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Isaiah 38

Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

¹About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

²When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³“Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

⁴Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: ⁵“Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, ⁶and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

⁷“‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: ⁸I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

Hezekiah’s Poem of Praise

⁹When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem:

¹⁰I said, “In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?”

¹¹I said, “Never again will I see the Lord God while still in the land of the living. Never again will I see my friends or be with those who live in this world.

¹²My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over.

¹³I waited patiently all night, but I was torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over.

¹⁴Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”

¹⁵But what could I say? For he himself sent this sickness. Now I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt.

¹⁶Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live!

¹⁷Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.

¹⁸For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can no longer hope in your faithfulness.

¹⁹Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation tells of your faithfulness to the next.

²⁰Think of it—the Lord is ready to heal me! I will sing his praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the Lord.

²¹Isaiah had said to Hezekiah’s servants, “Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover.”

²²And Hezekiah had asked, “What sign will prove that I will go to the Temple of the Lord?”

Isaiah 38 (NLT)

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Isaiah

Chapter 38

38 of 66