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A writing of King Hezekiah of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10 I said: In the noontide of my days
    I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
    for the rest of my years.(A)
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord
    in the land of the living;
I shall look upon mortals no more
    among the inhabitants of the world.(B)
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
    like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
    he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;(C)
13     I cry for help[a] until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
    from day to night you bring me to an end.(D)

14 Like a swallow or a crane[b] I clamor;
    I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
    O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security!(E)
15 But what can I say? For he has spoken to me,
    and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has fled[c]
    because of the bitterness of my soul.(F)

16 O Lord, by these things people live,
    and in all these is the life of my spirit.[d]
    Oh, restore me to health and make me live!
17 Surely it was for my welfare
    that I had great bitterness,
but you have held back[e] my life
    from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
    behind your back.(G)
18 For Sheol cannot thank you;
    death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the Pit cannot hope
    for your faithfulness.(H)
19 The living, the living, they thank you,
    as I do this day;
fathers make known to children
    your faithfulness.(I)

20 The Lord will save me,
    and we will sing to stringed instruments[f]
all the days of our lives,
    at the house of the Lord.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 38.13 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 38.14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 38.15 Cn Compare Syr: Heb I will walk slowly all my years
  4. 38.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 38.17 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb loved
  6. 38.20 Heb my stringed instruments