Isaiah 38:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Isaiah 38:1

Hezekiah’s Life Extended

1 In ^athose days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ^b‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord,

3 and said, ^a“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a¹ loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your ^bsight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

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

5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.

6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and ^aI will defend this city.” ’

7 And this is ^athe sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which He has spoken:

8 “Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.

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

10 I said,
“In the prime of my life
I shall go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the remainder of my years.”

11 I said,
“I shall not see¹ Yah,
The Lord ^ain the land of the living;
I shall observe man no more¹ among the inhabitants of the world.

12 ^aMy life span is gone,
Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent;
I have cut off my life like a weaver.
He cuts me off from the loom;
From day until night You make an end of me.

13 I have considered until morning—
Like a lion,
So He breaks all my bones;
From day until night You make an end of me.

14 Like a crane o¹r a swallow, so I chattered;
^aI mourned like a dove;
My eyes fail from looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed;
¹Undertake for me!

15 “What shall I say?
¹He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
^aIn the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.

17 Indeed it was for my own peace
That I had great bitterness;
But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

18 For ^aSheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth.

19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You,
As I do this day;
^aThe father shall make known Your truth to the children.

20 “The Lord was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments
All the days of our life, in the house of the Lord.”

21 Now ^aIsaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.”

22 And ^aHezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

Verse Comparison: Isaiah 38:1

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

Amplified® Bible
IN THOSE days King Hezekiah of Judah became ill and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.

Contemporary English Version
About this time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. So I went in and told him, "The LORD says you won't ever get well. You are going to die, and so you had better start doing what needs to be done."

Darby English Version
In 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.

Good News Bible
About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, "The LORD tells you that you are to put everything in order because you will not recover. Get ready to die."

King James Version
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

New American Standard Bible
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, `Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"

New International Version
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."

New King James Version
In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, ' Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"

Revised Standard Version
In those days Hezeki'ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover."

Young's Literal Translation
In those days hath Hezekiah been sick unto death, and come in unto him doth Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, and saith unto him, `Thus said Jehovah: Give a charge to thy house, for thou `art' dying, and dost not live.'

New English Translation
In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.¹ The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’”

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