the one
who has done this to me.[c]
My life has turned sour;
I will limp until I die.
16 Your words and your deeds
bring life to everyone,
including me.[d]
Please make me healthy
and strong again.
17 It was for my own good
that I had such hard times.
But your love protected me
from doom in the deep pit,[e]
and you turned your eyes
away from my sins.
18 (A) No one in the world of the dead
can thank you or praise you;
none of those in the deep pit
can hope for you
to show them
how faithful you are.
19 Only the living can thank you,
as I am doing today.
Each generation tells the next
about your faithfulness.[f]
20 You, Lord, will save me,
and every day that we live
we will sing in your temple
to the music
of stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- 38.13 of me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
- 38.14 help me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
- 38.15 There's … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 38.16 Your … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 38.17 deep pit: The world of the dead, as in verse 18.
- 38.19 about your faithfulness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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