Isaiah 38:1-8
New English Translation
The Lord Hears Hezekiah’s Prayer
38 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.[a] The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you[b] faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,[c] and how I have carried out your will.”[d] Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.[e]
4 The Lord’s message came to Isaiah, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor[f] David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will also rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 7 Isaiah replied,[g] “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.”[h] And then the shadow went back ten steps.[i]
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- Isaiah 38:1 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying”; NRSV “became sick and was at the point of death.”
- Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
- Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “and with a complete heart”; KJV, ASV “with a perfect heart.”
- Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
- Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “wept with great weeping”; NCV “cried loudly”; TEV “began to cry bitterly.”
- Isaiah 38:5 tn Heb “father” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).
- Isaiah 38:7 tn The words “Isaiah replied” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the present form of the Hebrew text v. 7 is joined directly to v. 6, but vv. 21-22, if original to Isaiah 38, must be inserted here. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
- Isaiah 38:8 tn Heb “the shadow on the steps which it [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, with the sun, back ten steps.”sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
- Isaiah 38:8 tn Heb “and the sun returned ten steps on the steps which it had gone down.”
Isaiah 38:1-8
New Living Translation
Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery
38 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”
2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.
4 Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.
7 “‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: 8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial[a] of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.
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- 38:8 Hebrew the steps.
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