Isaiah 38:1-13 ▼

1 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

3 “Remember, O LORD, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

4 Then this message came to Isaiah from the LORD:

5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life,

6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

7 “‘And this is the sign from the LORD to prove that he will do as he promised:

8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

9 When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem:

10 I said, “In the prime of my life, must I now enter the place of the dead? Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?”

11 I said, “Never again will I see the LORD God while still in the land of the living. Never again will I see my friends or be with those who live in this world.

12 My life has been blown away like a shepherd’s tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over.

13 I waited patiently all night, but I was torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over.