Isaiæ 38
1 in diebus illis aegrotavit Ezechias usque ad mortem et introivit ad eum Isaias filius Amos propheta et dixit ei haec dicit Dominus dispone domui tuae 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 quaeso 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 Ezechiae haec dicit Dominus Deus David patris tui audivi orationem tuam vidi lacrimam tuam ecce ego adiciam 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 Ahaz 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 Ezechiae regis Iuda cum aegrotasset 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 quaesivi 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 Dominum in terra viventium non aspiciam hominem ultra et habitatorem quievit
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 praecisa 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 adtenuati sunt oculi mei suspicientes in excelsum Domine vim patior sponde 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 omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae
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 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 vitae nostrae 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 domo Domini
Hezekiah had asked, “What is the sign to confirm that I will go to the Lord's Temple?”
