Isaiah 38

1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death; and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and made his supplication to Jehovah.

3 saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

And he said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thine eyes! And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying,

Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah,

5 “Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

Go in and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer; I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will add to thy life fifteen years.

6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

And I will deliver thee and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.

7 This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised:

And this shall be the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do that which he hath spoken.

8 I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.

Behold, I will cause the shadow upon the dial, which hath gone down upon the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to go back ten degrees. So the sun went back ten degrees, which degrees it had gone down.

9 This is a writing by Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered from his sickness.

10 I said, “In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol and be deprived of the remainder of my years.” (Sheol h7585)

I said: “Now, in the quiet of my days, shall I go down to the gates of the under-world; I am deprived of the residue of my years.” (Sheol h7585)

11 I said, “I will never again see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living; I will no longer look on mankind with those who dwell in this world.

I said: “No more shall I see Jehovah, Jehovah in the land of the living. I shall behold man no more Among the inhabitants of stillness.

12 My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

My habitation is torn away and removed from me, Like a shepherd's tent; My life is rolled up as by the weaver; He cutteth me off from the thrum; Between morning and night wilt thou make an end of me!”

13 I composed myself until the morning. Like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day until night You make an end of me.

I waited till morning, and like a lion Did he crush all my bones; “Between morning and night wilt thou make an end of me!”

14 I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”

Like a swallow or a crane, so did I twitter; I did mourn as a dove; Mine eyes failed with looking upward; “O Lord, I am in distress; O, deliver me!”

15 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul.

What shall I say? He promised it, and he hath done it; I will walk humbly all my life On account of the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by such things men live, and in all of them my spirit finds life. You have restored me to health and have let me live.

Lord, it is thus that men live; From thee alone cometh the life of my spirit; Thou hast restored me, and caused me to live.

17 Surely for my own welfare I had such great anguish; but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

Behold, my anguish is changed into ease; In love thou hast delivered me from the pit of destruction; Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18 For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. (Sheol h7585)

For the under-world cannot praise thee; The realms of death cannot celebrate thee; They that go down to the pit cannot wait for thy faithfulness. (Sheol h7585)

19 The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.

The living, the living praise thee, as I do this day; The father to the children shall make known thy faithfulness.

20 The LORD will save me; we will play songs on stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the LORD.

Jehovah hath saved me; Therefore will we sing our songs with stringed instruments, All the days of our life, In the house of Jehovah.

21 Now Isaiah had said, “Prepare a lump of pressed figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

Now Isaiah had said, let them take a lump of figs, and bruise them, and lay them upon the ulcer, and he shall recover.

22 And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”

Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah?