Isaiah 38:9-20

New International Reader's Version

¹⁰ I said, “I’m enjoying the best years of my life.
    Must I now go through the gates of death?
    Will the rest of my years be taken away from me?”
¹¹ I said, “Lord, I’ll never see you again
    while I’m still alive.
I’ll never see people anymore.
    I’ll never again be with those who live in this world.
¹² My body is like a shepherd’s tent.
    It has been pulled down and carried off.
My life is like a piece of cloth that I’ve rolled up.
    You have cut it off from the loom.
    In a short period of time you have brought my life to an end.
¹³ I waited patiently until sunrise.
    But like a lion you broke all my bones.
    In a short period of time you have brought my life to an end.
¹⁴ I cried softly like a weak little bird.
    I sounded like a dove as I mourned.
My eyes grew tired as I looked up toward heaven.
    Lord, my life is in danger. Please come and help me!

¹⁵ “But what can I say?
    You have promised to heal me.
    And you yourself have done it.
Once I was proud and bitter.
    But now I will live the rest of my life free of pride.
¹⁶ Lord, people find the will to live because you keep your promises.
    And my spirit also finds life in your promises.
You brought me back to health.
    You let me live.
¹⁷ I’m sure it was for my benefit
    that I suffered such great pain.
You love me. You kept me
    from going down into the pit of death.
You have put all my sins
    behind your back.
¹⁸ People in the grave can’t praise you.
    Dead people can’t sing praise to you.
Those who go down to the grave
    can’t hope for you to be faithful to them.
¹⁹ It is those who are alive who praise you.
    And that’s what I’m doing today.
Parents tell their children
    about how faithful you are.

²⁰ “The Lord will save me.
    So we will sing and play music on stringed instruments.
We will sing all the days of our lives
    in the Lord’s temple.”