Ἠσαΐας 38
1 ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἐμαλακίσθη Εζεκιας ἕως θανάτου καὶ ἦλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν Ησαιας υἱὸς Αμως ὁ προφήτης καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν τάδε λέγει κύριος τάξαι περὶ τοῦ οἴκου σου ἀποθνῄσκεις γὰρ σὺ καὶ οὐ ζήσῃ
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 καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν Εζεκιας τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν τοῖχον καὶ προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον
When Hezekiah heard this, he went to pray privately to the Lord, saying
3 λέγων μνήσθητι κύριε ὡς ἐπορεύθην ἐνώπιόν σου μετὰ ἀληθείας ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀληθινῇ καὶ τὰ ἀρεστὰ ἐνώπιόν σου ἐποίησα καὶ ἔκλαυσεν Εζεκιας κλαυθμῷ μεγάλῳ
“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 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρὸς Ησαιαν λέγων
Then the Lord sent a message to Isaiah, saying,
5 πορεύθητι καὶ εἰπὸν Εζεκια τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς Δαυιδ τοῦ πατρός σου ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς τῆς προσευχῆς σου καὶ εἶδον τὰ δάκρυά σου ἰδοὺ προστίθημι πρὸς τὸν χρόνον σου ἔτη δέκα πέντε
“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 καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων σώσω σε καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης ὑπερασπιῶ
I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
7 τοῦτο δέ σοι τὸ σημεῖον παρὰ κυρίου ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ποιήσει τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο
This is the sign from the Lord to you that the Lord will do what he promised:
8 τὴν σκιὰν τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν οὓς κατέβη ὁ ἥλιος τοὺς δέκα ἀναβαθμοὺς τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου ἀποστρέψω τὸν ἥλιον τοὺς δέκα ἀναβαθμούς καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ ἥλιος τοὺς δέκα ἀναβαθμούς οὓς κατέβη ἡ σκιά
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 προσευχὴ Εζεκιου βασιλέως τῆς Ιουδαίας ἡνίκα ἐμαλακίσθη καὶ ἀνέστη ἐκ τῆς μαλακίας αὐτοῦ
This is what Hezekiah, king of Judah, wrote after he recovered from his sickness:
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 εἶπα οὐκέτι μὴ ἴδω τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐκέτι μὴ ἴδω ἄνθρωπον
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 ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας μου κατέλιπον τὸ λοιπὸν τῆς ζωῆς μου ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ὥσπερ ὁ καταλύων σκηνὴν πήξας τὸ πνεῦμά μου παρ’ ἐμοὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἱστὸς ἐρίθου ἐγγιζούσης ἐκτεμεῖν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ παρεδόθην
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 ἕως πρωὶ ὡς λέοντι οὕτως τὰ ὀστᾶ μου συνέτριψεν ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς νυκτὸς παρεδόθην
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 ὡς χελιδών οὕτως φωνήσω καὶ ὡς περιστερά οὕτως μελετήσω ἐξέλιπον γάρ μου οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ βλέπειν εἰς τὸ ὕψος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὃς ἐξείλατό με
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 καὶ ἀφείλατό μου τὴν ὀδύνην τῆς ψυχῆς
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 κύριε περὶ αὐτῆς γὰρ ἀνηγγέλη σοι καὶ ἐξήγειράς μου τὴν πνοήν καὶ παρακληθεὶς ἔζησα
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 εἵλου γάρ μου τὴν ψυχήν ἵνα μὴ ἀπόληται καὶ ἀπέρριψας ὀπίσω μου πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου
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 οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἐν ᾅδου αἰνέσουσίν σε οὐδὲ οἱ ἀποθανόντες εὐλογήσουσίν σε οὐδὲ ἐλπιοῦσιν οἱ ἐν ᾅδου τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην σου (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 οἱ ζῶντως εὐλογήσουσίν σε ὃν τρόπον κἀγώ ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς σήμερον παιδία ποιήσω ἃ ἀναγγελοῦσιν τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου
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 κύριε τῆς σωτηρίας μου καὶ οὐ παύσομαι εὐλογῶν σε μετὰ ψαλτηρίου πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς μου κατέναντι τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ
The Lord saved me! We will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the Lord's Temple.”
21 καὶ εἶπεν Ησαιας πρὸς Εζεκιαν λαβὲ παλάθην ἐκ σύκων καὶ τρῖψον καὶ κατάπλασαι καὶ ὑγιὴς ἔσῃ
Isaiah had said, “Prepare a dressing of figs and spread it on the skin sores so he may recover.”
22 καὶ εἶπεν Εζεκιας τοῦτο τὸ σημεῖον ὅτι ἀναβήσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ
Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign to confirm that I will go to the Lord's Temple?”
