38:1 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.’” 38:2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 38:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you ²  faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, ³  and how I have carried out your will.” ⁴  Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁵ 

38:4 The Lord told Isaiah, ⁶  38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor ⁷  David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life, 38:6 and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 38:7 Isaiah replied, ⁸  “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 38:8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.” ⁹  And then the shadow went back ten steps. ¹⁰ 

38:9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:

38:10 “I thought, ¹¹ 

‘In the middle of my life ¹²  I must walk through the gates of Sheol,

I am deprived ¹³  of the rest of my years.’

38:11 “I thought,

‘I will no longer see the Lord ¹⁴  in the land of the living,

I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world. ¹⁵ 

38:12 My dwelling place ¹⁶  is removed and taken away ¹⁷  from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; ¹⁸ 

from the loom he cuts me off. ¹⁹ 

You turn day into night and end my life. ²⁰ 

38:13 I cry out ²¹  until morning;

like a lion he shatters all my bones;

you turn day into night and end my life. ²² 

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ²³  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ²⁴ 

O sovereign master, ²⁵  I am oppressed;

help me! ²⁶ 

38:15 What can I say?

He has decreed and acted. ²⁷ 

I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ²⁸ 

38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;

may years of life be restored to me. ²⁹ 

Restore my health ³⁰  and preserve my life.’

38:17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. ³¹ 

You delivered me ³²  from the pit of oblivion. ³³ 

For you removed all my sins from your sight. ³⁴ 

38:18 Indeed ³⁵  Sheol does not give you thanks;

death does not ³⁶  praise you.

Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

38:19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,

as I do today.

A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

38:20 The Lord is about to deliver me, ³⁷ 

and we will celebrate with music ³⁸ 

for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.” ³⁹ 

38:21 ⁴⁰  Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 38:22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”

39:1 At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 39:2 Hezekiah welcomed ⁴¹  them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ⁴²  39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 39:4 Isaiah ⁴³  asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 39:5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies: 39:6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors ⁴⁴  have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 39:7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father ⁴⁵  will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 39:8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” ⁴⁶  Then he thought, ⁴⁷  “For ⁴⁸  there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”