Isa 38 | ESV | STEP | 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 .

‏ Isaiah 38

Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

1 ^aIn those days Hezekiah became ^bsick and was at the point of death. And ^cIsaiah 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.” ^{▼▼Or live; also verses 9, 21} 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how ^eI have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “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 ^ffifteen years to your life. ^{▼▼Hebrew to your days} 6 ^hI will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 ⁱBehold, 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. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain}

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

10 I said, ^kIn the middle ^{▼▼Or In the quiet} of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
11 I said, I shall not see the Lord,
the Lord ^min the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
ⁿlike a shepherd’s tent;
^olike a weaver ^pI have rolled up my life;
^qhe cuts me off from the loom;
^rfrom day to night you bring me to an end;
13 ^sI calmed myself ^{▼▼Or (with Targum) I cried for help} until morning;
like a lion ^uhe breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.
14 Like ^va swallow or a crane I chirp;
^wI moan like a dove.
^xMy eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; ^ybe my pledge of safety!
15 What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
^zI walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 ^aaO 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!
17 ^abBehold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
^acbut in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
^adfor you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 ^aeFor Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
^afthe father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
^agat the house of the Lord.

21 ^ahNow Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”