Isaiah 38:21

Isaiah 38:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
• New International Version (NIV)Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”

Context of Isaiah 38:21

19Those who are living praise you as I do today. Fathers make your faithfulness known to their children. 20The Lord is going to rescue me, so let us play stringed instruments. We live our lives in the Lord’s temple. Then Isaiah said, “Take a fig cake, and place it over the boil so that the king will get well.” 22Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign that I’ll go to the Lord’s temple?”

Isaiah 38:21 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ יִשְׂא֖וּ דְּבֶ֣לֶת תְּאֵנִ֑ים וְיִמְרְח֥וּ עַֽל־הַשְּׁחִ֖ין וְיֶֽחִי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For Isaiahיְשַׁעְיָ֫הוּyesha‛yâh yesha‛yâhû · IsaiahH3470
• had saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Let them takeנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• a lumpדְּבֵלָהdebêlâh · fig cakeH1690
• of figsתְּאֵנָהte'ên te'ênâh · figH8384
• for a plaisterמָרַחmârach · to rubH4799
• upon the boilשְׁחִיןshechîyn · boilH7822
• and he shall recoverחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421

Cross-references for Isaiah 38:21

• 2 Kings 20:7Then Isaiah said, “Get a fig cake, and put it on the boil so that the king will get well.”
• Mark 7:33Jesus took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched the man’s tongue.
• John 9:6After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and mixed the spit with dirt. Then he smeared it on the man’s eyes

Commentaries on Isaiah 38:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Let them take a lump of figs, etc. - God, in effecting this miraculous cure, was pleased to order the use of means not improper for that end. "Folia, et, quae non maturuere, fici, strumis illinuntur omnibusque quae emollienda sunt discutiendave." - Plin. Nat. Hist. 23:7. "Ad discutienda ea, quae in corporis parte aliqua coierunt, maxime possunt-ficus arida," etc. - Celsus, 5:11. See the note on 2 Kings 20:7; (note). Philemon Holland translates the passage…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-22Verses 9-22 We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving. It is well for us to remember the mercies we receive in sickness. Hezekiah records the condition he was in. He dwells upon this; I shall no more see the Lord. A good man wishes not to live for any other end than that he may serve God, and have communion with him. Our present residence is like that of a shepherd in his hut, a poor, mean, and cold lodging, and with a trust committed to our charge, as the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-22Hezekiah received a sign from the Lord. This sign reminds us of another sign that the prophet had offered to Ahaz (Isaiah 7:11). Ahaz and Hezekiah stand at the two ends of a long story in Judah’s history. Ahaz represents the ungodly king. Hezekiah represents the godly king. Ahaz brought disaster on his people through his choices. Hezekiah, in contrast, brought deliverance to his people. However, Isaiah 39 shows that even Hezekiah’s story includes warning…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-221. Set ... house in order--Make arrangement as to the succession to the throne; for he had then no son; and as to thy other concerns. thou shall die--speaking according to the ordinary course of the disease. His being spared fifteen years was not a change in God's mind, but an illustration of God's dealings being unchangeably regulated by the state of man in relation to Him.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 38:21

• Boil
• Disease
• Fig
• Hezekiah
• Medicine
• Miracles

In the dictionaries

• Isaiah
• Boil
• Celebrate
• Hezekiah
• Reckon
• Undertake
• Boil (1)
• Chronicles, Books of
• Fig, Fig-Tree
• Food

Commentaries on Isaiah 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings