Isaiah 38

1In those days Hezekiah was ill and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, The Lord says, Put your house in order; for your death is near.

1In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah: Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

2And Hezekiah, turning his face to the wall, made his prayer to the Lord, saying,

2And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Jehovah,

3O Lord, keep in mind how I have been true to you with all my heart, and have done what is good in your eyes. And Hezekiah gave way to bitter weeping.

3and said, Ah, Jehovah, remember, 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 much.

4Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying,

4And the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah, saying,

5Go to Hezekiah, and say, The Lord, the God of David, your father, says, Your prayer has come to my ears, and I have seen your weeping: see, I will give you fifteen more years of life.

5Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, theGod of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add to thy days fifteen years.

6And I will keep you and this town safe from the hands of the king of Assyria: and I will keep watch over this town.

6And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.

7And Isaiah said, This is the sign the Lord will give you, that he will do what he has said:

7And this [shall be] the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do this thing that he hath spoken:

8See, I will make the shade which has gone down on the steps of Ahaz with the sun, go back ten steps. So the shade went back the ten steps by which it had gone down.

8behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which hath gone down with the sun on the dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned on the dial ten degrees, by which it had gone down.

9The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, after he had been ill, and had got better from his disease.

9The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

10I said, In the quiet of my days I am going down into the underworld: the rest of my years are being taken away from me.

10I said, In the meridian of my days I shall go to the gates of Sheol: I am deprived of the rest of my years.

11I said, I will not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living: I will not see man again or those living in the world.

11I said, I shall not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living. With those who dwell where all has ceased to be, I shall behold man no more.

12My resting-place is pulled up and taken away from me like a herdsman's tent: my life is rolled up like a linen-worker's thread; I am cut off from the cloth on the frame: from day even to night you give me up to pain.

12Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent. I have cut off like a weaver my life. He separateth me from the thrum: — from day to night thou wilt make an end of me.

13I am crying out with pain till the morning; it is as if a lion was crushing all my bones.

13I kept still until the morning; ...as a lion, so doth he break all my bones. From day to night thou wilt make an end of me.

14I make cries like a bird; I give out sounds of grief like a dove: my eyes are looking up with desire; O Lord, I am crushed, take up my cause.

14Like a swallow [or] a crane, so did I chatter; I mourned as a dove; mine eyes failed [with looking] upward: Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

15What am I to say? seeing that it is he who has done it: all my time of sleeping I am turning from side to side without rest.

15What 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.

16O Lord, for this cause I am waiting for you, give rest to my spirit: make me well again, and let me come back to life.

16Lord, by these things [men] live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit; and thou hast recovered me, and made me to live.

17See, in place of peace my soul had bitter sorrow. but you have kept back my soul from the underworld; for you have put all my sins out of your memory.

17Behold, instead of peace I had bitterness upon bitterness; but thou hast in love delivered my soul from the pit of destruction; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18For the underworld is not able to give you praise, death gives you no honour: for those who go down into the underworld there is no hope in your mercy.

18For not Sheol shall praise thee, nor death celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit do not hope for thy truth.

19The living, the living man, he will give you praise, as I do this day: the father will give the story of your mercy to his children.

19The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

20O Lord, quickly be my saviour; so we will make my songs to corded instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.

20Jehovah was [purposed] to save me. — And we will play upon my stringed instruments all the days of our life, in the house of Jehovah.

21And Isaiah said, Let them take a cake of figs, and put it on the diseased place, and he will get well.

21Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.

22And Hezekiah said, What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the Lord?

22And Hezekiah had said, What is the sign that I shall go up into the house of Jehovah?