Isaiah 38:9-20
Christian Standard Bible
9 A poem by King Hezekiah of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:
10 I said: In the prime[a] of my life(A)
I must go to the gates of Sheol;(B)
I am deprived of the rest of my years.
11 I said: I will never see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;(C)
I will not look on humanity any longer
with the inhabitants of what is passing away.[b]
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.(D)
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;(E)
he cuts me off from the loom.(F)
By nightfall[c] you make an end of me.(G)
13 I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion.
By nightfall you make an end of me.
14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane;
I moan like a dove.(H)
My eyes grow weak looking upward.
Lord, I am oppressed; support me.(I)
15 What can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk along slowly all my years(J)
because of the bitterness of my soul.(K)
16 Lord, by such things people live,(L)
and in every one of them my spirit finds life;
you have restored me to health(M)
and let me live.(N)
17 Indeed, it was for my own well-being
that I had such intense bitterness;(O)
but your love has delivered me
from the Pit of destruction,(P)
for you have thrown all my sins behind your back.(Q)
18 For Sheol cannot thank you;
Death cannot praise you.(R)
Those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, only the living can thank you,
as I do today;
a father will make your faithfulness known to children.(S)
20 The Lord is ready to save me;
we will play stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
at the house of the Lord.(T)
Isaiah 38:9-20
Common English Bible
9 A composition by Judah’s King Hezekiah when he was sick and then recovered from his sickness:
10 I thought, I must depart in the prime of my life;
I have been relegated to the gates of the underworld[a] for the rest of my life.
11 I thought, I won’t see the Lord.
The Lord is in the land of the living.
I won’t look upon humans again
or be with the inhabitants of the world.
12 My lifetime is plucked up
and taken from me like a shepherd’s tent.
My life is shriveled like woven cloth;
God cuts me off from the loom.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
13 I cried out[b] until morning:
“Like a lion God crushes all my bones.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
14 Like a swallow[c] I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes have grown weary looking to heaven.
Lord, I’m overwhelmed; support me!”
15 What can I say?
God has spoken to me;
he himself has acted.
I will wander[d] my whole life
with a bitter spirit.
16 The Lord Most High is the one who gives life to every heart,
who gives life to the spirit![e]
17 Look, he indeed exchanged my bitterness for wholeness.[f]
You yourself have spared[g] my whole being
from the pit of destruction,
because you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 The underworld[h] can’t thank you,
nor can death[i] praise you;
those who go down to the pit
can’t hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living can thank you, as I do today.
Parents will tell children about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord has truly saved me,
and we will make music[j] at the Lord’s house all the days of our lives.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:10 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 38:13 Or I lay down
- Isaiah 38:14 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:15 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:16 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:17 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:17 Cf LXX, Vulg; MT loved
- Isaiah 38:18 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 38:18 Heb Maveth
- Isaiah 38:20 Or my stringed instruments
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