Isaiah 38

1 In 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.

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

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

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

3 O 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.

And 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.

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

And the word of the Lord came to Isaias, saying:

5 Go 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.

Go 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:

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

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

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

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

8 See, 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.

Behold 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.

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

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

10 I 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. (Sheol h7585)

I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell: I sought for the residue of my years. (Sheol h7585)

11 I 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.

I 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.

12 My 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.

My 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 out me off: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.

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

I 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.

14 I 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.

I 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.

15 What 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.

What 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.

16 O 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.

O 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.

17 See, 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.

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

18 For 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. (Sheol h7585)

For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth. (Sheol h7585)

19 The 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.

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

20 O 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.

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

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

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

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

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