Isaiah 38
1 IN those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
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.”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,
When Hezekiah heard this, he went to pray privately to the Lord, saying
3 And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
“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.
4 Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,
Then the Lord sent a message to Isaiah, saying,
5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
“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.
6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken;
This is the sign from the Lord to you that the Lord will do what he promised:
8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
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.”
9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:
This is what Hezekiah, king of Judah, wrote after he recovered from his sickness:
10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. (Sheol h7585)
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)
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
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.
12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
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.
13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
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.
14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
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!
15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
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.
16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
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.
17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
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.
18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. (Sheol h7585)
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)
19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
It's only the living who can praise you as I'm doing today. Parents explain to their children how you can be trusted.
20 The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.
The Lord saved me! We will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the Lord's Temple.”
21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
Isaiah had said, “Prepare a dressing of figs and spread it on the skin sores so he may recover.”
22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign to confirm that I will go to the Lord's Temple?”
