English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”a

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Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

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

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When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

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and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

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“Remember, O LORD, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

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Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah:

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Then this message came to Isaiah from the LORD:

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“Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.b

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“Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life,

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I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

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and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

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“This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised:

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“‘And this is the sign from the LORD to prove that he will do as he promised:

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Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.c

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I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundiala of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

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A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

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Hezekiah’s Poem of Praise

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

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I said, In the middled of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.

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I said, “In the prime of my life,
must I now enter the place of the dead?b
Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?”

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I said, I shall not see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.

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I said, “Never again will I see the LORD God
while still in the land of the living.
Never again will I see my friends
or be with those who live in this world.

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My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;

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My life has been blown away
like a shepherd’s tent in a storm.
It has been cut short,
as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom.
Suddenly, my life was over.

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I calmed myselfe until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.

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I waited patiently all night,
but I was torn apart as though by lions.
Suddenly, my life was over.

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Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!

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Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane,
and then I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help.
I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”

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What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.

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But what could I say?
For he himself sent this sickness.
Now I will walk humbly throughout my years
because of this anguish I have felt.

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O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!

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Lord, your discipline is good,
for it leads to life and health.
You restore my health
and allow me to live!

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Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.

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Yes, this anguish was good for me,
for you have rescued me from death
and forgiven all my sins.

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For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.

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For the deadc cannot praise you;
they cannot raise their voices in praise.
Those who go down to the grave
can no longer hope in your faithfulness.

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The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.

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Only the living can praise you as I do today.
Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next.

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The Lord will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the Lord.

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Think of it — the LORD is ready to heal me!
I will sing his praises with instruments
every day of my life
in the Temple of the LORD.

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Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.”

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Isaiah had said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover.”

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Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

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And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the LORD?”

Parallel

English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Isaiah 38

Isaiah 38