Isaiæ 38

1 In diebus illis ægrotavit Ezechias usque ad mortem; et introivit ad eum Isaias, filius Amos, propheta, et dixit ei: Hæc dicit Dominus: Dispone domui tuæ, quia morieris tu, et non vives.

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.’”

2 Et convertit Ezechias faciem suam ad parietem, et oravit ad Dominum,

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

3 et dixit: Obsecro, Domine, memento, quæso, quomodo ambulaverim coram te in veritate et in corde perfecto, et quod bonum est in oculis tuis fecerim. Et flevit Ezechias fletu magno.

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.

4 Et factum est verbum Domini ad Isaiam, dicens:

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

5 Vade, et dic Ezechiæ: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus David patris tui: Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrimas tuas; ecce ego adjiciam super dies tuos quindecim annos,

“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.

6 et de manu regis Assyriorum eruam te, et civitatem istam, et protegam eam.

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

7 Hoc autem tibi erit signum a Domino, quia faciet Dominus verbum hoc quod locutus est:

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

8 ecce ego reverti faciam umbram linearum per quas descenderat in horologio Achaz in sole, retrorsum decem lineis. Et reversus est sol decem lineis per gradus quos descenderat.

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.

9 Scriptura Ezechiæ, regis Juda, cum ægrotasset et convaluisset de infirmitate sua.

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

10 [Ego dixi in dimidio dierum meorum: Vadam ad portas inferi; quæsivi residuum annorum meorum. (Sheol h7585)

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)

11 Dixi: Non videbo Dominum Deum in terra viventium; non aspiciam hominem ultra, et habitatorem quietis.

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.

12 Generatio mea ablata est, et convoluta est a me, quasi tabernaculum pastorum. Præcisa est velut a texente vita mea; dum adhuc ordirer, succidit me: de mane usque ad vesperam finies me.

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.

13 Sperabam usque ad mane; quasi leo, sic contrivit omnia ossa mea: de mane usque ad vesperam finies me.

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

14 Sicut pullus hirundinis, sic clamabo; meditabor ut columba. Attenuati sunt oculi mei, suspicientes in excelsum. Domine, vim patior: responde pro me.

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.”

15 Quid dicam, aut quid respondebit mihi, cum ipse fecerit? Recogitabo tibi omnes annos meos in amaritudine animæ meæ.

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.

16 Domine, si sic vivitur, et in talibus vita spiritus mei, corripies me, et vivificabis me.

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.

17 Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima. Tu autem eruisti animam meam ut non periret; projecisti post tergum tuum omnia peccata mea.

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.

18 Quia non infernus confitebitur tibi, neque mors laudabit te: non exspectabunt qui descendunt in lacum veritatem tuam. (Sheol h7585)

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

19 Vivens, vivens ipse confitebitur tibi, sicut et ego hodie; pater filiis notam faciet veritatem tuam.

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

20 Domine, salvum me fac! et psalmos nostros cantabimus cunctis diebus vitæ nostræ in domo Domini.]

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

21 Et jussit Isaias ut tollerent massam de ficis, et cataplasmarent super vulnus, et sanaretur.

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

22 Et dixit Ezechias: Quod erit signum quia ascendam in domum Domini?

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