Isaiah 38

1In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and Isaiah the son of Amos the prophet cane unto him, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live.

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.

2And Ezechias turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord,

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

3And said: I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Ezechias wept with great weeping.

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.

4And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying:

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

5Go and say to Ezechias: Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: behold I will add to thy days fifteen years:

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.

6And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect it.

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.

7And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this word which he hath spoken:

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

8Behold I will bring again the shadow of the lines, by which it is now gone down in the sun dial of Achaz with the sun, ten lines backward. And the sun returned ten lines by the degrees by which it was gone down.

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.

9The writing of Ezechias king of Juda, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.

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

10I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell: I sought for the residue of my years.

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.

11I said: I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest.

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.

12My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd's tent. My life is cut off, as by a weaver: whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.

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.

13I hoped till morning, as a lion so hath he broken all my bones: from morning even 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.

14I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove: my eyes are weakened looking upward: Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for 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.

15What shall I say, or what shall he answer for me, whereas he himself hath done it? I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

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.

16O Lord, if man's life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such things as these, thou shalt correct me, and make me to live.

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.

17Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter: but thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish, thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

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.

18For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth.

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.

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

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.

20O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

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.

21Now Isaiah had ordered that they should take a lump of figs, and lay it as a plaster upon the wound, and that he should be healed.

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

22And Ezechias had said: What shall be the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?

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