Isa 38 | NASB1995 | STEP | In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill . 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 and not live .’”

Isaiah 38

Hezekiah Healed

1 ^aIn those days Hezekiah became ^{▼▼ Lit sick to the point of death}mortally ill. And ^cIsaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘ ^dSet your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, ^e“Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have ^fwalked before You in truth and with a ^gwhole heart, and ^hhave done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah ⁱwept ^{▼▼ Lit great weeping}bitterly.

4 Then 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 ^kfifteen years to your ^{▼▼ Lit days}life. 6 “I will ^mdeliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’

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

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and ^{▼▼ Lit he lived after his illness}recovery: 10 I said, ^r“In the middle of my ^{▼▼ Lit days}life
I am to enter the ^tgates of Sheol;
I am to be ^udeprived of the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will not see the Lord,
The Lord ^vin the land of the living;
I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world.
12 “Like a shepherd’s ^wtent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;
As a ^xweaver I ^yrolled up my life.
He ^zcuts me off from the loom;
From ^aaday until night You make an end of me.
13 “I composed my soul until morning.
^abLike a lion— so He ^acbreaks all my bones,
From ^adday until night You make an end of me.
14 ^ae“Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter;
I ^afmoan like a dove;
My ^ageyes look wistfully to the heights;
O Lord, I am oppressed, be my ^ahsecurity.

15 ^ai“What shall I say?
^{▼▼ Targum and DSS read And what shall I say for He}For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will ^akwander about all my years because of the ^albitterness of my soul.
16 “O Lord, ^amby these things men live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
^{▼▼ Lit You will
,} ^aoO restore me to health and ^aplet me live!
17 “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
It is You who has ^{▼▼ So some versions; Heb loved
,} ^arkept my soul from the pit of ^{▼▼ Or destruction}nothingness,
For You have ^atcast all my sins behind Your back.
18 “For ^auSheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down ^avto the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 “It is the ^awliving who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A ^axfather tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20 “The Lord will surely save me;
So we will ^ayplay my songs on stringed instruments
^azAll the days of our life ^baat the house of the Lord.”

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