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.
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 Et convertit Ezechias faciem suam ad parietem, et oravit ad Dominum,
When Hezekiah heard this, he went to pray privately to the Lord, saying
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.
“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 Et factum est verbum Domini ad Isaiam, dicens:
Then the Lord sent a message to Isaiah, saying,
5 Vade, et dic Ezechiæ: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus David patris tui: Audivi orationem tuam, et vidi lacrymas tuas: ecce ego adiiciam super dies tuos quindecim annos:
“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 et de manu regis Assyriorum eruam te, et civitatem istam, et protegam eam.
I will save you and this city from 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 is the sign from the Lord to you that the Lord will do what he 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.
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 Scriptura Ezechiæ regis Iuda cum ægrotasset, et convaluisset de infirmitate sua.
This is what Hezekiah, king of Judah, wrote after he recovered from his sickness:
10 Ego dixi: In dimidio dierum meorum vadam ad portas inferi. Quæsivi residuum annorum meorum. (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 dixi: Non videbo Dominum Deum in terra viventium. Non aspiciam hominem ultra, et habitatorem quietis.
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 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.
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 Sperabam usque ad mane, quasi leo sic contrivit omnia ossa mea: De mane usque ad vesperam finies 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 sicut pullus hirundinis sic clamabo, meditabor ut columba: Attenuati sunt oculi mei, suspicientes in excelsum: Domine vim patior, responde pro 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 Quid dicam, aut quid respondebit mihi, cum ipse fecerit? Recogitabo tibi omnes annos meos in amaritudine animæ meæ.
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 Domine si sic vivitur, et in talibus vita spiritus mei, corripies me, et vivificabis me.
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 Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima: Tu autem eruisti animam meam ut non periret, proiecisti post tergum tuum omnia peccata mea.
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 Quia non infernus confitebitur tibi, neque mors laudabit te: non expectabunt qui descendunt in lacum, veritatem tuam. (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 Vivens vivens ipse confitebitur tibi, sicut et ego hodie: pater filiis notam faciet veritatem tuam.
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 Domine salvum me fac, et psalmos nostros cantabimus cunctis diebus vitæ nostræ in domo Domini.
The Lord saved me! We will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the Lord's Temple.”
21 Et iussit Isaias ut tollerent massam de ficis, et cataplasmarent super vulnus, et sanaretur.
Isaiah had said, “Prepare a dressing of figs and spread it on the skin sores so he may recover.”
22 Et dixit Ezechias: Quod erit signum quia ascendam in domum Domini?
Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign to confirm that I will go to the Lord's Temple?”
