Isaiah 38
Expanded Bible
Hezekiah’s Illness(A)
38 At that time Hezekiah became so sick he ·almost died [was about to die]. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “·This is what the Lord says [T Thus says the Lord]: ·Make arrangements [L Set your house in order], because you are going to die. You will not recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Lord, please remember that I have always ·obeyed [L walked before] you. I have ·given myself completely to you [served you wholeheartedly] and have done ·what you said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord].” Then Hezekiah ·cried loudly [wept bitterly].
4 Then the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: 5 “Go to Hezekiah and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ·ancestor [father] David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. So I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will ·save [rescue] you and this city from [L the hand of] the king of Assyria; I will defend this city.
7 “‘The Lord will do what he ·says [promises]. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: 8 The sun has made a shadow go down the stairway of Ahaz, but I will make it go back ten steps.’” So the shadow made by the sun went back up the ten steps it had gone down.
9 After Hezekiah king of Judah got well, he wrote this ·song [or poem; L writing]:
10 I said, “I am in the ·middle [prime] of my life.
Do I have to go through the gates of ·death [or the grave; L Sheol]?
Will I have the rest of my life ·taken away [deprived; robbed] from me?”
11 I said, “I will not see ·the Lord [the Lord, the Lord; L Yah, Yah; 26:4]
in the land of the living again.
I will not again see ·the people [a human being]
who live on the earth.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent,
my home has been pulled down and taken from me.
I am like the cloth a weaver rolls up and cuts from the loom.
·In one day [L From day to night] you brought me to this end.
13 ·All night I cried loudly [or I waited patiently till morning].
Like a lion, he ·crushed [breaks] all my bones.
·In one day [L From day to night] you brought me to this end.
14 I ·cried [twitter; chatter] like a ·bird [L swallow or a crane]
and moaned like a dove.
My eyes ·became tired as I looked [grew weary from looking] to the ·heavens [heights].
Lord, I ·have troubles [am oppressed]. ·Please help me [Be my security].”
15 What can I say?
·The Lord told me what would happen and then made it happen [L He spoke to me and he did it].
I will ·be humble [wander about; shuffle along; walk slowly] all my ·life [years]
because of ·these troubles in [the bitterness of] my soul.
16 Lord, because of ·you [L these things], people live.
Because of ·you [L them], my spirit also lives;
you ·made me well [restored me] and let me live.
17 It was for my own ·good [welfare; peace; C Hebrew shalom]
that I had such ·troubles [anguish; bitterness].
Because you love me very much,
you ·did not let me die [delivered my soul from the pit of destruction/corruption]
but threw my sins
·far away [L behind your back].
18 ·People in the place of the dead [or For the grave; L For Sheol] cannot ·praise [thank] you;
·those who have died [L death] cannot ·sing praises [praise] to you;
those who ·die [L go down to the pit] ·don’t trust you
to help them [L cannot hope for your faithfulness].
19 ·The people who are alive [L The living, the living] are the ones who ·praise [thank] you.
They praise you as I praise you today.
A father should tell his children
·that you provide help [L about your faithfulness].
20 The Lord ·saved me [or will save; or is ready to save],
so we will play songs on stringed instruments
in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord
all the days of our lives.
21 Then Isaiah said, “·Make a paste from [or Take a cake of] figs and put it on Hezekiah’s boil. Then he will get well.” 22 Hezekiah ·then [or had] asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign? What will show that I will go up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord?”
以赛亚书 38
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
希西迦患病
38 那些日子，希西迦病危，亚摩斯的儿子以赛亚先知前来对他说：“耶和华说，‘你要交待后事，因为你要死了，你的病不能康复。’” 2 希西迦把脸转向墙，向耶和华祷告，说： 3 “耶和华啊，求你顾念我怎样全心、忠诚地事奉你，做你视为善的事。”希西迦痛哭起来。 4 耶和华对以赛亚说： 5 “你去告诉希西迦，‘你祖先大卫的上帝耶和华说，我听见了你的祷告，也看见了你的眼泪，我要使你的寿命增加十五年。 6 我要从亚述王手中拯救你和这城，我要保护这城。’” 21 [a]以赛亚说：“拿一块无花果饼贴在王的疮上，他就会痊愈。” 22 希西迦问：“有什么兆头能证明我可以再上耶和华的殿吗？” 7 以赛亚说：“耶和华要给你一个预兆，以证明祂言出必行。 8 祂要使亚哈斯日晷上的日影后退十度。”果然，日影后退了十度。
9 犹大王希西迦病愈后，
写了一首诗：
10 “我以为自己盛年之际，
就要踏入阴间之门，
不能享受余年。
11 我以为再也见不到耶和华，
在世间再不能见到祂，
也不能再见到世人。
12 我的生命像牧人的帐篷一样被拆走，
像织布机上的布匹一样被剪断。
一日之间，祂使我的生命嘎然而止。
13 我整夜哀号，
好像被狮子咬断了全身的骨头。
一日之间，祂使我的生命嘎然而止。
14 “我像燕、鹤一样哀鸣，
像鸽子一样呻吟；
我举目望天，双眼疲倦。
耶和华啊！
我困苦不堪，求你保护我。
15 我能说什么呢？
祂对我说的，祂都亲自成就了。
因为心灵的苦痛，我要一生谨慎而行。
16 “主啊，你的管教使人存活，
使我的心灵有活力。
主啊，求你使我身体复原，
让我存活。
17 其实我受大苦对我有益。
你施慈爱，从死亡的深坑中拯救我的生命，
将我一切罪恶抛在你背后。
18 阴间不能称谢你，
死亡不能赞美你，
下坟墓的人不能仰望你的信实。
19 只有活着的人才能像我今天这样赞美你，
并且把你的信实告诉下一代。
20 “耶和华必救我，
我们要一生一世在祂殿中弹琴歌唱。”
Footnotes
- 38:21-22 这两节在原文抄本是放在本章末尾，不过这可能是在誊抄过程中放错位置。其实这两节经文放在6节和7节之间最为自然，就如在列王纪下一样，参见列王纪下20:7-8。
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