Isaiah 38:9-20
Revised Standard Version
9 A writing of Hezeki′ah king 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.
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord
in the land of the living;
I shall look upon man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
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 thou dost bring me to an end;[a]
13 I cry for help[b] until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night thou dost bring me to an end.[c]
14 Like a swallow or a crane[d] I clamor,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be thou my security!
15 But what can I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
All my sleep has fled[e]
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.[f]
Oh, restore me to health and make me live!
17 Lo, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but thou hast held back[g] my life
from the pit of destruction,
for thou hast cast all my sins
behind thy back.
18 For Sheol cannot thank thee,
death cannot praise thee;
those who go down to the pit cannot hope
for thy faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks thee,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
thy faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing to stringed instruments[h]
all the days of our life,
at the house of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:12 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:13 Cn: Heb obscure
- Isaiah 38:13 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:14 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:15 Cn Compare Syr: Heb I will walk slowly all my years
- Isaiah 38:16 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 38:17 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb loved
- Isaiah 38:20 Heb my stringed instruments
Isaiah 38:9-20
American Standard Version
9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.
10 I said, In the [a]noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of Sheol:
I am deprived of the residue of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see [b]Jehovah, even [c]Jehovah in the land of the living:
I shall behold man no more [d]with the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling is removed, and is carried away from me as a shepherd’s tent:
I have rolled up, like a weaver, my life; he will cut me off from the [e]loom:
From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
13 [f]I quieted myself until morning; as a lion, so he breaketh all my bones:
From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
14 Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chatter;
I did moan as a dove; mine eyes fail with looking upward:
O Lord, I am oppressed, be thou my surety.
15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it:
I shall go [g]softly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And wholly therein is the life of my spirit:
[h]Wherefore recover thou me, and make me to live.
17 Behold, it was for my peace that I had great bitterness:
But [i]thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of [j]corruption;
For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18 For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee:
They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day:
The father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20 Jehovah is ready to save me:
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 38:10 Or, tranquility
- Isaiah 38:11 Hebrew Jah.
- Isaiah 38:11 Hebrew Jah.
- Isaiah 38:11 Or, when I am among them that have ceased to be
- Isaiah 38:12 Hebrew thrum.
- Isaiah 38:13 Or, I thought until morning, As a lion, so will he break etc.
- Isaiah 38:15 Or, as in solemn procession. See Ps. 42:4.
- Isaiah 38:16 Or, So wilt thou recover me
- Isaiah 38:17 Hebrew thou hast loved my soul from the pit.
- Isaiah 38:17 Or, nothingness
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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