Isaiah 38

1 About this time Hezekiah fell very sick and was about to die. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your affairs in order, because you are going to die. You won't 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 When Hezekiah heard this, he went to pray privately to the Lord, saying

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

3 “Please remember Lord how I have followed you faithfully with all my heart. I have done what is good in your sight.” Then Hezekiah cried and cried.

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 Then the Lord sent a message to Isaiah, saying,

Then came the word of Jehovah to Isaiah,

5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, This is what the Lord, the God of your forefather David, says: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. 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 I will save you and this city from 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 is the sign from the Lord to you that the Lord will do what he promised:

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

8 Look, I will make the shadow made by the sun go back the ten steps that it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. So the sun went back the ten steps that it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.”

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 what Hezekiah, king of Judah, wrote after he recovered from his sickness:

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

10 I said to myself, “Do I have to go to my death just as my life is going well? Why can't I count on the rest 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, the Lord, in the land of the living. I won't see anyone else again, none of the inhabitants of 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 Like a shepherd's tent, the place where I live has been pulled up and taken away from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up the cloth of my life and cut it from the loom. Day and night you bring me to an end.

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 lie there patiently until the morning, but I feel like there's a lion breaking every bone in my body. Day and night you bring me to an end.

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 scream like a swift or a songbird, I moan like a dove. My eyes grow dim as I look heavenwards. I'm being attacked, Lord, please come and support me!

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 Yet what can I say? He told me what was going to happen, and he himself did it. I will walk quietly for the rest of my life because of the painful experience I went through.

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 Lord, we live by what you say and do, and I find life in all of this. You have given me back my health and allowed me to 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 It was definitely for my own good I went through this bitter experience. You in your love saved me from the pit of destruction and you have forgiven all my sins.

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 Those in the grave cannot praise you, the dead cannot praise you. Those who go down into the pit can no longer hope in 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 It's only the living who can praise you as I'm doing today. Parents explain to their children how you can be trusted.

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

20 The Lord saved me! We will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the Lord's Temple.”

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 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a dressing of figs and spread it on the skin sores so he may 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 Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign to confirm that I will go to the Lord's Temple?”

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