Isaiah 38 | King James Version

King James Version

1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, 5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. 9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: 10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11 I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd' tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till morning, that , as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it : I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD. 21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. 22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?

New International Reader’s Version

Hezekiah becomes ill and is healed

1 In those days Hezekiah became very ill. He knew he was about to die. Isaiah went to see him. Isaiah was the son of Amoz. Isaiah told Hezekiah, ‘The LORD says, “Put everything in order. Make out your will. You are going to die soon. You will not get well again.” ’ 2 Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall. He prayed to the LORD. He said, 3 ‘LORD, please remember how faithful I’ve been to you. I’ve lived the way you wanted me to. I’ve served you with all my heart. I’ve done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 A message from the LORD came to Isaiah. The LORD said, 5 ‘Go and speak to Hezekiah. Tell him, “The LORD, the God of King David, says, ‘I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. I will add 15 years to your life. 6 And I will save you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. I will guard this city. 7 ‘ “ ‘Here is a sign from me. It will show you that I will heal you, just as I promised I would. 8 The shadow that was made by the sun has gone down ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz. I will make it go back up those ten steps.’ ” ’ So the shadow went back up the ten steps it had gone down. 9 Here is a song of praise that was written by Hezekiah, the king of Judah. He wrote it after he was ill and had got well again. 10 I said, ‘I’m enjoying the best years of my life. Must I now go through the gates of death? Will the rest of my years be taken away from me?’ 11 I said, ‘LORD, I’ll never see you again while I’m still alive. I’ll never see people anymore. I’ll never again be with those who live in this world. 12 My body is like a shepherd’s tent. It has been pulled down and carried off. My life is like a piece of cloth that I’ve rolled up. You have cut it off from the loom. In a short period of time you have brought my life to an end. 13 I waited patiently until sunrise. But like a lion you broke all my bones. In a short period of time you have brought my life to an end. 14 I cried softly like a weak little bird. I sounded like a dove as I mourned. My eyes grew tired as I looked up towards heaven. Lord, my life is in danger. Please come and help me! 15 ‘But what can I say? You have promised to heal me. And you yourself have done it. Once I was proud and bitter. But now I will live the rest of my life free of pride. 16 Lord, people find the will to live because you keep your promises. And my spirit also finds life in your promises. You brought me back to health. You let me live. 17 I’m sure it was for my benefit that I suffered such great pain. You love me. You kept me from going down into the pit of death. You have put all my sins behind your back. 18 People in the grave can’t praise you. Dead people can’t sing praise to you. Those who go down to the grave can’t hope for you to be faithful to them. 19 It is those who are alive who praise you. And that’s what I’m doing today. Parents tell their children about how faithful you are. 20 ‘The LORD will save me. So we will sing and play music on stringed instruments. We will sing all the days of our lives in the LORD’s temple.’ 21 When Hezekiah was ill, Isaiah had said, ‘Press some figs together. Spread them on a piece of cloth. Apply them to Hezekiah’s boil. Then he’ll get well again.’ 22 At that time Hezekiah had asked, ‘What will the sign be to prove I’ll go up to the LORD’s temple?’ That’s when the LORD had made the shadow go back ten steps.