Isaiah 38

1 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.

In those days has Hezekiah been sick to death, and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, comes to him and says to him, “Thus said YHWH: Give a charge to your house, for you [are] dying, and do not live.”

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

And Hezekiah turns around his face to the wall, and prays to YHWH,

3 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.

and says, “Ah, now, O YHWH, please remember how I have habitually walked before You in truth, and with a perfect heart, and I have done that which [is] good in your eyes”; and Hezekiah weeps [with] a great weeping.

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

And a word of YHWH is to Isaiah, saying,

5 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:

“Go, and you have said to Hezekiah, Thus said YHWH, God of your father David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tear, behold, I am adding fifteen years to your days,

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

and out of the hand of the king of Asshur I deliver you and this city, and have covered over this city.

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

And this [is] to you the sign from YHWH, that YHWH does this thing that He has spoken.

8 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.

Behold, I am bringing back the shadow of the degrees that it has gone down on the degrees of Ahaz, by the sun, backward ten degrees”; and the sun turns back ten degrees in the degrees that it had gone down.

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

A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah concerning his being sick when he revives from his sickness:

10 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)

“I said in the cutting off of my days, I go to the gates of Sheol, I have numbered the remnant of my years. (Sheol h7585)

11 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.

I said, I do not see YAH—YAH! In the land of the living, I do not behold man anymore, With the inhabitants of the world.

12 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.

My sojourning has departed, And been removed from me as a shepherd’s tent, I have drawn together, as a weaver, my life, By weakness it cuts me off, From day to night You end me.

13 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.

I have set [Him] as a lion until morning, So He breaks all my bones, From day to night You end me.

14 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.

As a crane—a swallow—so I chatter, I mourn as a dove, My eyes have been drawn up on high, O YHWH, oppression [is] on me, be my guarantor.

15 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.

What do I say? Seeing He spoke to me, And He Himself has worked, I go softly all my years for the bitterness of my soul.

16 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.

Lord, [men] live by these, And by all in them [is] the life of my spirit, And You save me, make me to also live,

17 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.

Behold, He changed bitterness to peace for me, And You have delighted in my soul without corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

18 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)

For Sheol does not confess You, Death does not praise You, Those going down to the pit do not hope for Your truth. (Sheol h7585)

19 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.

The living, the living, he confesses You,

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

Like myself today; A father makes known to [his] sons of Your faithfulness, O YHWH—to save me: And we sing my songs all [the] days of our lives In the house of YHWH.”

21 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.

And Isaiah says, “Let them take a bunch of figs, and plaster over the ulcer, and he lives.”

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

And Hezekiah says, “What [is] the sign that I go up to the house of YHWH?”