Isaiah 38

1 In those days Hezekiah fell sick unto death; and there came unto him Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet, and said unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Give thy charge to thy house; for thou shalt die, and not live.

About that time, Hezekiah became [very] ill and was close to dying. [So] I went to see him. And I gave him this message: “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You should tell the people in your palace what you want them to do after you die, because you will not recover from this illness. You are going to die’”

2 Then did Hezekiah turn his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord.

Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed this:

3 And he said, O Lord, I beseech thee remember now that I have walked before thee in truth, and with an undivided heart, and have done what is good in thy eyes. And Hezekiah wept aloud.

“Yahweh, do not forget that I have always served you very faithfully, and I have done things that pleased you!” Then Hezekiah [started to] cry loudly.

4 Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,

[I left his room, but] Yahweh gave me this message:

5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus hath said 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 [back] to Hezekiah and tell him that this is what I, the God to whom your ancestor King David belonged, say: ‘I have heard what you prayed, and I have seen you crying. So listen: I will enable you to live 15 years more.

6 And out of the hand of the king of Assyria will I deliver thee and this city; and I will shield this city.

And, I will rescue you and this city from the power [MTY] of the King of Assyria. I will defend this city.

7 And this shall be unto thee the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which he hath spoken:

And this is what I will do to prove that I will do what I have just now promised. I will cause the shadow of the sun to move ten steps backward on the sundial that was built by King Ahaz.’”

8 Behold, I will cause the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down on the dial of Achaz by the sun, to return backward ten degrees. So the sun returned ten degrees, by the degrees which he was gone down.

So the shadow of the sun on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

9 The writing of Hezekiah the king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:

When King Hezekiah was almost well again, he wrote this:

10 I had said, In the midst of my days, must I enter the gates of the nether world; I am deprived of the residue of my years. (Sheol h7585)

I thought to myself, “Is it necessary for me to die and go to the place where the dead people are during this time of my life when I am still strong? Is Yahweh going to rob me of the remaining years that I [should live]?” (Sheol h7585)

11 I had said, I shall not see the Lord, the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall not behold man any more among the inhabitants of the regions of death.

I said, “I will not see Yahweh [again] in this world where people are alive. I will not see my friends again, or be with others who [now] are alive in this world.

12 My dwelling is broken down, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off, like a weaver, my life; with pining sickness will he snatch me away: from day until night wilt thou make an end of me.

[It is as if] my life has been taken away like [SIM] a tent [whose pegs] have been pulled up by a shepherd and taken away. My time to live has been cut short, like a piece of cloth that a weaver [cuts and] rolls up [after he has finished weaving a cloth].” Suddenly, [it seemed that] my life was ending.

13 I waited [with patience] till morning, [whether] as a lion, so would he break all my bones: from day until night wilt thou make an end of me.

I waited patiently all during the night, but [my pain was as though] [MET] I was being torn apart by lions. [It seemed that] my life was finished.

14 Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chirp; I did moan like a dove; my eyes were lifted up on high: O Lord, I am oppressed; grant me ease.

[I was delirious, and] I chirped like a swift or a swallow, and moaned like a dove. My eyes became tired looking up [toward heaven] for help. I cried out, Lord, help me, [because] I am distressed!’

15 What shall I speak? he hath promised it unto me, and he hath also accomplished it; I will make pilgrimages [to God's house] all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.

But there was really nothing [RHQ] that I could say and ask him to reply to me, because it was Yahweh who sent this illness. [So now] I will live humbly during my [remaining] years because I am very anguished.

16 O Lord, by these [things men] will live, and in all these [things] is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou give me health, and cause me to live.

Yahweh, the sufferings (OR, the promises) that you give are good, [because] what you do and what you say bring [new] life and health to us. And you restore/heal me and allow me [to continue] to live!

17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast, in loving my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast behind thy back all my sins.

Truly, my suffering was good for me; you loved me, and as a result you have rescued me from dying and have also forgiven all my sins.

18 For the nether world will not thank thee, death will not praise thee: they that go down into the pit will not hope for thy truth. (Sheol h7585)

Dead people [MTY] cannot praise you; they cannot sing to praise you. Those who have descended to their graves cannot confidently expect you to faithfully [do things for them]. (Sheol h7585)

19 The living, the living alone shall thank thee, like me this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Only people who are still alive, like I am, can praise you. Fathers tell their children how you are faithful, [and if I remain alive, I will do the same thing].

20 The Lord is there to help me; therefore we will play my hymns all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

[I know that] Yahweh will fully heal me, [so] I will sing to praise him while others praise him playing musical instruments; I will do that every day of my life, in the temple of Yahweh.”

21 And Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the inflammation, and he shall recover.

I had [previously] said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Prepare an ointment from [mashed] figs, and spread it on his boil, and then he will recover.” [So they did that, and Hezekiah recovered].

22 And Hezekiah had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?

And Hezekiah had [previously] asked, “What will Yahweh do to prove that I will [recover and be able to] go to his temple?”