Isaiah 38:9-20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
9 A poem by Hezekiah king of Judah after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness:
10 I said: In the prime[a] of my life[b](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.[c]
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.[d](F)
You make an end of me from day until night.(G)
13 I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion;
You make an end of me day and night.
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, because of these promises people live,(L)
and in all of them is the life of my spirit as well;
You have restored me to health(M)
and let me live.(N)
17 Indeed, it was for my own welfare
that I had such great 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 will[e] save me;
we will play stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
at the house of the Lord.(T)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit quiet
- Isaiah 38:10 Lit days
- Isaiah 38:11 Some Hb mss, Tg read of the world
- Isaiah 38:12 Lit thrum
- Isaiah 38:20 Lit to
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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