Isaiah 38

Hezekiah Healed

11In those days Hezekiah became 2mortally ill. And 3Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘4Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3and said, “5Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have 6walked before You in truth and with a 7whole heart, and 8have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah 9wept 10bitterly.

4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5“Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add 11fifteen years to your 12life. 6I will 13deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’

7“This shall be the 14sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: 8Behold, I will 15cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the 16sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.

9A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and 17recovery:10I said, “18In the middle of my 19life I am to enter the 20gates of Sheol; I am to be 21deprived of the rest of my years.”11I said, “I will not see the Lord, The Lord 22in the land of the living; I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world.12Like a shepherd’s 23tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; As a 24weaver I 25rolled up my life. He 26cuts me off from the loom; From 27day until night You make an end of me.13I composed my soul until morning. 28Like a lion--so He 29breaks all my bones, From 30day until night You make an end of me.1431Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I 32moan like a dove; My 33eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my 34security.

15“35What shall I say? 36For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it; I will 37wander about all my years because of the 38bitterness of my soul.16O Lord, 39by these things men live, And in all these is the life of my spirit; 4041O restore me to health and 42let me live!17Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is You who has 4344kept my soul from the pit of 45nothingness, For You have 46cast all my sins behind Your back.18For 47Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down 48to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.19It is the 49living who give thanks to You, as I do today; A 50father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.20The Lord will surely save me; So we will 51play my songs on stringed instruments 52All the days of our life 53at the house of the Lord.”

21Now 54Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the 55sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”