Isaiah 38:9-20
English Standard Version
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10 I said, (A)In the middle[a] 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 (B)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
(C)like a shepherd's tent;
(D)like a weaver (E)I have rolled up my life;
(F)he cuts me off from the loom;
(G)from day to night you bring me to an end;
13 (H)I calmed myself[b] until morning;
like a lion (I)he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.
14 Like (J)a swallow or a crane I chirp;
(K)I moan like a dove.
(L)My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; (M)be my pledge of safety!
15 What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
(N)I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 (O)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 (P)Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
(Q)but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
(R)for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 (S)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;
(T)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,
(U)at the house of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:10 Or In the quiet
- Isaiah 38:13 Or (with Targum) I cried for help
Isaiah 38:9-20
International Standard Version
Hezekiah’s Prayer
9 A composition by King Hezekiah of Judah, following his illness and recovery:
10 I said, “Must I leave in the prime of my life?
Must I be consigned to the control[a] of Sheol?[b]
Bitter are[c] my years!”
11 I said, “I won’t see the Lord[d] in the land of the living;
and[e] I’ll no longer observe human beings
among the denizens of the grave.[f]
12 My house has been plucked up and vanishes[g] from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver, I’ve taken account of[h] my life,
and he cuts me off from the loom—
day and night you make an end of me.
13 I’ve been swept bare[i] until morning;
just like a lion, he breaks all my bones—
day and night you make an end of me.
14 Like a swallow or a crane I chirp,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes look weakly upward.
O Lord,[j] I am oppressed, so[k] stand up for me!
15 What can I say, so I tell myself,[l]
since he has done this to me?[m]
I will walk slowly all my years
because of my soul’s anguish.
16 “My Lord is against them, yet they live,
and among all of them who live is his spirit.[n]
Now you have restored me to health,
so let me live!
17 Yes, it was for my own good
that I suffered extreme anguish.[o]
But in love you have held back[p] my life
from the Pit[q] in which it has been confined;[r]
you have tossed all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol[s] cannot thank you,
death cannot[t] sing your praise;
and[u] those who go down to the Pit[v] cannot hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living—yes the living—they thank you,
just as I am doing today;
fathers will tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,[w]
and we will play my music on strings
all the days of our lives
in the Lord’s Temple.[x]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit. gates; i.e. the place where legal cases were adjudicated
- Isaiah 38:10 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
- Isaiah 38:10 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the rest of
- Isaiah 38:11 Lit. Yah; So 1QIsaa; MT reads Yah Yah; MTmss read Lord
- Isaiah 38:11 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 38:11 Lit. cessation; or the end; So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss read the world
- Isaiah 38:12 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read and has been taken away
- Isaiah 38:12 So 1QIsaa; MT reads have rolled up
- Isaiah 38:13 So 1QIsaa; or I cried for help; MT reads I was composed; cf. Targ
- Isaiah 38:14 So 1QIsaa MT; 1QIsab reads Lord
- Isaiah 38:14 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks so
- Isaiah 38:15 So 1QIsaa; MT reads for he has spoken to me
- Isaiah 38:15 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and it is he who has done it
- Isaiah 38:16 So 1QIsaa; MT reads is the life of my spirit
- Isaiah 38:17 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read bitter, bitter
- Isaiah 38:17 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; MT reads you have loved
- Isaiah 38:17 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Isaiah 38:17 So 1QIsaa; MT reads pit of destruction
- Isaiah 38:18 I.e. the realm of the afterlife
- Isaiah 38:18 So 1QIsaa LXX; implied in 1QIsab MT
- Isaiah 38:18 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 38:18 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Isaiah 38:20 At this point a later scribe inserted into 1QIsaa a repetition of v. 19 and the beginning of v. 20, but with some different spellings and a word missing.
- Isaiah 38:20 The same second scribe continued with the rest of this verse; not originally in 1QIsaa.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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