Isaiah 38
New King James Version
Hezekiah’s Life Extended(A)
38 In (B)those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: (C)‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, (D)“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a [a]loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your (E)sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and (F)I will defend this city.” ’ 7 And this is (G)the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said,
“In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”
11 I said,
“I shall not see [b]Yah,
The Lord (H)in the land of the living;
I shall observe man no more [c]among the inhabitants of [d]the world.
12 (I)My life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.
13 I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.
14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered;
(J)I mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O [e]Lord, I am oppressed;
[f]Undertake for me!
15 “What shall I say?
[g]He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
(K)In the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.
17 Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 For (L)Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.
19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
(M)The father shall make known Your truth to the children.
20 “The Lord was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”
21 Now (N)Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”
22 And (O)Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:3 whole or peaceful
- Isaiah 38:11 Heb. Yah, Yah
- Isaiah 38:11 LXX omits among the inhabitants of the world
- Isaiah 38:11 So with some Heb. mss.; MT, Vg. rest; Tg. land
- Isaiah 38:14 So with Bg.; MT, DSS Lord
- Isaiah 38:14 Be my surety
- Isaiah 38:15 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Tg. And shall I say to Him; LXX omits first half of this verse
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
Ésaïe 38
Segond 21
Maladie et guérison d'Ezéchias
38 A cette époque-là, Ezéchias fut atteint d’une maladie mortelle. Le prophète Esaïe, fils d'Amots, vint le trouver et lui annonça: «Voici ce que dit l'Eternel: Donne tes ordres à ta famille, car tu vas mourir, tu ne vivras plus.»
2 Ezéchias tourna le visage contre le mur et fit cette prière à l'Eternel: 3 «Eternel, souviens-toi que j'ai marché devant toi dans la vérité, avec un cœur intègre, et que j'ai fait ce qui est bien à tes yeux!» Puis il pleura abondamment.
4 Alors la parole de l'Eternel fut adressée à Esaïe: 5 «Va annoncer à Ezéchias: ‘Voici ce que dit l'Eternel, le Dieu de ton ancêtre David: J'ai entendu ta prière, j'ai vu tes larmes. J'ajoute quinze années à ta vie. 6 Je te délivrerai, de même que cette ville, du roi d'Assyrie. Je protégerai cette ville. 7 Voici pour toi, de la part de l'Eternel, le signe qu’il accomplira la parole qu'il a prononcée: 8 je vais faire reculer l'ombre des marches qui est descendue sur l’escalier d'Achaz, et ce grâce au soleil. Je vais la faire reculer de 10 marches.’» Et le soleil recula de 10 marches sur l’escalier où il était déjà descendu.
9 Poème d’Ezéchias, le roi de Juda, sur sa maladie et son rétablissement.
10 «Je disais: ‘Au beau milieu de mon existence, je dois passer
par les portes du séjour des morts.
Je suis privé du reste de mes années!’
11 Je disais: ‘Je ne verrai plus l'Eternel,
l'Eternel, sur la terre des vivants.
Je ne pourrai plus regarder aucun homme
en compagnie des habitants du monde!’
12 Mon habitation était enlevée et transportée loin de moi
comme une tente de berger.
Pareil à un tisserand, j’arrivais au bout du rouleau de ma vie.
Il m’arrachait à la chaîne de tissage.
Avant la nuit tu en aurais fini avec moi!
13 »Je me suis retenu jusqu'au matin,
mais pareil à un lion, il brisait tous mes os.
Avant la nuit tu m'aurais achevé!
14 Je poussais des petits cris, tel une hirondelle en train de voltiger,
je gémissais comme une colombe.
Mes yeux se levaient, épuisés, vers le ciel:
‘Seigneur, je suis accablé, porte-toi garant pour moi!’
15 »Que dire? Il m'a parlé, et c’est lui-même qui a agi.
Je marcherai humblement jusqu'au terme de mes années,
à cause de l’amertume dont j’ai fait preuve.
16 Seigneur, c'est par tes bontés que l’on vit,
c'est grâce à elles que j’ai encore un souffle de vie.
Tu m’as restauré, tu m’as fait revivre.
17 Mon amertume même s’est changée en bien-être.
Tu m’as aimé au point de me retirer de la fosse de la destruction,
car tu as jeté derrière toi tous mes péchés.
18 »Ce n'est pas le séjour des morts qui te célébrera,
ce n'est pas la mort qui te louera.
Ceux qui sont descendus dans la tombe n'espèrent plus en ta fidélité.
19 C’est le vivant, oui, c’est le vivant qui te célèbre,
comme moi aujourd'hui,
et c’est le père qui fait connaître ta fidélité à ses enfants.
20 »Eternel, puisque tu m’as sauvé,
nous ferons résonner les cordes de nos instruments,
tous les jours de notre vie,
près de la maison de l'Eternel.»
21 Esaïe avait dit: «Qu'on apporte un gâteau aux figues, qu'on l’étale sur l'ulcère et Ezéchias vivra.» 22 Quant à Ezéchias, il avait dit: «Quel est le signe que je pourrai monter à la maison de l'Eternel?»
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Version Segond 21 Copyright © 2007 Société Biblique de Genève by Société Biblique de Genève